Elliot Panicco
Episode 58
9 MAR 2020
A goalkeeper for NashvilleSC of Major League Soccer, having been selected in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft in January. He had attended UNC Charlotte, where he earned All-Southeast Region honors three times, including his senior year when he was also Conference USA Goalkeeper of the Year, Golden Glove Award winner, and first team all-conference.
Notable guest quotes:
“Both of my parents are Catholic, and I grew up going to Mass on Sundays, also with my older brother, Eric, so we were raised to be good men and to practice the faith.”
“We spent a few years in Omaha, Nebraska, and I went to Catholic school there.”
“I was primarily going there to play soccer, but I had no idea what the Lord had in store for me. He blessed me with some wonderful teammates who really cared about me and saw that I was going to church on Sundays but invited me to practice my faith every other day of the week and we started to read scripture together.”
“That was when I knew the Lord was calling me to give all of my life to Him and not just to be lukewarm and just give Him one day a week, but to trust Him with my entire life.”
“Everywhere I turned I just found such beauty and truth in the Catholic church and it was able to just lead me closer to Rome, if you will.”
“I started volunteering and spending time with the kids, giving talks and really just getting to know them and to pour into them and also to share about my faith and how important it is to me, living out my daily life and sharing the way that I lived it out.”
“It was definitely a calling from the Lord and something that I felt great peace about knowing that I went there to try (to) spread His Word and to fulfill what He’s asking of me.”
“It’s definitely by His grace that He keeps me humble and I know that being a professional athlete isn’t the greatest thing in this life.”
“After I fell into my faith and I fell in love with it, it became clear to me that my plans are not as great as God’s plans and my prayer was just to ask the Lord for whatever He wanted but also when I do play soccer that I might give my best and glorify Him through it all.”
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