Sports, injuries, and a dream come true

February 13, 2013

When you hear “dual-sport athlete” you probably don’t think of football and hockey.

Benton Gibbons of Brantford Ontario grew up playing many sports, excelling in rugby, football and hockey. While in high school, Benton was asked to join the Owen Sound Greys Junior B hockey team. “I decided to stay in high school and stop playing competitive hockey,” says Benton, whose two older brothers each played five years of McMaster Marauders football.

Not surprisingly, football became his first passion, and it paid off. He was offered a scholarship to Evangel University, a Christian school in Springfield, Missouri. There, he had what he calls an “amazing” experience: “It was the first time I saw God and sports incorporated together – guys were really being challenged. We had chapel once a week, leaders on the team took responsibility, and God really worked in the guys’ lives.”

In Benton’s second year at university, during two-a-day training camp practices, a new thread wove its way into what would become the story of Benton’s athletic career. He experienced a minor concussion in morning practice and, later that afternoon, was knocked out cold with a second concussion. His life would never be the same. “I was back and healthy in seven weeks, cleared to play, and it was the second-last week before the season ended on a normal day, while I was reaching for a ball. I got hit on the chin and dislocated my jaw. I woke up in the hospital after four CAT scans, four MRIs and four x-rays. They put a cage around my jaw to hold it together. It was the worst experience of my life.”

Benton grimly recalls the next two months spending every moment in a dark room, leaving only to eat. “I was tested every day to see if my brain had healed, but it hadn’t.” He was sent home at Christmas only to collapse in convulsions. He began experiencing inexplicable bleeding from the nose and ears and was unable to receive any more CAT scans. “It took me to the bottom of my life,” says Benton.

“I always knew God loved me and had a purpose, and I never strayed from that, it just seemed not one thing had gone right in so long. It felt like God was done with me, that He had moved on. I felt completely alone.”

One weekend he attended a youth conference and had four nosebleeds in the service. Afterwards, he asked for prayer from the preacher. Even after being prayed for, he felt pain when he left, and more pain that night. But incredibly – miraculously – he had no more pain the next morning, nor has he since.

“God had to strip me of everything I was taking advantage of. I wasn’t sold out completely to him. I was a star playing in an American school and God had to strip me of what he had blessed me with.” Benton references one of his favourite images of God: “He will take 999 steps just so you can take one and meet with him.”

So Benton decided to give it all to God. “My very first interaction with AIA at National Training Camp was life-changing. I had always thought sports and Sunday were different things; AIA put them together.” Although Benton was truly excited about the ministry that seemed like a natural fit, the relationship was briefly postponed one day when he received an unexpected call from an old hockey coach.

One thing led to another (including six months of rigorous training) and Benton was signing a contract with the Huntsville Havoc hockey team of the SPHL. It was a dream come true, but one that was not to last. “I signed a contract, and the next practice dislocated my knee. I knew God was saying ‘Go back.’ I did my dream, it was time to go back to work.”

Benton is now a full-time staff member with AIA (and finally healthy!), busy raising support so he can disciple young athletes who may be walking a similar road he did. “I really have a passion to disciple kids coming out of high school. Christians go to college and get away from church – I really want to help disciple that age group.”

One Response to “Sports, injuries, and a dream come true”

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• Sandy & Bonnie Bender says:

  February 18, 2013 at 5:32 am

  We were so touched by your story Benton and know God has an amazing plan for your life as you share with others who need to know God cares about every part of their lives too. We sent a small monthly donation in the mail last week and will look forward to hearing great things.
  Love Aunt Bonnie & Uncle Sandy