The beginning of Houghton's fall semester marks the start of another year of the Athletics Department's pursuit of their motto, "Excellence for the Glory of God." While excellence is at the core of Houghton's sports, how does it take shape within the department itself? How do Houghton's athletes live up to the daily expectation of excellence? Dr. Matthew Webb, Houghton's Director of Athletics, gives a new perspective on the idea of what excellence is and how it is lived out among Houghton's teams and student-athletes.
 
"I think a misconception would be that excellence equates perfection…I don't think that's the case. To me, excellence is more about sort of a pursuit of it," says Webb.
 
To Webb, excellence is more than just perfection. He points out that it's impossible to become a perfect athlete, a perfect student, or a perfect worker. What matters more is whether or not Houghton's athletes are giving their best.
 
"We're not going to be perfect," says Webb. "But I think we can still be excellent without being perfect." He goes on to connect that pursuit of excellence with Houghton's emphasis on Christian faith. Like the pursuit of excellence within athletics, Webb says that we are never going to be perfect Christians. But what matters more is our pursuit of God, not how good we look doing it.
 
When looking at examples of excellence in Houghton's athletes, Webb looks beyond just wins and losses. While wins are great, Webb wants to delve deeper into the culture of a team.
 
"The excellence that I see in our programs is more behind the scenes," he says. "You don't necessarily see it practically every day, but it would be the culture, things that teams are doing to pursue Christ culturally."
 
Each Houghton team, according to Webb, demonstrates their culture differently. The men's basketball team sits together at the front during Houghton's chapel services. The women's soccer team has their annual cross run, running a large wooden cross across campus to pray and fellowship together. While these traditions and team practices aren't on display for everyone to see, they demonstrate the depth of culture and the commitment of each Houghton team's pursuit of excellence.
 
During the first week of classes, the department held its annual all-athlete meeting. Even though the meeting focuses on the mandatory stuff and department policies and expectations, Webb tries to make it a deeper experience that "helps to frame why we're doing what we're doing." On top of performing well athletically, Webb hopes that each athlete grows closer with Jesus through the context of their sport and their team.
 
Looking ahead to the rest of the athletic year, Webb talks about what he hopes to see from each team. "Each team has its own unique sort of [place] where they're at and their history," he says. For some teams that are going into the season with new coaches, he hopes to see them building their culture. But for everyone, he hopes to see them building on last year's successes. With such a promising start for the fall sports, both athletically and culturally, Houghton's continued pursuit of excellence is already underway.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kyra Binney is a senior writing major from Lewisburg, Pa., and a member of the Houghton cross country and track & field teams. She is serving as an intern in Sports Information during the fall semester.