After my previous column on the sports background of our Archdiocesan priests, I was surprised to find out that Father Bruce John Hamilton was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in the team category this past year. Father Hamilton was part of the 1979–80 University of Victoria Vikings team, which won the first of seven consecutive national titles for the Island school. I interviewed the new inductee at Corpus Christi Parish, where he has been pastor for 11 years.
BCC: When did you develop an interest in basketball?
Fr. BJH: A friend in high school goaded me into playing.
BCC: Did you have any players that you looked up to?
Fr. BJH: Larry Bird was the first because his work ethic was out of this world. I know how hard I had to work to get to where I was at, but Bird took the work ethic to another level.
BCC: What position did you play?
Fr. BJH: Centre-forward. Our coach, Ken Shields, used the three-centre-forward strategy used by the late John Wooden, who won 10 NCAA championships at UCLA.
BCC: What would you say was your strength as a player?
Fr. BJH: It was an intangible: I never gave up. I was a decent shooter, but I was surrounded by so many great players I just needed to find my role on the team, and I was just a hard worker.
BCC: What made that 1979–80 team so successful?
Fr. BJH: It was the first team to ever win a national championship at UVic, and it started a stretch of seven consecutive titles, an amazing dynasty.
BCC: Did you ever think of turning pro?
Fr. BJH: In my dreams [laughing]! Looking back, I really had to earn everything – nothing was given to me, I can tell you that much.
BCC: How much does being inducted into the Hall of Fame mean to you?
Fr. BJH: To be part of a team as good as this, coached by Ken Shields, was a thrill. It does mean a great deal to me. It was character-building for me. It helped form my life in so many ways.
BCC: What were some of the lessons that you learned from that experience that helped form you as a person?
Fr. BJH: It didn’t all come together at once, but as I reflect and went on to seminary, the main lessons were, No. 1, you must work hard to achieve anything worthwhile in life; No. 2, you must persist in working hard, not just at the start, run the good race; No. 3, being part of a team, there are no lone wolves. Just like the reality of the Church: all of us need a good coach. No. 4, it isn’t over until it is over. Persist to the end. This is the essence of Christianity. This is a profound lesson in our faith: you don’t have to do this – there is freedom, but there are always consequences to the choices we make. If anyone says anything different, they are lying to you and themselves. So you can leave, but what is on the other side of leaving?
BCC: Was there any special memory or game that sticks out in your mind?
Fr. BJH: I knew my role on a team with so many stars, so when we won the nationals in Waterloo, I made this hook shot that I think even coach Shields was probably thinking, “Oh, B.J. made that!” It was a great feeling under pressure.
BCC: Were there any players from your team that you were closer to?
Fr. BJH: Eli Pasquale stands out. He was a player who was very talented, and he worked very hard, which often do not go together. Eli was the one through whom I went back to church. I wasn’t anti-Church at the time, but I was just into me and my basketball. Eli said let’s go to church, so we went, and I heard a sermon that really hit me. I made an appointment with the priest, and to make a long story short, here I am.
BCC: As you experienced yourself, why do you believe so many Catholics (athletic or not) drift from their faith during their university years?
Fr. BJH: Probably it is lack of formation, evangelization, and catechesis. We also get caught up in day-to-day living and lack of a surrounding Catholic community.
BCC: Do you see similarities in how you needed to prepare to become a priest and a high-level athlete?
Fr. BJH: The dynamics are essentially the same (in my estimation), but in becoming an athlete you need to want it. To become a priest you need to be called. You might begin in the seminary wanting it, but eventually you must hear the call (vocation). In both cases you can only win as a team (Pope, bishop, pastor, community …). Being a lone wolf as a priest is not good and will always lead to trouble. We must ask Jesus Christ to help us pursue excellence in all aspects of life, or else we are doing a disservice to those around us. This is what attracts people. It is not so much perfection (meaning never making mistakes) but striving for the best we can be. It is important that we stop trying [to] make excuses like “I am too old” – or whatever it may be. My mother taught me: there is no excuse like a good excuse! Persevere to the end.
BCC: Many in society today, including parents, are making sports their God and missing Mass and the sacraments due to viewing or playing sports. What are your thoughts on this issue?
Fr. BJH: These parents love their children very much, and so they have to think about their priorities. If they do not do this, then the outcome can be tragic. Both faith and sports can be accomplished if one is willing to make sacrifices. If playing many games on Sunday, then get out of bed and go to early Mass or go Saturday evening to the Anticipated Mass. Never negotiate with yourself when it comes to going to Mass. If you can play hard, then pray hard. We are going somewhere in life … not just to the grocery store or home or to school or just six feet under. We need to ask ourselves – are we just going somewhere, or are we going to Someone? You shouldn’t want your kids to just be good citizens of this world but also citizens of the next world. And let us not delude ourselves – heaven is not cheap! Jesus Christ died on the cross for this possibility in our lives. We say grace is “free,” but it is not cheap – so we need to train ourselves and makes sacrifices for the right purpose and goods before us.
BCC: Can you see sports as a potential tool of evangelization?
Fr. BJH: Teach the kids to pursue excellence and winning, but teach them also to lose well. This idea that no one loses is nonsense. Good sportsmanship. Learn from losing, be persistent. Athletes watch videos of the game after a game in order to learn and improve. As Catholics we call this examination of conscience. Sports camps that teach virtues would be a great project. Many Catholics don’t believe they can be saints (this is one of the greatest lies perpetrated by the father of lies and the world), but we need to emphasize to our kids that they can be saints. Parents, help your children discern what God wants them to do, not what someone else or you want them to do. Most young people love to play sports, which is great, but don’t forget to teach them to pray and give God his due – worship in the Mass (which is the virtue of religion). Keep your body fit, but be kind to your soul also.