Mike Lynch
Episode 287
29 JULY 2024
He is the head coach for women’s soccer at Belmont Abbey College, a Catholic college in North Carolina. Having started there in 2011, he has a .633 winning percentage and has earned two conference regular season championships, two conference tournament championships, and competed in three NCAA postseason tournaments. Prior to Belmont Abbey, he also held head coaching jobs at Nebraska Wesleyan University and Truman State University, and as an assistant coach at the United States Air Force Academy. He had played college soccer at the United States Air Force Academy. After graduation, he competed for the active-duty USAF Soccer Team in 1984 and 1985, and was selected to the United States Armed Forces National Team in 1984. He served as Faith-Based Coaches Community Chair for United Soccer Coaches from 2017-2022 and is now on the Board of Directors. He has even completed several marathons, including the Boston Marathon.
Notable guest quotes:
“A cradle Catholic and I would say that probably the biggest memory I have growing up is just our Sunday Mass ritual. I can’t remember us ever missing Mass, which is good, and that kind of built in me that this is just what you do and something I really appreciated as I got older.”
“We were in eight different locations in my first 18 years, so every two years we were in a new spot and certainly every military base will have a Catholic church… so that was always nice. The other thing that was really great growing up was they always had excellent youth sports. So, if you lived on base, there’s always a great youth sports environment and I found that to be really helpful for me as we kept moving around.”
“I played football, basketball, baseball, swim team… whatever season it was, we did it and I just loved them all. And looking back on it, I think, I don’t know if that’s where the seeds were planted as far as being a coach, but I was always intrigued on just how each game was played, the simple tactics that you learn as a youngster in the sports.”
“I attended the Fellowship of Christian Athletes soccer camp in Daytona Ohio… and we’re starting with a faith huddle… they always start with a devotional and, of course, I grew up in a Catholic church and so… I’m, like, perfect, I’m not against it. And so I was very open to it… it’s kind of a great way to start the session because not only would we talk about a scripture verse, but we would also then relate that to what does that mean to you as a person, you as an athlete.”
“From that point forward I really, really found my faith to be a great place to get my mind in the right spot.”
“The mind is so powerful and so now we know that obviously our mind is a huge part of our faith. It is our faith. It’s our connection; this is where we’re praying to God and not asking for good performances, but just asking to be able to be present – to be present to what God has available for us.”
“It allowed me to start playing with less stress, I mean, no longer was I playing for the identity or playing for the outcome. I was just playing to hopefully glorify God, hopefully do it in a way that, you know, help my teammates, those kinds of things, and it really, really made a difference to me.”
“I had ideas and places that I wanted to go play, and things I wanted to do, and I really just kept that door open, and I thank God for that because if I had closed that door early in the recruiting process maybe I would never have been recruited.”
“That… is when I really started to say, ‘You know what, I’m going to incorporate my faith life into my sports,’ and so that’s what I really started to focus my team on. I knew that if I, you know, you train them up in the way that you go and when they’re older they won’t depart from it.”
“I kept thinking to myself, ‘God will provide. God will provide.’ I just have to be loyal to the call. And at that time, I was also doing Adoration hours.”
Related link:
Mike’s bio on Belmont Abbey College website
