Episodes

Tom Equels

He has an amazing story of surviving a life-threatening accident a few years ago. He was on the track team in high school and surfed regularly too. For decades he has been an avid motorcyclist, both dirt and touring. He has also been active in martial arts and was a regular participant in sailboat racing. Although he also swims and plays tennis and pickle ball, he perhaps excelled the most as an equestrian competitor as a rider for decades, having won numerous local, regional, state, national, and international championships. He authored a book that came out last year, called, “The Horseman’s Tale.” His service to our country is seen in him being a combat-wounded Vietnam veteran and the recipient of two Distinguished Flying Crosses for heroism in aerial combat, along with the Purple Heart. On the faith side, he was knighted by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 for his humanitarian service.

Notable guest quotes:

“My father was – and (to) some extent still is, and the people who can still remember – a pretty famous athlete in Western Pennsylvania, track and field and football.”

“I took to track as a sport in junior high and high school, ran the high hurdles, low hurdles. There’s a 120 and high hurdles, 120 yards, it’s slightly same distance basically, but in meters now.  And was on a number of different sprint related relay teams.”

“It was more than just that I wanted to fly. I always had a very strong belief that was instilled by my mother and the idea that as citizens, we have a duty to our country, to our constitution, to the preservation of liberty and freedom in our country and in the world generally.  And she taught me about the generations before me who had served out of our family.  And so, it seemed like the right thing to do as well.”

“The incident where I got my purple heart was related to bullets coming in through the canopy of the cobra gunship I was flying.  And some of those bullet fragments were in my arm and my hand… I did have more serious injuries.  And as a result of some accidents over there in the aircraft, where I crushed and had a lot of scarring in my sinus areas from an impact to my face.”

“I decided to go to law school and also make social justice related legal work a part of my life.  And it was through that social justice work that I began a number of projects helping Haitian refugees in the Miami area and met a priest who is in charge of the Haitian Catholic Center, and we’ve become lifelong friends.”

“This is a church that rolls its sleeves up and goes out and does what Jesus taught us to do, which is not just love each other, but care for each other.”

“Jesus is alive today because we are his eyes.  We are his hands.  And that’s how we keep the world changing by his word.”

“I had a very serious, what’s called an open book, pelvic fracture and some arteries were cut so I was bleeding out.  And my face got pretty badly smashed.  My nose was broken in three places.  All my upper front teeth were fractured.  I had a concussion, was knocked out for a period of time.”

“We don’t come to the table perfect, we come and we strive just like in sports, spiritually, day by day to get better.”

“I took my parents to France and Normandy, and we went to Lisieux, which is where the Basilica for St. Thérèse is.”

Related link:

Tom’s book on Amazon

(This episode contains a prayer adapted from one by an unknown Confederate Soldier, as seen in Play Like A Champion Today’s prayerbook for sports, God, Be In My Sport)

Kylie Hein

She not only competed in both college and high school in volleyball and dance, but coached volleyball for multiple schools over a ten-plus year period and still hosts volleyball clinics, in addition to playing the sport both recreationally and for an annual fundraiser. In her younger years she played four other sports as well. On the faith side, she has a Master’s in Ministry and is a certified Catholic mindset coach. In June she will graduate with a spiritual direction certification. She also hosts a podcast, runs workshops, and does Catholic speaking events.

Notable guest quotes:

“I am a cradle Catholic.  My mom was a beautiful Catholic role model for us.  She took us kids to Mass every single week.  My dad… had a very deep knowledge of scripture and so I think that was where I connected to the Lord with my dad, was, he knew scripture stories that as a Catholic, I was not well-versed in.”

“A door opened for me and volleyball that I never anticipated, and that was to play college volleyball.  So that just gave me a new outlet that I didn’t even know that I needed or wanted.  And it really excited me.  I was going to go to a large four-year university and at the last minute decided, no, I’m going to take advantage of the scholarship opportunity at the small Iowa University to play volleyball and off I went.  And that has been impactful, ever since.”

“I had lost this love for the game that I once had, and I didn’t think I was going to do anything with it.  But again, the hand of God.  I had a professor who was the president of a very large Catholic school in the area and was able to get a teaching position at this wonderful Catholic high school and, part of the teaching position, along with it came a coaching position in volleyball.”

“My faith was not the center of my life at that time, leaving home and being at a university where I wasn’t surrounded by a lot of other Catholics and the ones I was surrounded by were not always practicing it.  They weren’t living it and neither was I.  And so, I really fell away from God in that time.”

“I was prioritizing other things, whether it be volleyball or school or chasing achievements, and we know we’re not going to operate at high capacity.  We’re not going to see the beautiful fruit of God when we aren’t walking in His will.”

“Looking back at all these hidden gems that the Lord gave me that I did not see at the time.”

“I started again after the season using Louis de Montfort’s full prayers, the whole works, and I made that consecration.  And the profound shifts that happened in my spiritual life were so great.”

“My last year as a head coach, we used to have, on gamedays, we’d either go into the chapel to pray, or if a priest was available, he’d do like a short homily and just kind of inspire the girls a little bit.  We’d pray before we got on the bus, or we’d go to our game.”

“I was in adoration one night.  Again, I never felt like I had this very deep connection with Mary, but that moment was so profound.  I knew Mary’s voice speaking to me.  It was very clear.”

