Angie Ball

Angie Ball had great expectations. Her first university season had started well. Fresh out of Sir Oliver Mowat High School in Toronto, a NCAA Final Four contender.

The rookie had already logged several season bests. Then, she was chosen to start against cross-state rivals Georgia State.

Early in the game, she jumped for a rebound. As she did, she dislocated her shoulder. "It hurt a lot," says Angie, "but I was hopeful I would recover quickly."

After a few games on the bench, she was given the OK to join her teammates. "But my shoulder kept popping out," explains Angie, "so the rest of the season was a write-off. It was very hard because everyone else was playing and I just hung out on the sidelines."

"I was on this team with a lot of great players," adds the 6-4 Canadian, "and I was missing out." The setback was hard to swallow and every day was a challenge. "That first year in university, there were so many changes in my life," she recalls, "and I was so far away from home."

Angie had been attending meetings for Christian athletes, and they became a lifeline for her. ‘What I heard there really helped me cope," she says, "and deal with frustration and disappointment." During her recovery, she started to regularly pray and read the Bible.

"I was raised in a Christian home," she says, "so, I've always loved God. But it was really during my freshman year that God became real to me. He helped me with what I went through. I found out He'll always be there for me no matter what happens."

Her shoulder eventually healed and Angie went back to shooting hoops. In 1998, her junior year, she made the roster for the national basketball team that would represent Canada at the summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. On that squad, she found other Christian women. "I was thrown in there with a lot of veteran players and I was very young," she says. "It was great to know there would be people who would support me in my Christian walk."

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