March 13, 2009
Resurrection pastor is chaplain of USI’s men’s basketball team
USI basketball player Brandon Carr talks with Father Philip Kreilein during practice. Father Kreilein is the team chaplain for the boys’ basketball team. (Message photo by Mary Ann Hughes) Click for a larger version.
By MARY ANN HUGHES (Message staff writer)
When Brandon Carr was growing up in Baltimore, he didn’t know any Catholic priests, so meeting Father Philip Kreilein was a new experience for him.
It’s also been a good experience, he says.
Brandon is a forward on the University of Southern Indiana’s men’s basketball team; Father Kreilein is the team chaplain. “He prays at dinner,” Brandon said, “and when we go on the road, he prays for our safety.”
He also listens to them. “You can come to Father for anything, and he listens to us. If we have problems, he will listen. I know I can count on him.”
Father Kreilein is the pastor at Resurrection Church on Evansville’s westside. He’s been the team chaplain since 2005 when his parishioner, Rick Herdes, also the USI head basketball coach, asked him to be the team chaplain.
“He was at a parish steak night,” Father Kreilein remembers, “and he said, ‘I need a priest on my bench.’”
The pastor went to the next game and sat with the team. “I was thrilled to do that. I thought it was a one-time deal, but then at the next game, they yelled, ‘Come down here.’”
As he became a fixture at the games, he says “the team started giving me grief if I’m late. They kind of expect me to be there.” That means attending the practices, and pre-games and even away games.
“It’s been a lot of fun. I feel younger being around these young men, and they make me feel part of the team.”
They come to him with their problems, and sometimes when they just need someone to talk to. “They talk about dating and their classroom goals, just things in their lives — but never basketball. One guy said, ‘You are kind of like my father figure.’”
Father Kreilein added, “The longer I am with the team the more trust there is.” He laughs as he thinks of stories he has heard about what the players did in grade school and high school. “I’m sure they have told me things they have never told their parents.”
Many of the players had never been around a Catholic priest before meeting Father Kreilein. “It takes them a little while to understand why I am here.”
As he gets to know them, he sees the difficulties they face, how they cope with being far away from home and having the pressures of the “coaches, the fans — and themselves. They put so much pressure on themselves.”
During the games, he sits on the end of the bench “in my [Roman] collar. It’s a statement,” he believes, explaining, “They [the fans] know it’s a Catholic priest.”
He grew up in Jasper and basketball was a big part of his childhood. “I did that on the weekends, and I always followed I.U. basketball.”
The transition to being a team chaplain “is fun,” he said. “I really enjoy it.”
Sometimes he travels with the team, riding on the team bus.
On those occasions, “we usually leave on Wednesday, and get back late Saturday night. I have Sunday Masses, and get a substitute on Saturday. It’s a great diversion from ordinary parish things.”
People are starting to recognize him in Evansville because of his USI connection. “I came out of a funeral home one time, and a couple said, ‘Oh look, it’s the USI priest,” he said, laughing at the memory. “They knew me. I just didn’t know them.”
Coach Herdes said Father Kreilein serves as a “sounding board for our guys. I’m not easy to play for. I’m very demanding, and he can be a sounding board for them.
“He has such a great personality, and he breaks it down for them. He knows I have their best interest at heart, and if they need someone to talk to, he’s always available.
“He loves sports and basketball, and I’m fortunate to have him.”
Father Kreilein feels fortunate too. “It’s something to look forward to, to get the juices flowing. You enjoy the event a whole lot more when you are part of it, and you know the pre-game strategies. When they do the plays, and when they work, it’s really exciting. I really enjoy it a lot.”