A Day in the Life of a Gordon College Basketball Player 

The life of a student athlete is all about balance—physically, mentally and socially. At Gordon College student athletes spend their season developing their skills, individually and as a team, while also working hard on their academics. For Naomi Nicholson ’25 (business), point guard and team captain of the Gordon College Women’s Basketball team, this journey is about personal devotion, hard work and community. Here’s what a day in the life of a college athlete looks like through her eyes: 

Naomi Nicholson ’25, point guard and team captain of the Gordon College Women’s Basketball team.

Balancing Athletics and Academics 

According to Nicholson, at an NCAA Division III school like Gordon, balancing athletics and academics is like juggling two important and time-consuming pursuits. Gordon College basketball athletes navigate this challenge by creating routines and boundaries that help them give their best to their team and to their academics.  

When describing her daily routine, Nicholson explained that she spends most mornings tackling homework, and most of her afternoons are spent in class. By structuring the first part of her day around academics, she’s able to focus the rest of her day on basketball, recovery and her community of friends.  

The Women’s Basketball team practices four days a week. Each practice begins with drills, often revolving around defensive transition, rebounding and shooting, and it ends with a scrimmage. As part of their game preparation, the team also spends 30 minutes of practice watching film on their next opponent. 

Game Days 

The life of a student athlete is busy; beyond practices, the Women’s Basketball team has two games each week, one during the week and one on Saturdays. For Nicholson and her teammates, weekend game days start early as they go to the gym to warm up and shoot around. The gameday experience officially begins an hour and a half before the game starts, as the team gathers to practice together.  

In the locker room before the game, the team shouts out their vision statement together, each player taking a line. The statement speaks to the Christ-centered community the team is committed to, as they shout, “We are dedicated to pursuing Christ and pursuing excellence as students, athletes, teammates and in our personal lives.” 

The Gordon College Athletics vision statement is behind each College team and player, creating a culture where faith and excellence is the focus. Nicholson says that shouting out their team’s specific vision statement, “is a tradition our team has that is unique.”  

Bringing Faith to the Game  

Nicholson battles a rival team from Endicott College.

At Gordon a day in the life of a college athlete also means living out their faith personally and corporately. Through both winning and losing seasons, Nicholson spoke about how she has seen her team grow in the Lord.  

Personally, she begins each day with a devotional. During a hard season or after a loss, Nicholson practices reliance on God by praying for her coach and teammates. “I'm here for the Christian community, and these people are going to last with me beyond my time here on this campus,” she said. 

Nicholson said that learning to be a witness to other teams, especially in the heat of a game, has been a true test of faith. The life of a student athlete at Gordon is a unique opportunity to be a witness to all opponents, but keeping that focus can be hard during a game.  

When Nicholson finds herself playing rough on the court or holding back team members from engaging the other team, she challenges herself to apologize. “I think it's a really unique opportunity to be put in situations where you can't always think before you speak—it's very much like testing the core and the heart of who you are,” she said. “Being a witness on the court means being the first to admit that I'm wrong.” 

Play Basketball at Gordon College 

Gordon College Women’s Basketball is part of the Conference of New England, and the team is coached by Carter Shaw and Kristin Mello. Both coaches and teammates are devoted to growing in faith and learning balance with a community who loves the Lord and loves basketball. Nicholson said, “I play because I love the people I'm playing with. I play because I love the sport. I play because we're witnesses on the court.”  

Interested in becoming a college athlete at Gordon? Visit Gordon Athletics Recruitment to learn more.