Matt Yoches
Episode 53
3 FEB 2020
The Director of Football Operations at Miami University in Ohio, where he is also the team chaplain. Among the many tasks he handles is being the liaison for NFL scouts. He had played football collegiately (winning two national championships) and went on to serve on the coaching staff of his alma mater (Grand Valley State). He was born and raised Catholic and is married and the father of two. LISTEN FOR HIS BIG REVEAL AT THE END OF THE INTERVIEW!
Notable guest quotes:
“As I grew in my faith, and, I had my times that were not the brightest and not something I was proud of, but, I made mistakes along the way, and had some challenges with my faith and had some challenges just being a teenager and growing up. But eventually I felt at home at church. If anything, the one hour on Sunday in church made more sense than any other hour of the day.”
“My connection to God became, ‘Well I’ve got this great talent. How do I use that to glorify God’?”
“That was always a desire of mine, was to make the most of the talent that God had given me… My desire was to do that every way, shape, or form that I possibly could.”
“Saturday morning we attended Mass as a team and before we got on the bus we would pray as a team in front of the Virgin Mary.”
“I would always say the prayer and I would always be very reverent and devout at that time and then as soon as I got on the bus I felt like, ‘Hey, I gotta flip the switch and I gotta be a football player and I gotta leave God there and do whatever I possibly could on the field to be successful’.”
“I learned eventually, Hey, you don’t leave God in the locker room when you go out to play.”
“He was highly successful, played for my Detroit Lions, but … more than anything was a man of God. And he was someone who was someone who was not afraid to share his faith with anyone. And he was one of the first people that showed me that you don’t leave God in the locker room.”
“Your faith isn’t just something you practice quietly, with your hands folded, on your knees, in church, by yourself.”
“I enjoy serving others. I enjoy being the person behind the scenes.”
“I’m just here to help God do some of the work that He needs to get done.”
“He called me to become a husband and He called me to become a father and that’s my vocation and I’m proud of that.”
Related link:
Matt’s Miami University bio page
