Opportunity of a Lifetime: The Origins

*Please note, my blogs will normally not be this long! I just have a lot of background information to share on this first one :)

Introduction

A hardwood floor, a rim, and a leather ball. Like many others, I never knew how such a simple game would become an intricate part of my life, grow my character, and provide unbelievable opportunities.
An opportunity I didn't see coming that I'm now pursuing is to play for the national Chilean basketball team, and compete in an Olympic qualifier this August.

Where did this opportunity come from?

In one word: God. God gifted me athletically, with a mother from Chile, some influential coaching, and Chilean friends (Guillermo, Oscar Zambrano, Omar Chavez, and Carlos Rojas) that passed along my athletic achievements to the Head Coach, Ricardo González Dávila. I'm so humbled by God's favor to open this door in my life, and I believe this opportunity is not about me, it's all about Him! Here's how the story unfolded...

Pursuing the open door

Step 1: Physically

Playing  for the Lopers at 
University of Nebraska Kearney

• First Team Academic All-American
• 14th All-Time Scorer:1,284 career points
• Conference Academic Player of the Year
• First Team All-Conference
• Second Team All-Region
• UNK Student Athlete of the Year 2012

At the end of college, I thought my competitive basketball days were done. Competing in 2 collegiate sports (basketball and soccer) wore out the cartilage in my knee. During my senior year, I once again pushed through knee pain in order to have my 2nd surgery after the season. Yet this surgery, which was supposed to improve the tracking of my patella and create new cartilage, did not make my knee any better. After two doctors opinions, MRIs, and x-rays, it was decided that I needed a Tibial Tubercal Osteotomy (try repeating that quickly!), what is that?? In short, they were going to break my tibia bone, rotate it inward, and re-screw it in so that my patella would track more in the middle of my knee. It would be a life-altering surgery, and I was told I wouldn't physically be able to train and play competitively again.

The night before surgery, my husband Josh, our good friend Ben Loschen, and I prayed for healing in my knee, and for God's will to be done. The next morning, I went in for surgery. I had a massive syringe of drugs shot into my groin to knock out feeling in my knee for a week, and went under for the operation. When I woke up, Josh told me they didn't have to do the surgery. When the doctor opened me up, she found the alignment had changed and the cartilage had healed. I was confused at first, thinking the drugs hadn't worn off. But as minutes passed, I was overwhelmed by this miracle in my knee, and wondered why it had happened, believing there was a purpose that would be revealed in the future.

After my surgery, Coach Richi contacted me to play, but I didn't believe it was the right timing. I was in the middle of grad school, I didn't have my Chilean paperwork, and I questioned my physical capability. Then, last August the coach and the U18 Chilean team came to play at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Meeting the coach and seeing the girls compete sparked a fire in soul to play. Soon after, the coach told me they had qualified to compete in an Olympic qualifier in Edmonton, Canada the following summer. I decided to do a test run of training in the fall to see if my body was still capable. I prepared for an alumni game in Kearney, Nebraska. During the game I physically felt great! My knee didn't bother me, and I had tons of extra energy! I then believed I could train my body back into competitive shape.

Step 2: Spiritually

I live my life chasing after God and his will. So as I trained in the fall, I prayed daily for God's direction whether I should pursue this opportunity. Sometimes God speaks in the mundane, and sometimes he speaks supernaturally. This time, it was supernatural. Yet again, I had driven to work in the early morning darkness for a workout, and I was in the middle of a tricep pushdown set in the basement gym. The song "Show me what I'm looking for" played on my Pandora radio, and God whispered, "Do you want to see what you're looking for?" ...Heck yes Lord I do! "Then follow me..." I didn't know what I would see, but I knew God was going to show me something awesome, and I just kept taking one step at a time. I was lead to the backdoor, and when I opened it, the mountains were a blood red color, absolutely stunning, like I've never seen them before. God's whisper was "I'm opening the door to this opportunity to play for The Red (the nickname of the Chilean national team). Draw closer to me than you've ever been, I want to walk with you in this opportunity." Not a minute later, the reddest sunrise on the Rockies I had ever seen (mind you I grew up looking at these mountains daily) had turned into a regular orange. Like the brief sunrise moment, the window of opportunity to pursue this would be short.

This opportunity is one where I know with all my heart I am relying on God, who better to rely on!? Preparing for this has been a very sweet season of growing in faith and taking action on my beliefs. If I could pick a theme song for the last 9 months of training, this would be it!

Beyond Me, by TobyMac
"I got some dreams that are bigger than me

I might be outmatched, outsized, the underdog in the fight of my life

Is it so crazy to believe

That You gave me the stars, put them out of my reach

Called me to waters a little too deep

Oh, I've never been so aware of my need

You keep on making me see

It's way beyond me"

Josh gave me this when I was named a
First Team Academic All-American

Step 3: Chilean Citizenship

Why Chile? My mom is from Chile. Through her, I was able to get dual citizenship. However, the paperwork hadn't been processed until I felt confirmation in pursuing this opportunity at the end of last year. The paperwork came through extra fast in the first couple months of this year, God's favor again!

Step 4: People That Helped Me

After the Lord, my biggest fan is my husband Josh. He has gone above and beyond in supporting me and loving me. Josh helped me make 9 months of workouts, become stronger than I've ever been, and lose 10 pounds. He cooked countless healthy meals, sacrificed time with me so I could train, and always encouraged me to keep going.

Josh dressing up to support my college
games, before we even dated!

Thank you Mom and Dad for helping me believe in my dreams, and for teaching me Spanish!

Guillermo, my step-grandpa & personal coach of a lifetime, I'm not sure if I would be an athlete without you. Since I took my first baby steps, you have put a ball in my hands and shown me how to be a competitor. I cherish the countless hours you spent watching my games and developing my skills. All along, you have encouraged me to play for Chile, and now it's finally coming true!

Ariel, thank you for being my "Jonathan." Not only are you the best lifting partner ever, but you kept me in shape after knee surgery so my body would have a foundation for this training. Thank you for all of your selfless encouragement!

Thank you Coach Richi for pursuing me to be on the team, helping me be known in Chile with the article in "La Tercera", and for giving me this amazing opportunity to represent Chile.

Robb, from the beginning, you have believed in me and helped me see God in a clearer way. Thank you for your countless hours of mentorship!

Tom, thank you for rebounding for me and helping me get so many more shots up!

Step 5: Spectranetics Jumps On Board!

I work for the best company on the planet--Spectranetics. I won't lie, I was a little nervous to share this with them! But as I prepared for the day I told my boss, the sunrise on the Rockies was a bright pink. It was not red like my Fall encounter with God, but in the beauty of a similar sunrise God reminded me, "Be strong and courageous, I am with you. I am in control." Since day one of sharing this opportunity with Spectranetics, they have been unbelievably supportive and excited for me. Talk about a company that truly lives out its values! I can't thank the senior leadership team and my teammates enough for all of their amazing support!!

What's Next?

My next step is flying to Miami on June 4th to meet the team, train, and play. Then we head back to Chile on June 16th for about five weeks, fly to Brazil for a week, and finally travel to Edmonton for three weeks where our qualifier will be held.
Stay tuned on blog posts that explain the qualification process, teammates, training, and globe trotting updates!

For His Glory,

Vanessa #13