Waxahachie, Texas – June 21, 2017- For Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) women’s basketball senior Ebony Colbert , she decided it was time to step outside of her comfort zone. Nearly 5,000 miles outside of her comfort zone to be exact. Colbert spent part of the summer before her senior season training and competing around Spain.
Colbert had the opportunity to play in Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona. For Colbert, this was a step toward a goal she set for herself years before, “I decided to take the opportunity to play overseas because I made up my mind while I was in high school to continue to play basketball after college. Getting the opportunity to travel overseas to play this summer gave me the perfect chance to see how it is to play outside of the country.”
During the school year, SAGU Women’s Basketball Coach Tiffany Phillips received an email from one of the coaches with Beyond Sport . They were looking for players to play on a team against professional and club teams in Spain and wanted to know if Colbert would be interested. Since it aligned so closely with her dream from high school, she jumped at the chance. Colbert was then chosen by her stats and coaches recommendation.
“I knew when they reached out to Ebony that she would have interest, but I didn’t know how passionate she would be about it. She really showed me a level of commitment that I want to have in a leader on our team,” explains Coach Phillips.
For the 2017-2018 season, Colbert will be the only senior on the women’s basketball team. After this past season, Coach Phillips told Colbert that
she would be relying on her to be a vocal leader for the young Lady Lions. Colbert believes the experience in Spain will help her that area, “I tend to lead by action and not as much with words. I had a previous coach tell me I was a ‘silent killer’. I have always stepped up for my team if I needed to, but now I am really ready to step up and lead this team in a positive way so we can go higher than we have ever been.”
Since returning from Spain, Phillips has witnessed a completely different player, “Since she has been home she has been at the gym everyday working on her game. Her passion seems to have been ignited. I think that this is a great jump start for her senior season.”
The experience has provided a jump start for her senior season and it has been a step towards a dream being fulfilled. Now more than ever, Colbert wants to continue to play overseas after graduation.
Beyond Sport is a global organization that promotes, supports and celebrates the use of sport to address social issues in communities around the world. We do this through convening, supporting and advising the worlds of sport, business, government, and development on how sport can be used as a tool to achieve both social and business objectives.
Southwestern Assemblies of God University is a private, Christian university located 30 minutes south of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Waxahachie, Texas. The university was established in 1927, and now offers more than 70 associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees on campus or online. More information is available at www.sagu.edu or by calling 1-888-YES-SAGU.
Contact: Natalie Tristan, SAGU SID, [email protected]
