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Samantha Kelley

Episode 140

4 OCT 2021

The founder and president of FIERCE Athlete Inc.  She played Division I soccer at UConn and is involved in competitive rowing.  Her sports participation background also includes ice hockey as well as track and field.  She has worked for Catholic non-profits and has a Master’s in Catholic Psychology and has been pursuing certification in strength and conditioning AND theology of the body.

Notable guest quotes:

“I viewed my faith as part of what made me a good person.”

“To be given that opportunity to be that role model for young women… was such a blessing.”

“I just thought to myself, ‘How can I escape preseason?’  And I was like, ‘I can go to Mass!   My coaches will let me go to Mass’.”

“There was this girl that got up to do the readings and I remember thinking to myself, ‘Who does this girl think she is?’  But it was because she had the joy that I was seeking and it was so apparent.”

“It was the best decision I ever made.  I showed up in Florida, there was two thousand college students, and I just said, ‘Alright, Lord, you’ve got four days,’ which is a dangerous prayer.”

“It was during Adoration literally in an instant that I had a radical encounter with Him.  I encountered the true presence of Christ.”

“The Lord’s mercy is deep.  And, His love for us deep.  And He can take anyone, no matter how far we are away from Him and call them — with just a slight opening — call them to Himself and use them.”

“I was never more convinced that that’s where my mission needed to be, was amongst these women to show them the beauty of who they are as daughters of God.”

“My spiritual director encouraged me to go to a course with the Theology of the Body Institute.  And I’d say outside of my encounter with Jesus that was probably the most transformational experience in my life.”

“My mission was that every teammate would know that they were loved.  And for some of them that was inviting them back to Mass.”

Related link:

FIERCE Athlete website

(This episode contains a prayer by Gregg Easterbrook from the NFL.com and ESPN.com column “Monday Morning Quarterback,” as seen in Play Like A Champion Today’s prayerbook for sports, God, Be In My Sport)