EVERY SATURDAY in the spring, the gym of First Baptist Lebanon is filled with the sound of sneakers squeaking on glossy floors, balls swishing through hoops, and rousing cheers as members of Lebanon’s many churches gather to play basketball. It’s an afternoon of friendly rivalry and togetherness that has become a tradition for many congregations — the Lebanon Church Basketball League has been running for nearly 30 years. Some of the players even grew up hearing about it and attending games.
League coordinator Mark Sandoval was one such member. Sandoval grew up playing basketball in Lebanon, and once he graduated from college, he began looking to play in the church league. That was the year the previous coordinators decided to retire, so Sandoval decided to take over.
“Just as I was about to get into it is when they decided to fold it after about 25 years or so,” Sandoval said. “Just kind of last minute. I had a lot of good connections here from growing up and playing, and I just decided to try to restart the league.”
When Sandoval took over, six churches were involved. Now, there are 12 from all over Wilson County and one in Smith County, fielding some 120 players. The churches are Church of Christ, Catholic, United Methodist, Baptist, and nondenominational — anyone is welcome.
“It kind of runs the gamut,” Sandoval said. “Some churches are as small as my church — like 80 to 90 people. The largest church would probably be Providence United Methodist with over 2,000.”
The league provides a place for different churches to connect and give back to the Lebanon community. Each season ends with the winning team choosing a local charity to donate to, and part of the funds raised by the teams go to that charity. Those recipients have included Compassionate Hands, Brooks House, Sherry’s Hope, and the Pregnancy Care Center.
“That’s just something we do to get more churches and all the players to know about these great organizations that are right here in our backyard,” Sandoval said.
It’s a difficult job, but Sandoval jumped in without hesitation. Josiah Smith, the captain of St. Frances Cabrini’s team, said that he was offered the responsibility at one point, but it was too much for him to accept.
“Everyone shows their gratitude toward him for keeping this league going and allowing the community to come together all around Wilson County and the area — to bring their churches together to play this awesome game, have fellowship, and get to know one another,” Smith said. “If it wasn’t for him doing this and stepping up, we might not have that Wilson County church league [that] we have.”
It’s good that he did because the league has been a blessing to many people as a way to exercise, enjoy a sport people love, and simply be out in the community.
“We’re not in this to make a career out of it, so to see that people take time out of their Saturday to come and be committed to play this game and be a part of their community means a lot,” Smith said. “It’s much more than just coming out here and getting your exercise and going home.”
Many other league members are integral to the organization’s success, like referees Keandre Bates, Macieo Gaines, and Nic Doak; bookkeepers John Presley and Alex Britt; and scorekeeper Julian Crutchfield. Crutchfield began as a scorekeeper simply to help out Sandoval, but his motivation soon grew into something more significant as the league continued to connect so many people in the community. Children, wives, grandmothers, cousins, and friends come out to see people play and, over time, form friendships with people from other churches that extend outside the league.
“We all at the core of our beliefs believe in unity and love, and I think that sometimes we struggle in ways to express that,” Crutchfield said. “We don’t come up with a lot of opportunities that I’m aware of to share that with people outside of who we go to church with on Sunday. I think that the church league does an amazing job of giving everybody in the community a chance to show that common belief of unity and love in the form of basketball.”
Sports has always been a great unifier. As long as groups like the Lebanon Church Basketball League continue to unify Wilson County, the community will continue to do great things. GN
