Marissa Milham
mcm011@marietta.edu
Sometimes you visit a place and feel at home from the first step. For Tim Kreeger, a fifth-year senior for the Marietta College men’s basketball team calls Marietta his home. Kreeger said, “This place is really home.” Marietta was the first college he ever visited. He compared every place to this place, and he said, “nobody beat it.” There are multiple reasons for why Marietta is Kreeger’s home away from home, but the friendships that are made throughout the program stick with him. Imagine you are in college on winter break having a big sleepover with your teammates. What was going to be one night with the boys turned into a full winter break sleepover. You start playing game cube and put all the mattresses together on the floor laughing having a great time. This is what Kreeger says when he thinks about the team being a family. “It doesn’t matter what age you are, anything. Everyone treats everyone like family. It’s a brotherhood.”
The foster family program adds to the family aspect of the team. Bonds are formed within the team, but also around the team with these families. The foster family that Kreeger had since his start at Marietta allowed him to get that home away from home atmosphere. The foster family program lets guys like Kreeger get the feel of a family when their families can’t always be in Marietta.
“My parents enjoy it so much because there is someone else that I can confine in if they are not here. My parents have a good bond with them too…it is just one big family. You grow your family with the foster family.”
Kreeger thinks having the foster family program is a great idea. He has been able to connect with a family in the community and build friendships that have turned into unbreakable bonds. From the foster families, parents, and teammates Marietta College men’s basketball is a big family and an experience that everyone that goes through the program cherishes.
Kreeger can see the unbreakable bonds within the team that allows for himself and the team to compete at a high level and be able to go to battle every game. They can be on the same page and as Kreeger said, “There’s no grudges, just great friends on and off the court.” He thinks that having a strong family connection within the team is another reason they can all keep each other accountable on the court. Kreeger said, “You can get on each other on the court, but once you walk off the court it doesn’t matter anymore.” The guys always want to be each other’s biggest supporter. It’s a brotherhood.
Just like Kreeger the program has allowed others to find their home away from home. Harleigh Hanks, a freshman at Marietta College is in her first year being a student manager with the team. She says, “being part of the men’s basketball program allowed me to build friendships within the team that made my experience at Marietta College memorable.” Being a little over three hours from home and the first time away can be scary, but the basketball program allowed for her to feel right at home from the start. “Marietta is my home away from home.”
Being part of the team has allowed for her to adjust to college and find her family just like Kreeger did. Hanks said, “When I first got started as a student manager in Marietta, I didn’t know anyone, but the team welcomed me with open arms which just shows how much of a family the program really is.” Everyone plays a role in the team no matter if it is someone on the court or behind the scenes. What stands out to Hanks is that everyone is treated like family.
Hanks isn’t new to managing basketball. She also was a manager for her high school in Franklin, Ohio. She knew when she was a manager back home that she wanted to continue that aspect of her life in the college setting. Hanks says, “Being a manager in college is definitely different from being a manager in high school in the work aspect of the job, but the relationships that you have with the team makes the job on campus enjoyable and feel like family.”
Hanks has been able to be part of a special and record-breaking season while experiencing the atmosphere of the team while being a member in the support staff. Hanks said, “My first season with the team has been a great experience and seeing the team competing at a high-level making history while having fans back in the stand makes my job even more enjoyable.” You can see the support everyone has for each other, and Hanks believes it makes “Marietta College men’s basketball a program that is more than just basketball, but a family.”
Hanks might not be one of the players on the court, but she is able to see that strong team bond. She said, “Coming to games and being with the team along the sideline you get to see the family atmosphere from the tip off.”
Marietta College men’s basketball can be called a brotherhood or family, but whatever it’s called everyone always has each other’s best interest and has a bond that will be cherished for a lifetime. It doesn’t matter if you are on the court or on the sideline, the team is one, and everyone plays a role in making the program feel like a family away from home.
