Where is Coach O’s favorite place?

Hint: His favorite place is not the gym.

As the basketball coach and athletic director, I am most often associated with the gym. In fact, I am sure many would assume this is the place I find myself the happiest when I am at work. I do spend a lot of time in our gym, however, this is not the room I enjoy the most. 
So, I am sure the wheels are turning as you try to figure out the place in this building I enjoy the most. My wife is probably thinking bathroom–wrong. And, yes, I love the little kitchen in HIPOW where I find coffee and often some sort of snack. But, that’s not it either. Give up? The answer is the chapel.
In May, as I sat in Baccalaureate, it hit me. This is the room where I truly feel most connected to our school and its Community. Let me be clear: this is not a “Catholic thing” or necessarily even a “faith thing.” It is a “connection to those we are closest to” sort of thing. 
Have you ever sat in the midst of a group of elementary kids and listened to them sing together with passion? If you have, you know what I mean. 
I can pray and feel the presence of God just as easily in the gym as I can in the chapel. I don’t need a chapel to feel closer to God. However, it is here, more than any other place, where I feel we, as a Community, are one. 
The chapel has provided me with no shortage of examples of excellence. Whether it be a solo by Emily Anderson or Ciara Newman, the guitar play of James Johnson or a Homily by the Bishop or Father Vance, seldom do I walk out of the chapel unmoved by the passion and commitment of someone in our school Community.
It’s in the chapel that we gather in support of those who are mourning the loss of a family member or loved one. It is during these moments I realize the power of this Community and it is at these moments I am strengthened by the knowledge of knowing if something ever happened to me, each one of you would be there for my family. 
I work in the gym, I play in the gym and I have shared in great joy within the walls of our gym. However, next time you see me in the gym and it appears I am the happiest I could ever be, understand it pales in comparison to the strength, love and togetherness I feel as a member of this Community when I am within the walls of our chapel.
This partial story is reprinted from The Full Curl, published weekly by Coach Ostanik. You can find Coach O and Monroe Athletic results on Twitter @thefullcurl.

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