While growing up, Taber Spani didn't go to school. Instead, the classroom came to her.
The Tennessee women's basketball freshman and her four sisters were home-schooled. In their case, it meant scattering to five different parts of their Lee's Summit, Mo., home and watching DVDs provided by Pensacola, (Fla.) Christian Academy.
"They'd set up a camera in the back of the classroom,'' the 6-foot-1 guard said. "So you'd kind of watch your classes and then you'd have all of your homework and all of your tests and my mom would oversee it."
Spani still was able to play basketball. Since mom didn't play teacher's pet, there was no cutting corners on her education either.
"For me, it was built-in,'' she said. "But I think it would take a lot of discipline, just because when you're by yourself, it's always natural to not want to do something. I loved it."
Along with diligence, Spani has a built-in devotion to family and football, along with a desire for her faith to resonate in her life.
Q: Are you a big football fan?
A: Saturdays, if I'm not doing a workout, which I'll probably come in and shoot, but after that it's reserved for football.
Q: What position would you have played?
A: I'd either have been a linebacker - because that's what my dad was and I love to hit, I love that part - or I'd be a quarterback."
Q: Your dad (Gary) was a star player at Kansas State and with the Kansas City Chiefs. Did you hear a lot of stories growing up?
A: When I was born my dad had already been retired a couple of years. It's mostly from people ... old buddies. They'll just start talking about it. My dad was ferocious. He was a worker. He was the ultimate worker. He'd run 50 40s every Wednesday in college. He didn't start, I don't think, until maybe midway through his freshman year. He didn't get a chance. And then somebody got hurt and he went in and he had 20-some tackles his first game in college. He kind of took off from there."
Q: You told me before of your admiration for Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. What is it about him?
A: What I love about him is he was home schooled. His beliefs are very similar. Most importantly, it's just the way he's an all-out leader. I love his passion for the game, the way he absolutely leads his team. He's going to do whatever he can. Maybe people will say he's not the most skilled athletically, but he gets the job done and he's going to will his team to victory. I kind of want to be the Tim Tebow of women's basketball - use my platform to influence people."
Q: What do you think when you hear about all of the mission work he does?
A: I love it. Obviously his parents, their missionary work is a tremendous outreach. I don't know what I want to do here, but I want to get involved somehow. I just feel like as athletes, especially at top programs like Tennessee, you only have four years. We have a platform, We have a chance to influence people. If you don't take advantage of that, I think that's sad, and I think that's really selfish. I'm going to do whatever I can. Obviously it comes hand-in-hand with performance, so I'm going to work my tail off on the court."
Q: How do you want your life to reflect your faith?
A: I want people to see Jesus through me. I want it to be clear who I am. I know that some people aren't going to agree with that but that doesn't really faze me. I want to be known as someone who's the ultimate competitor but loves you to death."
Dan Fleser covers the Lady Vols. He can be reached at fleserd@knoxnews.com.
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Comments » 34
vol4gzus writes:
Better to have Quality character than to be known as a character.... Young lady let Jesus shine through via your compassion for others and your work ethic in thr classroom and on the court. Go LADY VOLS!!!
ladivolfan writes:
This young lady has been graced by God with a platform to share her faith, just as Tebow has been given. I have no doubt she will hear "well done, My good and faithful servant".
bemami writes:
Happy to see that she is a person of faith, but I'm puzzled that she dreams of being a linebacker and hitting people. Seems counter intuitive, or maybe passive aggressive--a urge to be religious countered by an urge to strike out and dominate others. Whatever happened to "Love they neighbor as thyself" and "Blessed are the peacemakers" ? Could she ponder a bit further the words of the Prince of Peace? Just wondering. May she grow in faith and seek to love all of God's children.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Do you mean that people DON'T have different sides to their personality? That they DON'T sometimes have contradictory traits and impulses? Gee, I guess I never knew that. Didn't Jesus use force to drive the moneychangers out of the temple? For that matter, didn't he say that he came not to bring peace but a sword? I don't mean to be ragging on you, but to me Spani is no different than many young people except that she seems to have a very high degree of self-awareness. I hope we have ample opportunity to see both her caring and dominating sides while she is here. She seems smart and mature enough to know which traits are appropriate in which settings.
bemami writes:
Dear John,
Yes, I see your point, that people have different sides to their personalities. But isn't the essence of Christianity the imitation of Christ? I seem to remember something about "blessed are the meek"... but maybe not in Tennessee.
