WBB: Aggies Help Sophie Sene To Navigate The Hardwood During Ramadan

Being a Division I athlete isn’t easy. It requires an immense amount of sacrifice, and for Utah State’s Sophie Sene, a practicing Muslim and a 6-3 junior center who plays a crucial role for the Aggies, it requires a bit more. That’s because Sene is competing during Ramadan, which she describes as “a month for all Muslims to come closer to God.”

As Ramadan coincides with the Mountain West basketball tournament, she faces the rigorous challenge of playing basketball while fasting from sunrise to sunset. Navigating these dual commitments requires immense strength – physically, mentally and spiritually. Her commitments to both her faith and her team aren’t in conflict, but honoring them both requires extra sacrifice. Sene can do both, but it’s not easy.

One of Sene’s teammates initially wanted to join her in fasting from sun up to sundown, but decided against it when she realized that it included abstaining from water, which just goes to show how difficult it can be. Without a meaningful reason to do so, fasting from sunrise to sunset would be too great a sacrifice, far too painful and inconvenient to commit to. For Sene, the sacrifice is worth it. 

“I think the month of Ramadan, it just helps us to get closer to God,” Sene said. “It helps me feel better.”

When she played for Rhode Island, she had teammates who were Muslim and observed Ramadan with her. Here, she is the only one, and although she is alone in her religious observance, she is not alone in fasting. Matt Castiana, the team’s Assistant Director of Sports Medicine, has decided to join Sene and abstain from food or water from sunrise to sunset. It’s a display of support for Sene, but Castiana said that, even though it wasn’t what he set out to do, the experience has also given him greater insight into what Sene and other Muslim athletes experience during this holy month.

“Not drinking water is the hardest part because it’s everywhere around you,” Castiana said, describing his own first few days of fasting. “I’m exhausted.”

Castiana said that he promised Sene that he would join her in fasting early in her time at Utah State and forgot about it. That is, until four days before the start of Ramadan, when Sene reminded him. He said he spent the next four days eating as much as he could. Castiana admits that he probably won’t fast for the entirety of Ramadan, and instead says he will likely participate through the end of the Mountain West tournament. 

At that point, Sene’s obligations as a Utah State basketball player will take a hiatus, but her commitment to her religion will not. After the tournament, she will return to Logan and continue fasting for the rest of Ramadan, not as a student-athlete, but as a faithful Muslim. Fasting is often the most recognizable activity of Ramadan for those who are on the outside, but for Sene and other Muslims, it’s just one part of the monthlong ceremony full of religious activity. Sene described Ramadan as a month to “do good deeds,” “help people,” and to “be kind to people.”

Of fasting, Sene described it as a reminder and a way to stay focused on gratitude. 

“When we fast as Muslims, it just reminds us to be grateful to God.”

Fasting also represents a challenge for a high-level athlete. Castiana said that concerns vary from cramping to fainting. There are countless complexities when it comes to playing college basketball during Ramadan. For starters, the exact times of the sunrise and sunset change every single day. Start times and lengths of games vary. In the tournament, Sene will also be up against travel, daylight savings, and if the Aggies advance, short turnaround times between games.

Castiana described the delicate balancing act between careful planning and constant monitoring. He said that he started thinking about Ramadan after his first conversations with Sene, but even the best-laid plans are stretched, altered, and scrapped in the face of life’s unpredictability. The team’s support staff is continually checking in with Sene and trying to get a read on how her body is performing. Castiana says they are constantly asking her if she feels full.

Sene has done this before and has grown accustomed to the restrictions, but she still takes lengths to avoid temptation and to be as comfortable as she can be. During Ramadan, she is excused from team meals and does her best not even to be around food or water. Doing so helps her avoid temptation and allows her to more fully display her devotion to observing Ramadan.

Her game day schedule changes depending on a variety of factors, mainly game time and location, but it always includes a few of the same things. The plan includes a drastically altered eating schedule and diet. Castiana said pasta, potatoes and eggs have become some of the main foods they use to keep her full and energized throughout the day. The plan also includes a more rigorous stretching routine and ice baths to help avoid cramps. In preparation, she loads up on carbohydrates, a process that starts the night before a game when she eats as much as she can after the sun sets before going to sleep.

