Building Unshakeable Character in Athletes

I've been blessed to have grown up in a Christian home and accepted the Lord of Jesus as my savior at a young age. Attending Regina Christian School throughout my early years was a blessing as I cemented my faith and belief in Christ. After high school, I attended Millar College of the Bible, where I received a degree in biblical studies and simultaneously played on the men's basketball team for three years. I began coaching basketball in Regina in the Summer of 2013. The Lord has blessed me with the opportunity to expand, which is now known as HoopLife all across our province. As fun as basketball is, what has been more fun and rewarding in my life is my relationship with Jesus. We understand that we have all fallen short of the glory of God, and we need a savior to atone for our sins before a perfect and holy God (John 14:6; Romans 3:23; 6:23). In 2015, I married my beautiful wife Erin, and since, we've had three children: Roman, Psalm, and Micah. I've lived a typical Christian life; however, somewhere along the way, I lost what it means to be a follower of Jesus, catching myself, falling into the passions of this world, and building an "empire" for myself. I'm thankful for the grace of God in my life, calling me back into a deeper relationship with him. Scripture says you will find the Lord when you seek me with your whole heart (Deuteronomy 4:29-31, Jeremiah 29:13; Matthew 7:7-8; Revelation 3:20). After months of prayer and time in the Word, the Lord revealed Himself to me in a remarkable way. When you seek the Lord Jesus wholeheartedly, no matter your background, He will reveal Himself to you! I'm thankful I now live not through my flesh but through and for Jesus Christ. HoopLife and coaching basketball are meaningless if they are not done for the Lord. I've learned it's not about building for myself or bringing God into "my" plan but living in His plans. My purpose is to know God and make Him known (John 17:3; Philippians 3:10-16)! As we go into this next chapter, I look forward to using HoopLife, Citrus, and Unshakable Sports Ministry as a tool for Christ.

My name is Ty Schenk, and I am going into my third year playing basketball for Ambrose University. Since Ambrose is a Christian university, I was able to connect with God and become closer to Christ in my past couple of years. God has gotten me through struggles with basketball, school, and life in general, all of which I would not have been able to get through alone. He is capable of doing very amazing things, which is why I am beyond excited to share the gospel of Christ with the campers and try to get them closer to God while creating an everlasting relationship.

I was born into a Christian home, and growing up, we always went to church. I was 10 years old when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, and from there, my relationship with Christ began to grow. When I started high school, though, my walk with God began to become stale and bore no fruit; my relationship with Christ essentially grew dead at this point. I was still going to church, but I was just going through the motions, and my life of prayer was nonexistent. As Jesus said in Matthew 15:8, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me,” and at that point in my life, that was what my relationship with Christ was like for many years, even going into university. My first year of university was very challenging; trying to balance being on the men’s basketball team and managing my studies became very overwhelming. I did not have a very successful year both on the court and in the classroom, and that led me to be ineligible for the next season. That summer, after realizing that in my own strength, I would be unable to reach the goals and do the things I wanted to accomplish without the help of the Lord and the Holy Spirit, I rededicated my life to Christ and soon after got baptized. Ever since, my relationship with Christ and my love for Him have grown like never before. My knowledge of who God is and His word has grown tremendously as well. I’ve learned to draw near to Him and surrender all that I am and become a living sacrifice. In that time, the Lord has delivered me from many addictions and made me aware of the idols I had in my life. I am now boldly and unashamedly spreading the gospel that has saved me and set me free from many things. I am very excited for this opportunity to share my testimony, the gospel, and my love for Christ so that others may know the sacrifice and the price that was paid to deliver us from sin.

Since the age of 3, I have vivid memories of attending church with my family. At the age of 13, I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, though my actions did not always reflect the life of a committed follower of Christ right after. Despite this, God has consistently demonstrated His presence throughout various stages of my life, particularly from high school until now. His love, grace, and faithfulness have remained evident to me, even during times when I strayed from Him. After graduating from RCS in 2022, I enrolled at Briercrest College & Seminary for one year, where my faith was further strengthened. The following year, I transferred to the University of Regina. For the past three summers (2022-2024), I have been blessed with the opportunity to share God’s Word with children across the province of Saskatchewan, working as a Bible teacher with Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) in a program called 5-Day Clubs. Through this experience, God has enabled me to plant seeds of faith in the hearts of many children and help them in accepting Jesus as their Savior, which has been deeply rewarding.
The verse Romans 6:23 has been particularly meaningful to me: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” As I continue to grow in my faith, I pray that God will continue to use me to lead others toward His Kingdom and allow me to be a light that shines His truth in the world, whether through coaching or other aspects of my life.