The militant faith ( you call it "the dominating side"?) you seem to advocate has brought a deal of grief to the world. Perhaps you and this young woman might consider the witness of groups such as the Quakers, the Amish, and the Mennonites. Peace, my friend. Better for your blood pressure.
volfan2002 writes:
What a shooter this player is and her range is like 30 plus feet. She is gonna be a great player for us and a great person she is everything you want an athlete to be.
YankeeVol writes:
I am all for watching teams play good basketball and leaving church and religion as a very private matter. Please - everyone should be as religious as they want, quietly and without impinging upon others. Leave it in your personal life.
AppreciativeAlum writes:
"Meek" means "trainable," as in, "that horse is meek."
Not resentful of instruction (that may sting).
Second and third definitions reflect a confusion of the ability to learn with a weakness of will... Maybe from sloppy hearing. Meek and weak sound the same and look sort of the same in written text and as observed behavior, but they are not the same.
She should be a perfect match for Pat.
west_tn_volfan writes:
Why would that make you happy? Do you hate Christians that much? Do you really think a Christian shouldn't be allowed to live their faith in a country founded on the Judeo-Christian belief system? Also, comparing Evangelicals to the Inquisition is truly pathetic. I haven't seen any Evangelicals torturing people and neither have you.
west_tn_volfan writes:
Of course I will not follow an Islamic belief system and no one is forcing you to follow the Christian faith. The question was why shouldn't she be allowed to live her faith? Show me a case in this country where Christians force people to convert to Christianity.You can't. You have every right to hate Christians to your hearts content but you can't make the arguement that your being forced to be one simply by someone else being one.
TnWalker writes:
long_vol ... Christianity does indeed have some dark times in its past, but it has also provided some of the best that humanity has to offer ... including most hospitals, mental institutions, orphanages, and many other institutions. I've never seen a hospital or orphanage founded by atheists. I'm not saying they don't exist, but that there is a heavy Christian bent to the founding of these institutions.
I'm sorry that you were offended by the preacher at your parent's funeral, especially if it was against the wishes of your parent. However, I would hope that the service honored your parent's wishes. If not, you have every reason to be upset about it.
YankeeVol - although you may prefer to keep your religious affiliation private, others may feel differently than you do. This difference of opinion doesn't make you right and them wrong ... it's just a difference. If you don't want to read stories about a young lady's faith, then click to another page. If someone is talking publicly about their sex life (which many in this day and age do ... and which I personally think is a more private matter than religious beliefs), then I go somewhere else.
Say what you want, but I'd rather my children grow up wanting to emulate this young lady or Tim Tebow than Gene Simmons or Simon Cowell any day.
YankeeVol writes:
History lesson, my friend: this country was founded specifically to escape religious impingement. That would be why the separation of church and state is such a prominent marker in our development as a nation.
YankeeVol writes:
I don't believe my comments were intended to stifle anyone. Just offering an opposing point of view, and a badly needed one at that.
reachkim00 writes:
Couldn't have said it better myself! I totally agree with you uconnsux, my feelings EXACTLY.
Welcome to the Lady Vol Nation Taber! I am impressed with everything about you young lady and can't wait till Nov. 5th tip-off!!!!
GO LADY VOLS!!!!!!!!!
LadyVolFanForever writes:
Haven't read the govols comments for a while and most of these remind me why !
Welcome to Knoxville Taber and best of luck as a Lady Vol !!!
YankeeVol writes:
Awwww C'mon... you love it. No better way to start a slow Monday at work. What would we do without these diversions?
west_tn_volfan writes:
You said you wanted to slug the pastor for preaching his beliefs. I guess you only hurt the ones you love.Right?
west_tn_volfan writes:
Your the one who needs a history lesson. All the constitution says is that congress wont establish an official state church like the Church of England. Separation of church and state is not mentioned in our constitution but interestingly enough, it is mentioned in the communist manifesto and in the former USSR's constitution.
98reax writes:
This might be a good forum to talk women's hoops. Why don't we start over?
This Taber kid sounds like a leader to me. I'm anxious to see if she will indeed use these skills on the court. I hope so. I'm looking forward to some hooptalk.
