{"id":2501,"date":"2012-06-19T08:00:46","date_gmt":"2012-06-19T12:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/?p=2501"},"modified":"2012-05-25T18:46:13","modified_gmt":"2012-05-25T22:46:13","slug":"a-conversation-with-u-s-olympian-tamika-catchings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2012\/06\/a-conversation-with-u-s-olympian-tamika-catchings.html","title":{"rendered":"A conversation with U.S. Olympian Tamika Catchings"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong>It\u2019s no wonder that Tamika Catchings is one of the WNBA\u2019s most popular players. She\u2019s accessible to the fans, she\u2019s active in the community, she plays with as much heart as any athlete to ever step foot on the court, and her smile is an infectious reminder of her genuinely kindhearted personality.<\/p>\n

This summer, the reigning league MVP will get even more opportunities to rub off on those around her as the star of both the Indiana Fever and the U.S. Olympic Team. In this Inspiring Athletes conversation, Catchings talks about some of the difficulties she faced as a child, how she hopes to help others through their challenges and the role that her relationship with God plays in her everyday life:<\/p>\n

Chad Bonham: What are some of the childhood difficulties you overcame?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Tamika Catchings (Photo courtesy of Indiana Fever\/WNBA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tamika Catchings: Growing up I had a hearing problem and I had to wear hearing aids. Back then they didn\u2019t have the small ones. They had the big behind-the-ear ones. So that was a struggle for me, just being different. Along with that, I had speech problems. Whether it was getting made fun of for the way I looked with my hearing aids or the way that I talked, it was a struggle. And eventually I had to wear glasses and braces, a little bit of everything. I wanted to fit in. I didn\u2019t want to get talked about for the different things that I had going on. That was something I struggled with until I was in second grade. I got tired of being made fun of, so one day I was walking home from school and I just took my hearing aids off and threw them in a field. Of course, my mom and dad weren\u2019t very happy with me. I knew I was going to have to face the consequences, but I just wanted to fit in. I was willing to make that sacrifice. When I got into sixth grade, my mom and dad divorced. That was another struggle. From that point, that\u2019s when I really started to look at sports as an outlet to get away and do something I didn\u2019t have to think about. I just went out and did it.<\/p>\n

Bonham: Does your story help you better relate to young people and their struggles?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Catchings: Every single place I talk, whether it\u2019s to a group of kids or at a university or wherever I go, I always ask them a series of questions. By the end of my time, every single person has raised his or her hand. It\u2019s different when you hear someone talk and you have nothing in common. They\u2019re talking about something that\u2019s over your head. But a lot of the stuff that I talk about is real life situations; my story, what I\u2019ve gone through, how I\u2019ve overcome, and of course my faith. Everyone plays off my faith. Being a WNBA player gives me a great platform to be able to give my testimony and talk about my faith without pushing it on people.<\/p>\n

Bonham: What has God taught you through these challenges?<\/p>\n

Catchings: God has taught me about patience and about accepting myself for who I am and knowing that He formed me and made me unique. He made everyone uniquely wonderful. That\u2019s been the biggest thing for me. Every single cell, every single muscle, every single thing about my body, He created and He formed\u2014and even my personality. I never thought I\u2019d be able to speak in front of hundreds of people and have a story and a testimony. That\u2019s the thing that God has showed me\u2014just accepting myself. And he\u2019s also shown me patience through the injuries I\u2019ve had, and the relationships I\u2019ve been through and the things I want in my life. It\u2019s like He\u2019s saying, \u201cBe still and be patient.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bonham: Describe your Olympic experience.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Catchings: It is one of the most exciting things. It\u2019s almost one of those things that even when you talk about it, you can\u2019t fully describe the feeling\u2014just being able to be considered one of the best in your nation. And when you look at the Olympics, it goes across all fields in life\u2014sports, politics, diversity. It\u2019s everything combined into one. And when you\u2019re there, everybody is watching you. What they see is how they think every American acts. I take a lot of responsibility for that. This might be the only time some of these players and these people from different countries ever come into contact with an American. You are that person that they are going to go back and talk about. It\u2019s cool to meet a lot of new people. But there are also a lot of foreigners that come to the WNBA and play so it allows us to develop those friendships as well.<\/p>\n

Bonham: How did it feel to be named one of the top 15 players in WNBA history?<\/p>\n

Catchings: I can\u2019t really think about it because I\u2019m still here and I\u2019m still out here loving it and enjoying every moment. I\u2019m able to connect on the court. I\u2019m able to connect with the fans off the court. I\u2019m able to do all the things we do in the community. I\u2019m still going through it. One day when I look back and I have kids and a husband and we\u2019re sitting around just talking about life, I can tell them what I used to do. I\u2019ll be like, \u201cMan, I\u2019ve been blessed.\u201d I\u2019ve been extremely blessed to have all these opportunities.<\/p>\n

Bonham: What are some of the things you\u2019re doing to reach young people within the Indianapolis community and beyond?<\/p>\n

Catchings: I started the Catch The Stars Foundation in 2004. I wanted to make an impact on kids. I think about all the people that have come across my path from the time I was little girl to where I\u2019m at today. There were so many people that wanted to help me. And some people didn\u2019t even know. They were just a positive influence and encouragement in a time when I needed it. I want to help these kids catch their stars one dream at a time. That\u2019s our mission right there.<\/p>\n

Click HERE<\/a> to view a video presentation of this interview.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more about the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympics in the July issue of Charisma Magazine<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>And check out Chad Bonham\u2019s latest book Glory of the Games<\/a> that features 18 past and present Olympians such as Shannon Miller, Tamika Catchings, Josh Davis, Ryan Hall, Dave Johnson and Kevin Durant discussing various biblical principles that have helped them succeed as elite international athletes.<\/em><\/p>\n

Unless otherwise noted, photos courtesy of USA Basketball.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s no wonder that Tamika Catchings is one of the WNBA\u2019s most popular players. She\u2019s accessible to the fans, she\u2019s active in the community, she plays with as much heart as any athlete to ever step foot on the court, and her smile is an infectious reminder of her genuinely kindhearted personality. 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Chad\u2019s professional journey began at the University of Tulsa where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (1993) while working extensively in athletic media relations and serving as a sports editor for The Collegian. Since then, he has written extensively for such publications as Relevant, CCM, Christian Retailing, New Man, Charisma, Today\u2019s Christian, Ministries Today, Breakaway, Brio, Sports Spectrum, Christian Single, Faith & Friends, Sharing the Victory and Gospel Today. He has authored, co-authored or ghost written and edited 13 books including Life in the Fairway (New Leaf Press), Glory of the Games (Cross Training), Wrestling with God (River Oak), Spiritual Journeys (Relevant) and the four-part Fellowship of Christian Athletes Core Value Series; Excellence, Teamwork, Serving and Integrity (Regal Books). Chad is currently working on five new books including Sooner Legacy, Husker Legacy and Lessons From Sooner Football (Cross Training) as well as The Faith of Stock Car Racing (Judson Press). When he's not writing, Chad lends his efforts to various independent television and film projects. He was the coordinating producer for Choosing Life (2010) and Life Happens (2011). Chad is currently serving as producer on a forthcoming documentary about Super Bowl champion Brian Kinchen. Chad and his wife Amy live in Broken Arrow, Okla., with sons Lance (September 2003), Cole (February 2008) and Quinn (February 2011).","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/author\/cbonham"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/418"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2501"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2509,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2501\/revisions\/2509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}