Royals Sports Teams: Winning Ethically Is the Goal

Story by Jeremy Villanueva, Vice Principal

On the court, the Atholton Adventist Academy (AAA) Royals play with a sense of higher calling. Nothing illustrates this better than one moment during a tightly contested men’s volleyball match. A hard-driven spike from the opposing team sailed long and was ruled out. As the Royals team and AAA fans erupted in celebration, player Oluwatishe Popoola signaled to Head Coach Geofferey Hyde, swiping his fingers together to indicate he had touched the ball while trying to block the spike. No one had seen it, but Popoola felt the contact and knew the point should belong to the opposing team. Hyde notified the referee, who reversed the call, awarding the point to the opponent.

At AAA, win or lose, playing ethically is the highest calling. The Royals lost that game, but in one quiet moment of honesty, Popoola demonstrated a different kind of victory—one measured, not on the scoreboard, but in character.

Hyde says, “The goal is winning ethically every single time. It’s more important than the scoreboard.” This is reflected especially in the way the men’s volleyball teams play—with honesty and integrity, routinely calling out infractions on themselves that referees miss, playing with joy and effort, and celebrating good plays, even from the opposing team. They play with sportsmanship, win with dignity and lose gracefully—never putting down their opponents.

This type of play hasn’t gone unnoticed. Parents and coaches from opposing teams have stopped Hyde to say, “Your team is different.” And one player from another team was so impressed by the Royals’ integrity and sportsmanship that he drove an hour just to watch them play.

At AAA, students are urged to always wear their crowns so that their actions and motives align with their identities as sons and daughters of Jesus, the King of kings. In this way, on and off the court, the AAA Royals live out the words of Jesus found in Matthew 5:16: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (NIV).

This purpose has not been lost on the players. When asked why his team continually calls infractions that referees miss, Popoola states, “Honesty and integrity doesn’t just keep the game more fun, it also shows that you are a child of God. Others will see that too.”