How 'bout you guys stay on-topic and save your non-basketball mishmosh for another forum? It's not why we log onto gvx. ok?
west_tn_volfan writes:
Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptists is not part of the Constitution. It only expressed his personal opinion. It is also interesting that in that letter, he only stated that the federal government could not help them in their problem with the state of New York because the constitution would not allow the feds to get involved on either side. The state of New York was free to continue their practice unimpeded.
tonyvick#213307 writes:
"Cain't we all just get along..." Anyway Taber let me make it easy for you here, Just Win (games) for it seems you have already won the game of life.
reachkim00 writes:
Amen 98reax.
GO LADY VOLS!!!!!
YankeeVol writes:
A history lesson AND an english lesson. God bless those who use correct grammar.
Volfantm writes:
Since the article itself doesn't stick to basketball I think that allows for more wide ranging discussion. It's home schooling I don't care for, too focused on facts without enough reasoning ability. Allowing home schoolers to participate only in athletics is something I can't support. If you want any public education, get the whole thing. Trying not to focus on the home schooling for religious indoctrination groups but surely you've seen the videos. Descending from soapbox.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
I'm not advocating any kind of faith; that it is up to each person. I'm just saying that, according to the Bible, even Jesus had different sides to His personality. As for imitating Christ, since, as I said above, He used force to drive out the moneychangers, it is NOT out of character for a Christian to use force in appropriate situations. I agree that overly-aggressive "Christians" have caused a lot of grief in the world, just as have fanatics of many religions. BTW, I DO take medication for high blood pressure, but I assure you the cause of it is NOT excessive religious fervor(;-P)!
west_tn_volfan writes:
Yeah,if you can't win an arguement just change the subject.
paint1red writes:
To Taber her faith in God is not just religion. It is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. My daughter played highschool basketball on the same team with Taber so we were blessed to get to know Taber and her family. They are the real deal. As coaches, her parents led the girls to play hard on the court but reach out a caring hand on the sidelines. Many of the hardest competitors our girls team faced were also great friends. Just like in the book WHEN THE GAME IS OVER IT ALL GOES BACK IN THE BOX by John Ortberg. Games are fun to watch and fun to play, but in the end...where are you going to spend eternity. I am confident Taber would tell you the same thing. Go Lady VOLS!! Go Taber!!
mississippi writes:
Thank you!!!
Go Taber & Lady Vols!!!!
kazoo writes:
I'm sure Spani is a great kid--but home schooling is pretty pathetic, IMO. It's what christian parents do to keep their kids from learning about science and evolution. It's sad to see how christianity warps the brains of these people a bit: They'd rather believe in some nonexistent myth than real science--and they are always pushing this bs on others. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is. If I told people there were an invisible alien in my backyard, I'd be institutionalized. But call that alien "god" and it's wonderful! welcome to the weird world of america...
utfan00 writes:
It's time to let Taber and her religion rest. Disputing about her beliefs is nonsense. Let's talk about the lady vols basketball team. Our 5
starters --Angie, Kelly,Shikenna,Taber, and Brianna How is Baugh's recovery? NCAA CHAMPIONS
LOOK OUT!!!!
YankeeVol writes:
Blessed are the peacemakers. Or the pacemakers, depending on your situation.
LadyVolFanForever writes:
There are tons of Lady Vol fans who follow our team online. BUT, most of us are paying to us using the monitored blog on THE SUMMITT where players, fans and posters are not attacked and comments are restricted to the subject. A very refreshing approach in my opinion !
johnlg00#206211 writes:
I am a product of public schools, I used to teach in them, and my wife does so now, but to call ALL home-schooling "pathetic" makes no more sense than to call ALL public schooling "fabulous" or whatever. Many home-schoolers do extremely well in college and in life, and don't appear particularly stunted in their social and emotional lives. And although I am not particularly religious myself, there have been many great scientists and other thinkers both in the past and in the present who managed to reconcile strong faith with a critical mind. I admit that I don't really know how they do it, but the evidence that many do is undeniable. Our science is hardly infallible; indeed, the farther we probe into advanced physics, the fewer things seem explainable by logic and experimentation. Where I part company with the DOGMATICALLY religious is in their belief that it IS infallible. When any particular aspect of their belief is disproven, they either say that it doesn't matter or they change the subject but what remains IS infallible.
tnboy76 writes:
Why is it when people choose to homeschool their children people automatically think they are either brainwashing them or making them unsocialized. You never see people say parents who choose to put their children in a Christian or private school are brainwashing them. Research has proven that children who are homeschooled are generally smarter and do better in school. There are so many social opportunities for homeschoolers that the old argument that they are unsocialized or hermits is true. There are sports programs, co-ops, bands, etc. for homeschoolers now-a-days.
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