Full-court faith: Catholic upbringing is at the heart of Pacers’ coach Jim O’Brien’s life
Indiana Pacers’ head coach Jim O’Brien pumps his fist during a preseason game against the Seattle Supersonics on Oct. 13, 2007. In an interview with The Criterion, O’Brien talked about his faith, his Catholic education, his marriage, his efforts to change the make-up of the Pacers, and the way that his youngest child, who has Down syndrome, has touched and changed his family’s life.
(Submitted photo courtesy Indiana Pacers)
By John Shaughnessy
Indiana Pacers’ head coach Jim O’Brien smiled and shook his head in awe as he told a revealing story about his father—the same story he shared recently with his fellow parishioners during a Sunday Mass at St. Mary Church in Indianapolis.
O’Brien noted how his father, Bill, supported his wife, Sis, and their eight children by working as a police officer for 22 years in “the toughest precinct” in Philadelphia.
“He saw a lot of bad things,” O’Brien recalled about his late father.
Yet even with the horror and tragedy that he witnessed on a daily basis, his father was one of the most joy-filled people that O’Brien has ever known.
“My father just had a way of appreciating all the little gifts from God in life,” O’Brien noted. “He was very Christ-centered. His joy came from the fact that everything in his life revolved around Christ.”
And because he saw his life as a gift from God, Bill O’Brien never faltered from sharing his gifts with the Church.
“My father never made more than $22,000 a year in his whole life,” O’Brien said. “And we had a household of 10 people. He always joked that if he died, we’d have enough money to last until next Tuesday. But he always believed that you really needed to support your parish. The Church always got 10 percent [of his income]. He never talked about it, but it just was obvious in his actions how he felt about it. He was a very generous guy.”
The story of his father’s influence on him is one of the insights that the 56-year-old O’Brien shared in an interview with The Criterion. O’Brien also talked about his faith, his Catholic education, his marriage, his efforts to change the make-up of the Pacers, and the way that his youngest child, who has Down syndrome, has touched and changed his family’s life.
Here is an edited version of the conversation with O’Brien, who is starting his second season as the head coach of the Pacers.
You graduated from Roman Catholic High School and St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. You were also a head coach at Wheeling Jesuit University and the University of Dayton. All Catholic schools. What impact has Catholic education had in your life?
O’Brien: It’s been my whole foundation. When I grew up, I was one of eight children who lived three blocks from our parish, St. Stephen’s in Philadelphia. And my parents were very much into their faith and made sure all eight of their children grew up knowing how important our Church was. And they made sure the sacraments were a huge part of our lives. It’s really the center of everything that is important in my life.
You mentioned your mom and dad. What do you think you learned from your parents about your faith and making it a part of your life?
O’Brien: My mother was one of 11 children. She had a brother that was a priest and two sisters that were nuns. At points in their lives, both were missionaries. One was a missionary in Peru. The other was a missionary in India. They were always around our house and they had a really positive impact on all of us, as well as my parents did.
My father was a devout Catholic, but was not a person that beat you over the head with his religion. He was more of a guy who let you feel your own way. It was interesting. Sometimes I give talks and I talk about my parents. My mom was the dean of discipline and my dad was the dean of happiness. Even though my parents were very Catholic, they would just try to pass on the joy of Catholicism, and why the sacraments were so important to all of us.
Any specific memories in your Catholic education that stand out to you?
O’Brien: I was always an altar boy. I think the turning points were around the sacraments. First holy Communion was always a huge part of our lives. In college, I was a business major but my favorite subjects were theology and philosophy, just because I liked things that made you think and go to a deeper level than normally.
When Father Michael O’Mara at St. Mary Parish recently asked you and your wife, Sharon, to speak during the Masses for the parish’s Legacy for Our Mission campaign, was that something you had to think about or was that something you wanted to do?
O’Brien: When we were looking for a place to live in Indianapolis, we knew we wanted to live downtown. When we said it’s important for us to be near a parish, we were told that we probably wouldn’t want to be parishioners at St. Mary’s because it’s quote-unquote a poor parish. And we said, “Well, that’s exactly where we want to be.”
