Family is the anchor of one’s spiritual, emotional, and psychological strength. Therefore, by losing a member, one’s world crumbles. It is at such moments that such student-athletes need moral, psychological, and spiritual backing from their chaplains and other close associates. A chaplain’s core duty is to revive and support emotionally and psychologically broken people back to normal functioning.
Thus, chaplains should acknowledge the impact the passing of the family member has had on the student and compassionately allow them to grieve. Waller and Cottom define compassion as “a complex emotion that allows caregivers to hold and sustain themselves in emotional balance while also holding an individual’s despair in one hand and their hopefulness in the other.” Such an ability shows how caring they are and help the student heal.
More so, on a biblical connotation, the chaplain should play the role of the good shepherd who compassionately cares for their flock. Given the hardships associated with losing a family member, such a role bonds them more with the student as it is their role to guide and counsel the student back to normal life. Furthermore, students can confide in them if they have more troubling issues hindering their performance. Thus, a chaplain’s role in a sports fraternity is of great pertinence as he provides spiritual advice, emotional advice, and psychological counseling when needed.