Balancing a love of basketball with an education major.

Senior Seth Anderson is a basketball star. He has been all-conference the last two years, was conference MVP this year, was nominated for the Jostens award and, thanks to the voting of his fellow students, will fly to Virgina for the All-Star game this Saturday. Despite all of his success, Seth remains humble. “Thanks, everybody, for the voting,” he said.

Seth focuses on the relationships he has built through basketball more than his personal achievements.

“I love getting to know the other players on the team,” Seth said. “There’s no relationship like there is in sports—having to rely on each other, it becomes a big trust thing. The trust you have in each other becomes friendships in the long run.”

Seth’s teammates share this respect with him.

“He can show up to the gym in a pair of shoes that have holes in both toes and still not lose a game of basketball, or win the Homecoming 5k after not training one minute,” Senior Erik Jacobs said

Playing in front of big crowds is one of the things that draws Seth to basketball.

“There isn’t any better feeling than playing in front of a packed house when the whole school is behind you.”
Seth’s teammates love his competitive spirit.

“Seth is one of the greatest competitors I’ve ever seen. The toughness and passion he led our team with was truly inspiring. I really couldn’t have asked for a better teammate and captain,” Senior Bobby Johnson said.

Seth got his start in basketball at a very young age, as his father is a high school basketball coach.
“I’ve always grown up in a basketball family,” he said.

The first time he played on a team was in the fourth grade. He also attended Gustavus basketball camps and even based his college decision on the game.
“I made my decision to come to Gustavus because I knew the basketball coach pretty well,” he said. “I was always a Gustie at heart.”

He also enjoys the outreach the basketball team participates in. They have worked with Hands for Harvest, raking lawns in St. Peter and the Special Olympics.

“It was fun watching the olympians play basketball in the gym, since we all play basketball, and to be able to share a little knowledge too,” he said.

Seth’s major is elementary education with a history concentration. He chose this because he enjoyed going to school everyday and because of the influence of his parents. His father was a physical education teacher and school counselor, while his mother was a professor at MSU.

“It was what I knew and what I had a passion for,” Seth said. “I love teaching; I love being around other teachers.”

He chose history because he found it most interesting and because he had experienced what really good history teachers can do—make learning fun. “I think I can do the same thing and make it fun,” he said.

Seth is doing his student teaching this semester.

“It’s a long day—it’s a lot of work,” he said. “You have to be on top of your game and do the best you can every day.”

It was difficult for him to balance student teaching with basketball. The last few weeks of the basketball season fell on the time when he was beginning student teaching. Though it was difficult, he managed to balance both responsibilities.

Johnson is confident in Seth’s abilities and his bright future.

“I’m excited to see what his up-beat personality will do as a coach and teacher for some lucky school in the future,” Johnson said
In the meantime, his friends love his positive attitude.

“I also love his fun loving attitude. He takes sitting and watching a sporting event on TV, which may be a boring activity to some, to a whole new level,” Jacobs said. “He’s always on the floor yelling at the refs and yelling for players to make a shot or picking apart the announcer’s comments.”

Despite being unsure of his future after graduation in the spring, Seth is loving life right now. “I love being at Gustavus everyday.”