Helping listeners find the right balance and priority when it comes to their faith life versus their sports life, interviews are done with guests who are Catholics in sports - current or former athletes, coaches, officials, clergy, administrators, and more, from the pro, amateur, and scholastic ranks. Whether you're an athlete or a fan, youth or adult, Catholic or not, this show will deliver content that speaks to you and provides opportunities for ongoing reflection for your daily life.
She is the Head Archery Coach for Holy Rosary Academy in Anchorage Alaska, having launched the program herself, and last year one of her student-athletes qualified to compete nationally. She also competed in the Taekwondo National Tournament and has participated in the mud run. Away from sports, she is a certified Catholic neurocoach and expert in helping daughters heal from the trauma of being raised by covert narcissistic mothers. Plus, she is the founder of Blue Veil Wellness, providing comprehensive online coaching programs AND she is the host of a podcast called Maternal Narcissists: Unmasked.
She started fencing in junior high, stopped during high school to pursue both track and field as well as competition squad cheerleading, then went back to fencing after graduating from college and competed for several years. After a 20-year hiatus she came back to the sport and is now working her way to getting on a national team. Along the way, on the faith side, she had been in full-time music ministry. Plus, she is a certified Health Coach and corporate wellness and women's ministry speaker.
He competed for four years in track and field in high school and present day is a coach of an evangelical nature. He is the founder of Holy Family Evangelization, a Catholic coaching organization, AND he is the author of a brand-new book just being released, called, "How to Evangelize Anyone," which is a complete reversal for someone who was an atheist. He has evangelized at universities, Fortune 500 companies, and various non-profits in the U.S., Latin America, and Asia. He has also advised numerous organizations and parishes on evangelization and catechesis.
He is the Head Men's Basketball Coach at Ave Maria University. He is in his 15th season as a head coach, having previously held the position at Aledo High School, The University of Texas at Tyler, a previous stint at Ave Maria, Texas State University, Trinity Valley Community College, and Keller Central High School. He led Ave Maria to the conference tournament championship game in 2021 and his 2023-24 team earned an at-large bid to the NAIA Tournament and won the program's first-ever national tournament game. He is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and a CrossFit Level I Trainer.
He was Varsity Basketball Coach for seven years at The Boys' Latin School of Maryland. On the business side, he joined forces with NBA legend Walt “The Wizard” Williams to assist former NFL player Wale Ogunleye with the UBS Sports and Entertainment Division. Together, they revolutionized wealth management for elite clients, including the National Basketball Players Association, and brokered historic deals such as connecting Players TV Media Group — a collective powered by icons like Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, and Kyrie Irving — with UBS. He is also a U.S. Army combat veteran, and he demonstrated a true Christian heart by quitting his seven-figure job to create a social impact company that focuses on financial education for the underprivileged.
He is a Professor of Athletic Training & Sports Medicine at Quinnipiac University. Over the last 30+ years he has worked in higher education teaching the next generation of athletic training and physical therapy students. He has also practiced clinically in a variety of athletic settings providing medical and rehabilitative services, including having worked as an athletic trainer in professional baseball here in the U.S. and professional soccer in Costa Rica. He was also the Rehabilitation Coordinator, Head Basketball and Assistant Football Athletic Trainer at the University of Southern Mississippi. He worked as a private consultant in the industrial athletic training setting and has provided medical coverage for numerous high school and private athletic events. Over his three-plus decades of professional service he has provided medical coverage for an estimated 7500 athletic events.
He played tennis and beach volleyball in high school and the latter when he was a student-athlete at Texas State University. Present day he participates in mixed martial arts, lifting weights, hiking, and doing Spartan races. He is co-founder of and fitness director for Hypuro Fit, whose mission is to bring a technically excellent and authentically Catholic approach to personal training. He also has a story about his own reversion to the Catholic faith, which he shares during this interview.
He is in his second season as an assistant coach for women's swimming and diving at the University of Kansas. Prior to joining the Jayhawks staff, he was the head coach at the University of Mary, and before that he had been an assistant coach at the University of New Mexico. Prior to moving into the college coaching ranks, he was the head coach of Reno Aquatic Club from 2018-21. As a student-athlete he graduated from and swam at the University of Iowa, where he was named the team captain for the 2008-09 season. He also received the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award and the Iowa Swimming Leadership Award in 2009. He has a compelling story about his reversion back to the Catholic faith.
He played football in high school but also competed in track, which became his long-term sport. Having broken a school record in indoor 4x800m relay in high school, he went on to compete for four years at Bradley University where he also broke a school record. Post-college he has continued to run, including five marathons and one 50-mile ultra marathon. He even qualified for and ran in the Boston Marathon. Plus, since 2018 he has backpacked approximately five thousand miles across a handful of trails, including the Appalachian Trail.
He played football his freshman year of high school, moved on to discus and two conference championships in that sport, and then went on to a long career in lacrosse, a sport that he remains involved with to this day. He played for the Illinois Wesleyan University Club Lacrosse team, Oxford University, and Second City/Windy City Men's Club, and he still plays in an over-30 league. On top of all that, he not only has officiated lacrosse, but has coached five high school teams since 2001, plus, Park Ridge Youth Lacrosse, which he has now been coaching for three years. (Be forewarned of two emotional stories in the second half of this episode.)
She is the Head Varsity Volleyball Coach at St. Francis Catholic High School in Sacramento, California, where she was previously the head junior varsity and assistant varsity volleyball coach. As a student-athlete there she had led the team to the state championship as a junior in 2005 before later going on to earn three All-Big Sky Conference awards at the University of Montana. Her coaching career began as a student assistant at Montana and included a stop at Nevada as a volunteer assistant and director of volleyball operations. She also coached club ball for Northern Nevada Juniors.