Chris McManes
Episode 242
18 SEP 2023
He is entering his eighth year as Assistant Baseball Coach at DeMatha Catholic High School near Washington, DC, having been the freshman head coach for two of his years there. He has also worked as Sports Information Director at Catholic University, which is also near our nation’s capital. His career in sports has also included work as a journalist, covering NBA games in DC. More recently, he coached T-Ball for eight years, coached 10-and-under basketball, and along the way picked up a Coach of the Year honor. This all followed his having been a student-athlete back in his high school days. Listen for the physical challenge he overcame to play four different sports!
Notable guest quotes:
“My mother was Catholic… My mother did have the foresight to get me into Catholic school… I went to St. Anthony in northeast Washington (DC).”
“I remember, about when I was 14, and I’d see a lot of things on TV, and it got me to thinking about God and the consequences of not having a relationship with the Lord and I remember thinking, ‘I don’t want to go to hell’.”
“I actually became very good friends with the pastor of that church, Fr. Aldo Petrini, and we would do a lot of things together at the rectory and go visit different places together.”
“My father became the head football coach at Catholic University… When I worked at Catholic University I went through the archives, and I was hoping to find some pictures of my dad… They had plenty of photos… but he wasn’t in any of them, however I was in a couple of the shots.”
“I think they probably still do it… They would have a pre-game chapel service, and they had a specific chaplain that would lead it, and this was held maybe an hour before game time.”
“When you’re doing good things, I think, like, doing things that are good that are helping you to advance spiritually and strengthening your faith life, good things happen.”
(On Sep. 11, 2001, in Washington, DC) “I went to the Noon Mass at St. Matthews Cathedral, which is the same church where President Kennedy’s funeral was held… we… felt compelled to go to church. We felt like we needed God on this terrible day.”
“Still my faith sustained me. My faith was really strong… I just knew that although things were not looking good… that God was still in control of everything.”
“I just make sure that we pray after every practice… I’ll try to encourage the (student athletes) to make sure they go to church.”
“It’s an all-boys school – we have over 800 – and our main mission, our main goal, is to develop faith-filled gentlemen and scholars.”
“I just think, when you trust in God and realize things happen on His time, that good things happen.”
“I still always have that desire to attend church, to have the Eucharist, to receive the body and blood of Christ.”
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