Tamika Catchings, IWU’s 2020 World Changer, is Honored in 2021

Luckey Arena is dark. One set of lights shines on center court. Tamika Catchings is facing three cameras that will convey an inspired message from this 2020 Society of World Changer inductee.

Good luck keeping Tamika Catchings’ million-dollar smile and larger-than-life personality stuffed inside a camera or an arena! As a four-time gold medal Olympian, WNBA basketball legend, sports executive, community advocate, entrepreneur, and author, she is shining in every arena of life.

Catchings retired from professional basketball in 2016, and remains one of the most decorated female basketball players of all time. Yet, the achievements and avalanche of accolades fail to penetrate this humble woman’s core while she lives life to the fullest.

There’s no catch with Catchings. She’s proven to be the real deal.

There are many clues about what makes Tamika Catchings tick scattered throughout her life story. The forward of her autobiography, Catch A Star: ShiningThrough Adversity to Become a Champion, is written by another IWU World Changer inductee, Superbowl winning coach, Mr. Tony Dungy.

“Detailing her achievements on the court, however, barely scratches the surface of her impact ... she is one of the rare superstar athletes who really ‘get it.’ As a Christian athlete, Tamika understands she has been gifted by God and that with this blessing comes responsibility—A responsibility to give back to those in her community, but also a responsibility to let her light shine and point others to Christ.”

Giving Back

In the early days of her professional basketball career, Tamika and her sister, Tauja, teamed up to form the Catch the Stars Foundation. Together, this sister duo has hosted basketball camps, fitness clinics, and developed mentoring programs for youth nationwide. During 2019 alone, the foundation awarded over $104,000 in 4-year renewable scholarships to central Indiana area scholar athletes.

Overcoming

The passion to invest in others likely took root during adversity. Catchings was born with a profound hearing impairment. Growing up with ‘big box hearing aides’ made her an easy target for ridicule. Her family moved often, which didn’t exactly help. Sports was the one area of her life that wasn’t so miserable. On the court she fit in without fear or question. And, she found that the coping skills learned from having a hearing disability translated into a secret weapon in basketball. She developed an uncanny ability to read subtle signals of players that told her what they were going to do next.

As a teenager whose family split apart because of divorce, Catchings’ devoted herself to excelling in athletics. But, a profound change took place in college. She surrendered her life fully and completely to Jesus, putting Him above basketball. The subsequent sports injuries during college and the start of her professional career proved to be occasions that fostered her trust in God’s plan for her life.

Working Hard

In seventh grade, Tamika wrote a note to herself, “One day I will be in the NBA.” She meant it and was willing to do the work it would take to get there. To quote Catchings, “But so what if I was skinny and short and couldn’t hear much? What I DID have was intensity. I had desire. I had passion and a willingness to work hard for the game like no one else...” And, with the birth of the WNBA in 1997, the dream of playing professional basketball became a reality.

Living Big

Addressing the IWU community, Tamika speaks passionately about her seventh-grade dream. As a person who loves words and acronyms, she followed a three-point outline built on the word BIG, as in “Dream BIG.”

One, you have to Believe. Believe in God, believe that you can be a world changer using the skills and abilities that God has given to you. And, you have to believe in yourself.

Two, you have to be Inspired, and be an inspiration to others too. “The biggest thing that inspires me everyday is to be Christ-like in every single thing that I do,” said Catchings.

Three, you have to be Great. Every single day, you need to be the greatest version of yourself.

Recounting a team building exercise she devised as captain of her basketball team, she shared how she divided the pieces of a puzzle among her teammates. When they came together to build the puzzle, pieces were missing because a few teammates didn’t show up. It illustrated the point that every member of the team counts.

The same holds true for us. Every one of us has been blessed by God with skills that He wants us to use in this world. Think of yourself as a puzzle piece. How do you use your puzzle piece in this life God has given to you? How do you put that piece down as the best you can be?“

I cannot imagine reading a story in the Bible where Jesus was not at his best,” says Catchings. “We are challenged everyday to do the same—to be great every day.

Written by Jill Pederson