Inspire, Summer 2012

Points Well-Taken by Sarah (Bartlett) Borich ’02 After four decades with the Yellow Jackets, Shirley knows the score. Many things have changed about Yellow Jacket basketball through the years. Coaches and players have come and gone, championships have been won and lost, and yes, even uniform styles have evolved (thankfully, some might say). One thing, however, remains the same. Dr. Shirley Schneider, one of Cedarville’s most loyal friends, has faithfully backed the Jackets — all the way. For Love of the Game The retired dentist from Springfield, Ohio, first got involved in Cedarville basketball through former men’s head coach Don Callan and his wife, Nedra, who were her patients. “Around 1970 or so, they invited me to a tournament at Grace College,” Schneider explained. “I had never accepted an offer like that before — but I decided to go.” It didn’t take long for Schneider to get hooked on the game. Soon after attending that tournament, she began serving as scorekeeper for all the men’s away games. “They didn’t have anyone to do it at that time,” she recalled. “I just started paying my own way to travel, along with Nedra, wherever they went — Canada, Florida, you name it. One of my main investments in the athletic program was keeping score for at least 25 years before I ever saw a paycheck.” When the University did begin paying her, she chose to invest her payment back into the athletic department. “It was just something I wanted to do,” she added. Schneider’s scorekeeping duties soon expanded to include the men’s home games and, later, all the women’s basketball games as well. Now, more than 40 years later, Schneider remains a fixture at the scorekeeper’s table representing the Yellow Jackets to countless players, coaches, officials, and fans. For the Testimony of Jesus Christ Her literal front-row seat to Cedarville basketball has left Schneider with loads of memories. Following the games, she would call the stats into the newspaper. These were the days before cell phones and computer stats, so Schneider would call after home games from the Callans’ home in Cedarville. When they were on the road, she remembers standing outside at a pay phone in all kinds of weather. It’s that kind of dedication that has led Schneider to support the Jackets with annual gifts for 37 consecutive years. Her giving is motivated by a very special quality that sets Cedarville’s athletic 26 SUMMER 2012