Jay Stricherz
Episode 104
25 JAN 2021
A PAC-12 Conference Football supervisor, having previously been a PAC-10 and PAC-12 Conference football referee for 34 years, including having officiated over 20 bowl games, which saw him do two Cotton Bowls, two Sugar Bowls, and two Fiesta Bowls. In addition, he spent nine years as a softball coach at a Catholic high school in Tacoma, Washington.
Notable guest quotes:
“(I) absolutely loved working there with students and families that had a lot of needs, more than the average or most families. So, certainly a real ministry… I knew that’s what I wanted to do to help others.”
“(I) loved the aspect of being a part of a team, being a part of something much bigger than just yourself, and committing to the team concept.”
“I think being Catholic was probably the number one thing that we were. No matter what we were, we were Catholic.”
“There’s five of us in the family and it was Mass every Sunday. If we were traveling it was going to Mass. We were going to confession once a month. And during Lent we were saying the rosary every night. Looking back on it particularly, it was wonderful – a wonderful faith upbringing.”
“I would, through the years, say my own kind of silent, quiet prayers before games.”
“I went from being a head linesman on the crew… and I became the referee… So, I started to ask for a little more help from the good Lord than I had previously.”
“I got through a series of prayers that I would always say before the games, personally myself. I’d say the rosary myself and then I’d say a series of prayers.”
“Our crew, we started having a pre-game prayer, a pre-game little session of inspiration.”
“I belong to an ecumenical prayer group with eleven men. We meet every other Tuesday morning and we go through the gospels and all the New Testament and the Hebrew scriptures and it’s a wonderful aspect of learning about one another.”
“If you’ve got kids that are in a local Catholic school you’re gonna get involved yourself… So, I got on a number of committees… and became a part of the Board of Directors… and got into the Ignatian spirituality.”
“Through sports there is a lot of spirituality and a lot of opportunity to pass on God’s Word and Christ’s Word.”