NBA chaplain Andy Riemersma uses music and pastoral care to reach players on brink of careers
Andy Riemersma is the Noblesville Boom chaplain. He uses his gifts of music and pastoral care to help players on the brink of their careers.
NOBLESVILLE — “So many days, I never thought I’d make it out. So many days I thought about shutting down. ” - Andy Riemersma, New Day Andy Riemersma will sing those lyrics from his latest song, “New Day,” in roughly seven minutes.
A crowd of Noblesville Boom fans and a few players from the Pacers’ G-League affiliate are waiting to hear the team chaplain perform. But for now, Riemersma is in the tunnel by Section 8 inside the Arena at Innovation Mile. The 30-year-old hip-hop artist is swaying his arms back and forth to loosen his body.
His knees aren’t as weak, and his arms aren’t as heavy as they were the first time he performed a spoken word as a sophomore at Indiana Wesleyan in 2016. But he’s still anxious. He contemplates doing push-ups to calm his nerves before bending down to tie his Jordan 11 Concord sneakers.
The performance holds weight. Riemersma always wanted to play in the NBA. His 5-11 frame and three concussions in high school derailed his dreams.
Continue to the original source for the full article.