In the Charles Koch Arena practice gym, the Wichita State women’s basketball team gathered around to hear some words of advice from Sen. Roger Marshall. 

Marshall said he has played basketball since he was 5 years old and knew firsthand the life experiences that sports teach. 

“I loved playing basketball growing up and just to share some of those experiences,” Marshall said. “I kind of got a feel for what they’re going through as well, and I just wanted to share an encouraging word with them.”

He told the team that sports teaches many life lessons such as learning how to get through adversity.

“I tried to share that sports teaches us so many lessons of life … just the pressures of something as simple as shooting a free throw with one second left and your teams down by one,” Marshall said. 

Marshall shared his life’s philosophy, the “three-legged stool,” which refers to being physically prepared, mentally prepared and spiritually right.

He said that growing up in Kansas, he played in grade school all the way through to high school. 

Head coach Terry Nooner said he wants to introduce his players to people from all different walks of life. 

“(I) just to expose them to people that do a bunch of different things because they need to be exposed to that stuff once they get out of the athletic bubble of being a basketball player,” Nooner said. 

Nooner said that most of the things Marshall said are things that the coaching staff says to the team. 

“Just hearing it from a different person who is not around all the time,” Nooner said. “He’s from a different demographic than me and my staff and my coaches … just to hear from a U.S. senator is great.