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By CHUCK THURMOND Managing Editor
Published Monday, April 12, 1999 10:05 AM EDT
Over the past four years, Sarah Habermas has erased many
misconceptions about women and athletes in general
concerning competition and academics.
She is an aggressive,
successful athlete, and she is also an accomplished
student, having earned only two grades lower than an A
during 3 1/2 years of college.
In basketball, she is
considered short, but she excels at a position normally
reserved for players several inches taller than her.
In a sport where athletes
often display a variety of fluid and graceful moves
while in constant motion, her style is often rough,
rugged and simple, yet effective (she wore a protective
mouthpiece during some high school games). Off the
court, however, she is very much a lady and quick with a
smile and pleasant conversation.
Habermas admits being
extremely competitive and the results are evident, both
as a student and athlete. But she is also an example of
how confidence and competitiveness might lead to
success, but do not necessarily equal cockiness. She is
proud and determined, and very gracious as well.
Personality profiles in
the Banner give readers a glimpse at the life of someone
who has contributed in some way to Bradley County and
other local areas.
So far most of Habermas'
local contributions have been to the delight of
basketball fans during her athletic career at a local
high school and college, but she will soon begin a new
part of her life, working directly with the lives of
young Bradley Countians. She is studying elementary
education (kindergarten through eighth grade) and plans
to teach.
While she can certainly
show kids a thing or two about rebounding a basketball
and low-post defense, she can also share insights on
attitude and determination in arenas far beyond
basketball.
Habermas recently
completed her senior season in basketball at Lee
University, where she helped the team to a National
Christian College Athletic Association national
championship in March. She averaged over 13 points and
seven rebounds a game for the Lady Flames, who finished
28-8 under Coach Gary Baldwin.
She was a three-time
NCCAA All-America selection, the first Lee athlete to
accomplish this.
Habermas has always
played the post position, close to the basket. This is
an area mainly occupied by the tallest players, but at
5-foot-8, she is considered quite short for a basketball
post. She has always displayed a lot of athletic
ability, including at Cleveland High School, where she
competed in basketball, soccer and track and field. But
she has always heard talk like, "If you were only four
inches taller ..."
"In high school, I never
really had the dream of playing college ball," she said.
"I loved basketball and I love competition, any kind of
competition -- board games, anything. I just love it.
But I thought I'd be too short.
"I love playing the post
area, but who's ever going to take me, 5-8, or 5-9 with
my shoes on, as a post player."
After a high school
career during which she helped Cleveland to 20-plus wins
both as a junior and senior, she did hear from some
interested college basketball programs.
"In college, I realized
there's no limit to what I can do, even though I'm
short. I just have to put my mind to it," she said. "My
dream used to be for me to be 6-1 on the court, and then
whenever I stepped off to be 5-8."
She admits opposing
players who stand over 6 feet might not fear a 5-foot-8
opponent like her, initially that is.
"I can just see it, with
a 6-2 post player guarding a player like me," Habermas
said. "But all along I'm thinking inside 'You don't know
me yet.' Of course I say it to myself. I don't trash
talk or anything like that because as soon as I would
say something, I'd get my shot blocked."
Balancing athletic
responsibilities -- basketball practice begins in
October and the recent season at Lee lasted from the
first week of November to mid-March -- with academics is
quite a chore for student-athletes. Considering her
accomplishments in both areas, Habermas' balancing act
is more like a high-wire walk.
She has a sparkling 3.94
grade point average at Lee, having made only two grades
of B along the way. Expecting every student to earn
similar grades would be unfair, but Habermas is proof
that lofty goals as a student and athlete can be
achieved.
"With basketball, it (her
schedule) is almost easier sometimes because it's so
regimented with basketball and practice," she said. "You
have that three-hour block with practice where you know
you can't do anything but basketball. So you have to
plan things and times to study. When there is no
basketball, you might think, 'Oh, I have all afternoon.
I'll do it later.'
"Of course there are
nights when you have road trips and don't get in until 4
o'clock in the morning and have a test or a paper. You
just have to stay on top of things."
While determination and
effort have resulted in many successes for Habermas, she
also credits her faith as a guiding influence in her
life.
Her father, Keith
Habermas, is minister of education at Westwood Baptist
Church in Cleveland. This occupation has resulted in
several moves for the Habermas family, the last one to
Cleveland when Sarah was in fifth grade.
So when it came time to
choose a college a few years later, Sarah, who was born
in Georgia and has called several states home along the
way, had ideas similar to other high school seniors --
to leave Cleveland behind.
"I never really wanted to
go to Lee. Honestly. It was in Cleveland and you want to
get away, make your own way away from home, and that's
what I had planned to do," she said. "I had looked at
some schools not too far from home. But every time I'd
go to Lee, I'd think, 'This is nice. I'll keep this in
mind."
Her mother, Marla,
suggested that Sarah attend Lee Day, an annual spring
weekend event for prospective students.
"I went and I just
absolutely loved it," she said. "I loved where it was
going, in education, in sports, everything. It just fit
into what I wanted. The Lord just opened the door for me
to be able to go."
Since then Habermas has
reached her potential as an athlete and pursued her goal
toward an education degree. She has also met her
husband-to-be. Sarah will marry Paul Sausville, a junior
on the men's basketball team, on July 31. A sociology
major, he also wants to teach after graduation.
Sarah, who is currently a
teaching assistant at E.L. Ross Elementary, will fulfill
her student teaching requirements this fall and is
scheduled to graduate in December. She hopes to
eventually have a teaching job in Cleveland, a situation
that would allow her to keep in close contact with a
busy family that includes younger sisters Tracey, a
freshman at Lee, and Missy, a sophomore at Cleveland
High School where she also plays basketball.
"I would enjoy coaching
some day," Sarah said. "Basketball has been a big part
of my life and will continue to be part of my life, even
if it's coaching my sister.
"But the first thing I
want to do is teach. Coaching would definitely be
teaching basketball and that's what I see coaching as, a
teaching tool. In that aspect I'd like to coach."
Taken from the
Cleveland Daily Banner |