On game day, she rises early, long before the rest of the team. She needs to give herself enough time to eat a full meal before praying and starting her fast when the sun rises. This is the last time she will eat before she plays. In addition to again adding carbs, she adds protein and also uses this meal as a chance to load up on electrolytes.

By the time the team is congregating for team breakfast, shootaround, and any other morning activities, Sene is already a few hours into her fast and, most likely, is alone in a room staring at the ceiling somewhere nearby. After she eats and prays, she tries to get more rest. This isn’t only to help make up for the lost sleep from the early morning, it’s also to conserve energy. She has been advised to conserve energy by resting whenever possible, and minimizing physical activity during fasting hours. The staff has gone as far as to ask her not even to walk around if she can avoid it, and to instead lie down to slow the expenditure of precious calories and electrolytes until game time. During games, while she continues to go without food or water, she and the staff keep an eye on how she’s feeling.

Utah State's coaches and support staff aren't just supportive of her physical health, but of her religious practices, and are committed to helping her strictly observe Ramadan. She has asked the staff not even to offer her water during games, and the staff, against their professional instincts, have agreed. He knows that it's a departure from the usual routine, but Castiana has reaffirmed Sene’s request to the staff.

“I know it’s hard,” Castiana recalled telling the staff, “but don’t even offer it to her.”

If the sun sets during a game, Sene can break her fast on the bench. In such cases, Castiana says the priority is to rehydrate and energize her as quickly as possible. They use electrolytes and fast-acting sugars and they avoid large, heavy foods that, despite being more filling, could do more harm than good amid her physical exertion. Her nutritional recovery after games is more or less the same, but delayed until sunset if necessary. While the team eats and drinks their postgame provisions, Sene simply gets dressed and excuses herself, avoiding being near food and water. 

Sene has already played two games during Ramadan this year. She’s not on an official minutes restriction, but Castiana acknowledged that her minutes could potentially dip during Ramadan if fasting impacts her performance, and as the staff monitors her health and energy levels.

Against Nevada, in a 2 p.m. game, she started but played 15 minutes and against Boise State, a 6:30 p.m. start, she was taken out of the starting lineup but played 28 minutes. The game’s demands on a fasting athlete are immense no matter when it happens, but after seeing just one of each, Castiana is confident that the afternoon tip-off is better for Sene than the evening tip.

He reiterated her grueling schedule and noted that the longer she goes without eating or drinking, the more her body burns through its reserves, which aren’t being replenished. Even though she is able to break her fast during an evening game, it’s extremely difficult to make up for an entire day’s worth of fasting in a few minutes. It’s especially difficult to refuel her body with foods she can eat during a basketball game. Water, Powerade, honey, bananas and electrolyte supplements can only go so far.

On the court, basketball is a team sport. The same is true off the court, and Sene relies on her team behind the scenes to keep her on track with nutrition requirements and religious commitments. During games, Castiana and the rest of the support staff execute the plans for Sene, which allows Sene and the coaching staff to stay focused on the game at hand. While the trainers frantically work to get Sene fed, Sene stays locked in on the court with all of her energy and focus going toward scoring and grabbing rebounds.

Castiana recalled the Boise State game, when a 6:30 p.m. tipoff and a mid-game sunset necessitated Sene breaking her fast in the middle of the action. Sene didn’t start that game, and Castiana said that the staff was hoping to get her fed while she was still on the bench. As the sunset approached, the staff made the final preparations for Sene to break her fast. With only a few minutes to go, they had everything ready; they even had the banana peeled and ready to go for her. All they needed was a few more ticks on the clock. Then, with about one minute before she was set to break her fast, Sene checked into the game. 

At the next timeout, Sene went straight to the trainers on the bench where her peeled banana still waited for her and broke her fast. She checked out and was given a few minutes to eat and let her body get some energy back before checking back in.

Remaining fully committed to her college basketball career and to her faith, Sene is putting on a masterclass in resilience, balance and sacrifice. Standing as the lone Muslim on Utah State, her unwavering resolve is moving. Balancing the academic demands of college and the rigors of competitive basketball is already a difficult task, and when adding the deeply personal observance of Ramadan to the mix, Sene is showcasing remarkable sacrifice and commitment to be her best as a Muslim and as a Utah State Aggie.