We’re having a campaign there, and Father [O’Mara] asked all the parishioners to pray on how they could be involved in the campaign. So we got involved very early and we asked Father if we could be of any help to just let us know. So we made that commitment. He wanted us to speak at church, and we were more than happy to do it.
From all accounts, you and your wife, Sharon, seem to have a close, caring marriage. How important has your relationship with Sharon been in your career and your life?
O’Brien: We’ve been married 32 years. I wouldn’t have the success and happiness in life without her. Sharon is, in the very truest sense, a partner in life. We always say there’s only one sacrament that you can take part in that is with another person. It’s marriage. Our marriage is Christ-centered. We prayed from the very beginning. We understood how important marriage is.
I feel I’m the luckiest guy in the world. We were best friends before we were married, and she’s my best friend now. We have a tremendous amount of fun together. She’s made enormous sacrifices in her life to allow me to do what I’m doing. She certainly has the education and the intelligence and the leadership skills to be an executive in any company.
You have three grown children, including your youngest, Caitlyn, who has Down syndrome. She’s 25, she lives at home and she works. What has she meant to your family’s life and your faith?
O’Brien: We can’t imagine life without Caitlyn. It was unexpected when we had Caitlyn. She was the youngest. To me, I have so much admiration for the job that my wife has done with our children. It is certainly not 50-50 from the standpoint of raising children because basketball, at least the way I go about it during the season, is somewhat all-consuming. It really challenged Sharon and she just raised the three best kids.
We had a strong family and a strong marriage before Caitlyn and she helped solidify it even more. She’s been an absolute joy for us. Raising a child with special needs is a great challenge and it was even more of a challenge for my wife because she, a lot of times, was doing the brunt of the work. She did a brilliant job of it because Caitlyn is just a special person and a great person to know. She has just flourished.
A significant effort has been made to change the make-up of the Pacers this year. Besides talent, what attributes do you look for in players?
O’Brien: Stephen Covey talked about the seven habits of highly effective people. You look for people in your organization—any organization, including our team—to be honest people, people who are dependable, who want to improve, who want to live the Golden Rule. It doesn’t matter what you do for a living, they’re the people you want to be around. Certainly, they’re the kind of people we want in the Pacers’ organization.
My high school coach at Roman Catholic was Speedy Morris, and Jack McKinney was my coach at St. Joe’s. They were outstanding coaches and Christian gentlemen. I was also lucky enough to be married into the family of Jack Ramsay [a former Pacers’ head coach and a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame], who is the same way—outstanding coach but more an outstanding gentleman. These are the guys who are the mentors in my life. If you played for Speedy or Jack McKinney, you had to be men of character.
You try to go to Mass at St. Mary’s during the week when you’re not out of town with the team. Talk about that.
O’Brien: Especially during the season. We have a routine on game days where we practice in the morning. And because I get the afternoon off, we try to go to the noon Mass in the chapel at St. Mary’s. Sharon tries to go on a fairly regular basis 12 months a year. When we have the luxury of going to daily Mass, that’s the best part of our lives.
Why is daily Mass so important to you?
O’Brien: It’s because Christ is the center of our lives. Sharon and I are very much focused on the Eucharist. It’s the center of our faith. If you can have a day where you’re receiving the Eucharist, that’s a good day. When we can go to daily Mass together, that strengthens everything about us, including our marriage.
How much has being a Catholic defined your life?
O’Brien: It’s a large part of who I am. I just wouldn’t be the same person without that influence. I couldn’t even imagine life without having the Eucharist available. It is who we are in our marriage. I couldn’t even fathom what life would be like if we weren’t centered around our faith. †
About Jim O'Brien
- Age: 56
- Job: Second year as the head coach of the Indiana Pacers’ National Basketball Association team.
- Family: Married for 32 years to Sharon (Ramsay) O’Brien. The couple has three grown children, Shannon, Jack and Caitlyn.
- Hometown: Philadelphia. Grew up there in St. Stephen’s Parish.
- Current parish: St. Mary Parish in Indianapolis
(Related story: St. Mary’s pastor says coach and his wife are ‘authentic’ people)