Zolman’s Homecoming Memorable And Inspiring
NORTH WEBSTER – It was a homecoming worth waiting for as Wawasee’s own “Miss Basketball” Shanna Zolman returned as part of a fundraising event for the North Webster Community Center. Zolman spoke in front of a crowd of nearly 400 family, fans and friends at the NWCC Saturday night.
“We chose to honor Shanna tonight, or really, she chose to honor us by being here,” said North Webster Town Council President Jon Sroufe is his welcoming address.
Sroufe’s welcome message was preceded by a video welcome from Fox 28 sports director Dean Huppert who reminded those in attendance of the early days of “that little girl from Syracuse” with video clips.
Huppert signed off deeming Zolman a “true highlight of the night.” Local sports radio personality Roger Grossman recalled the time a young fan referred to Zolman as,”The greatest thing since peanut butter” before giving the mic to Kem Zolman, Shanna’s father, for him to formally welcome his daughter back home.
Immediately the former “Miss Basketball” made it clear that the night was not for herself but rather for the community that she still calls home.
“First and foremost, thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you,” a jubilant Zolman told the crowd. “No other person has had the backing like the one that I have had from this community.”
Zolman explained that the support from the Wawasee community was so unique that even legendary University of Tennessee women’s head basketball coach Pat Summit was amazed at the following she had.
When talking to her teammates while playing for Tennessee, Zolman quickly discovered that while they were all elite players playing on the highest level, the experience and support she had at Wawasee was completely exclusive.
The crowd was entertained by Zolman’s stories from her days at Tennessee but more moved by what she does now and how she got there.
Zolman now lives in Seattle, Washington and works with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She travels the world spreading the faith that she found at a point when she needed it most.
After being drafted and playing in the WNBA, Zolman’s life was seemingly perfect from the outside looking in, she was getting paid to play a game. That was until her life was “shattered.”
Between her career being cut short from knee injuries to an unfaithful husband ruining her marriage, Zolman suddenly was without the things that she had known so well for so long.
When she ran from the problems and her faith is when God found her and put her on the path that she now walks every day.
“We cannot know who we are until we know whose we are,” Zolman stated. “And we cannot know whose we are until we know Him.”
“I never forget where I am from,” she later added. “I always tell people I am from Indiana, from this community. But I also never forget that I am from the Maker’s hand.”
Zolman stressed to the crowd that there is more to life than sport and financial success and that finding one’s true identity is an amazing breakthrough.
“There’s so much more to life,” Zolman said, smiling ear to ear. “It gets tiring to try and live up to the expectations of somebody else.”
While basketball is no longer a part of her life as she once knew it, she reflected on her greatest memories in the sport, stating that all of them happened while she was at Wawasee.
“My greatest and fondest memories are here,” recalled Zolman. “The best memories aren’t from college or the pros. They are here because playing here was just about the purity of the game that I loved.”
Zolman finished her talk by fielding questions from the crowd ranging from here faith, to her thoughts on class basketball in Indiana, which garnered a few laughs. One fan asked Zolman what the future has in store.
Zolman replied without hesitation and with a confident smile, “Speaking around the country and world on behalf of Jesus Christ.”
Once again the Wawasee community filled a gym to watch Shanna Zolman do what she does best, entertain and inspire. This time she did not need a basketball to do so, instead she captured a faithful crowd with her words and once again left her community wanting more.