A Double Agent for Christ This semester I had the amazing pleasure of sitting down with the new softball coach and developmental math teacher Coach Jamie Thanepohn. I have to say it was one of the most enlightening conversations that one human being could have with another. She was just so kind and open; she made the interview more of a conversation. This former Morton High School teacher has really settled in here at Greenville. I don’t blame her Greenville is an amazing place to seek God, meet new people and build friendships that will last a lifetime. But how does she manage a girls softball team and a math class, I mean how does she keep a level head? “Teaching is like second nature to me, I have been teaching for ten years so it’s really not a problem”, said Coach Thanepohn “ As far as coaching goes, my GA helps keep me organized.” So we know how she stays organized, we know teaching isn’t really a big deal, but coming from a public high school to a Christian college had to be an adjustment. “Teaching at a public high school was different, there I wasn’t allowed to talk about God or my faith, but here I feel right at home. It’s an amazing feeling! I like being a college professor because unlike having a school day from 8-3; I have one class and the rest of the day to myself.” Coach Thanepohn finds faith very important; she feels that her players and her students should see God through her. “My players and I have a very close relationship, if they are ever
Ultimate Amidst the thriving official campus sports there are pockets of athletics that go unnoticed. One of these sports is Ultimate. Many times you can walk past Scott Field and notice people playing; usually around 3:30, when most people are getting out of class. Although games do not occur every day, usually people will be throwing a disc around the field. If enough people arrive, the group will divide into teams and start a game; optimally, games will be five against five. Scott Field is persistently a good location to play because many people passing by will join the games. There is a group of eight to ten people that consistently play multiple days throughout the week, with other people filling out the remainder of the players needed for a game. Some days the number of participants gets so high they will form three teams, playing shorter games and rotating who plays, with the winners continuing to the next game. The number of people playing fluctuates with the weather and everyone’s schedules throughout the semester. When enough people are available to play, teams are picked playground style, meaning captains choose teams from the available pool of players. While this style has potential to make people feel left out, junior Adam Crouch thinks that it works well. According to Crouch, the system works because they constantly
34 | The Vista Sports
By: Diamond Mitchell
having a problem my door is always open for them,” said Coach Thanepohn. But don’t get it twisted her door isn’t just open to her softball players, it is open to anyone who has a problem and wishes to speak to someone. At Morton High School she wasn’t allowed to express her faith, to show her students how much she loved God and how she only hoped for them to have a relationship with God for themselves. Here she is allowed to do so freely, “In the morning on chapel our team goes to chapel as a group, we do Bible study, we pray before and after practice, I just want my girls to know that God is the basis of everything that we do. I want them to trust him the way that I do.” I’m not even a softball player but listening to her say that made me think about my faith and where I stand with God. Inspired by her faith, what I wanted to know is where she stands on GC? “I love it here, at Morton I had to compartmentalize all my passions. For instance my faith in one box, my love for sports in another, and my teaching in another, but here they all combine perfectly. My experience here so far has been great!” If you ever want to meet this remarkable woman of God her office door is always open. She is very kind and very passionate about what she does because she knows that her smile or her words of wisdom can impact someone with a problem. She can help them get through the day or through the week. I can’t wait to see what else God has in store for Coach Jamie Thanepohn.
By: Cody Homewood have new players and they play multiple games in a day. By playing multiple games in a day, people can be chosen earlier by joining after a game has already been played. These new players are ideal for a team because they have not been fatigued by the prior game. There is no doubt that tossing a disc has been a tradition at GC for many years. According to Crouch, professors have told of playing during their time at Greenville. As a result, multiple staff and faculty members have joined in with the games. Their level of participation ranges from just a pull, the equivalent of a kickoff in football, to playing full games. With such dedication coming from beyond the student body, it is clear that a community would form around the games. The games help form friendships because individuals are exposed to people they may not have interacted with otherwise. Many times, upperclassmen will help underclassmen with their technique, leading to a more dedicated group of players. Adding the new interactions found in Ultimate, the players are able to bond through means they never had before. This winter Crouch would like to play a few games inside the Recreation Center when its too cold to play outside.