(Charlotte, North Carolina) Charlotte Smith, the "winningest head women's basketball coach" in Elon University's history is also the former University of North Carolina women's basketball star who shot the game winning basket in the 1994 national championship game.
And Charlotte loves God--even more than basketball.
(Rather hear the story?)
Charlotte grew up as a "PK" (preacher's kid).
"I grew up in the church; my father was a pastor and my mom was first lady so we spent a lot of days in the church...and just grew up to know about God. Just always had a love for God and have always tried to live a life that would bring Him glory," Charlotte shared.
Charlotte said of going to college at the University of North Carolina, "It was a dream of a lifetime. To be able to play at what that time was considered the highest level, the collegiate level. I had always had dreams of becoming a Tar Heel because I was a huge fan of Michael Jordan and so just had the opportunity to live out my childhood dreams."
In 1994, Charlotte's team was playing for the national championship. It was a big deal--they had been preparing for it for three years. All the practice, sweat and effort culminated in a big game in Richmond, Virginia.
"The game was nip and tuck. It was one of those games where you wanted to pull away so you could find some level of comfort but it came all the way down to the wire, coming down to the last seven-tenths of a second."
Charlotte's coach had called a time out and said, "we're going for the win and not the tie."
"Somebody's gonna have to take a three-point shot, I'm looking around in the huddle thinking 'who's she gonna choose because I know it's not gonna be me because I'm not the best three-point shooter on the team,'" Charlotte recalled.
Her coach looked at her and said, "Charlotte, you're gonna take the shot."
Even with the incredible pressure, Charlotte prayed to God and nervously took the shot and watched as the ball went into the basket. With that perfect play, her team won the National Championship.
Tremendous media attention followed (magazine covers, national television interviews, etc.) and eventually, Charlotte went on to a successful career as a professional women's basketball player.
But after all of the attention that she received in college, life wasn't the same as a pro.
Charlotte realized that she loved basketball more than God. And she needed God more than basketball.
Charlotte lamented her former success and attention and was actually irritated with God for not giving her what she wanted.
Charlotte shared, "I felt like Holy Spirit said, 'I hear you, but what have you done for Me? What have you done for Me lately? What have you done to bring Me glory?' And that shifted my whole perspective. I spent so many years being self-absorbed, being selfish and not really thinking about how I could utilize this amazing platform to build a kingdom."
Charlotte Smith is now the coach at Elon University for the women's basketball team and shares Jesus every chance she gets with the women that she coaches.
"I get so much joy out of being able to tell them about my experiences. I often say that your transparency can be the key to someone else's victory. Oftentimes when people look at my life, they just see the success, the tip of the iceberg but they don't see what's underneath. And so I'm very transparent with my players about the struggles that I went through as a player; the struggles I even go through as a leader, as a coach. It brings you to a posture of humility and humanity."
Coach Charlotte leads devotions and Bible studies on the road and recently, one player gave her life to Christ.
"A team that prays together stays together so it's one of the pillars of our program--our faith."