Related link:

Kylie’s official website

(This episode contains a prayer from the National Catholic Coaches Association’s “The Leadership Papers,” although originally credited in there to The Coach’s Bible.)

Ralph Linzmeier

He was a competitive swimmer as a youth and played water polo in high school. He received a Presidential Appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he continued with both swimming and water polo. Believing in the value of non-profit service as an important duty, he has focused on his passion for serving, church, the underprivileged, and supporting education and youth. With two other couples, he and his wife conceived, co-founded and led the effort to create Saint Junipero Serra Catholic which has grown to become the largest Catholic grade school in America. He is a Knight of Malta and served on the National Board of Governors of Legatus, a Catholic organization for business executives who strive to study, live and spread the Catholic faith in their business, professional, and personal lives. His focus these days is on the Fruitful Futures Project, a 501(c)(3) devoted to inspiring fruitfulness with the intention of helping others to help to build the Kingdom.

Notable guest quotes:

“A very Catholic family.  My parents were so faithful in the church, and we went to Mass weekly and confession very often weekly as a matter of fact.  I was an altar boy.  My dad saw that I was an altar boy.”

“I had something called Osgood-Schlatter’s which is maybe a malformation of a portion of your bone.  So, contact sports, like basketball or football, was a little ill-advised according to the doctor.  So, the swimming was a natural and it was something that I was drawn into and every member of my family, all the younger brothers, sisters, joined.  My little baby sister became an Olympian.”

“I was a pretty good swimmer.  And it turns out the Air Force kind of really wanted me there… they kept working and working, finally a presidential came through.  President Nixon appointed me to the Air Force Academy.”

“It was athletics, it was sports, that was so formative.  My coach in high school… was just a wonderful man.  He wasn’t so much a man of God, but he was a powerful motivator, and he was a man of gratitude, really impactful.”

“Back in the day, faith was a very active component of military service.  At the Academy, every cadet was required to go to church every Sunday.”

“My wife, along with two of her friends and many other of the moms, were really anxious about having a Catholic school in our area… And we found out that there were really 5,000 families in the area that had an interest… We kept working and working, working at it… And so, Bishop McFarland said, ‘Ralph, show me $150,000 and we’ll go ahead and give you an approval.’  So, we’ve since raised about $80 million to build this school.”

“As Legatus members, we’re charged to build and study our faith in the business community, and in our community, and in our family.  And so, it’s become a very important part of our faith experience, because it leads us to all kinds of other things.  It was Legatus that led me to the order of Malta, where we are, the charism, it’s the largest lay order in the Catholic Church, an order that’s over 900 years old, and the charism in the order of Malta is service to the poor and sick.”

“These associations, the order of Malta, are about service to the poor and sick in your part of the country.  And then internationally as well, every year we go on a pilgrimage to Lourdes, traveling with sick people.”

“I believe that every soul is yearning to bear good fruit.  Jesus told us to bear good fruit.”

“I walk maybe four to six miles a day.  That’s where I spend my time in prayer.”

Related link:

Fruitful Futures Project

Kelsey Gillespy

She was just inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame at Indiana State University where she twice was first team all-conference, led the country in free-throw percentage in her senior year, and ranks in the top eight in four categories in the history of the women’s basketball program at the school. In high school she had been a three-time all-state, all-metro, and first team all-conference selection. In addition, she was an assistant coach for three years for a different high school, with that team winning two Class 5 Missouri state championships during her time there. She has a Master’s degree in sports psychology from the University of Missouri.  On the faith side, she is the author of a book called, “In the Trenches: Finding God Through Raising Littles” and another, released last year, called, “Real Life with Mary: Growing in Virtue to Magnify the Lord.”

Notable guest quotes:

“My mom, she was really good at telling us about Jesus and reading us Bible stories and stuff like that.  But if I want to be honest, growing up, I think sports was kind of my God.  And that’s kind of what I lived and breathed.”

“That’s kind of like my love language is sports.  And that’s the way that I find community and just a fun way to build each other up.”

“I played through high school at a really great school in St. Louis, called St. Joseph’s Academy.  And after graduating, I was fortunate enough to realize that dream of going to college and played at Indiana State.”

“Something that I very quickly discovered is that the dream of college basketball and the reality of college basketball don’t always see eye to eye.  It becomes very business-like.  And I don’t think I was quite ready for that.”

“Fortunately, I had some pretty good teammates and coaches who … helped … And so, we were definitely able to have some fun.  And the fun translated into a fruitful career, thanks be to God.”

“In college is when I started to kind of take more ownership of my faith and try to figure out who this Jesus guy was.”

“That’s when I started to really kind of open up to the idea that, man, if I’m a Christian, like I’ve been saying I am my whole life, then that means that I need to know who Christ is, right?  And not only know who Christ is but be like Him.  That’s what the word Christian really means is, like Christ.”

“Jesus can be the center of your basketball world.  And Jesus can be the center of your school world.  And He’s not just like a little sliver off to the side.  Like he needs to be the heart and soul of everything.”

“What happened through Catholic doctrine and tradition and learning so much through the Catholic faith, it deepened my roots where they were and made me so much stronger in my love for Christ.”

“Accomplishments are great.  And it’s great to use our God given gifts to excel in a certain area, but life is about people.  And people come first always, people are always more important than things no matter what the thing is or who the person is.  The person is always more valuable and to just love that person.”

“Then I had a baby.  It was like constantly it felt like a wedge between me and God.”

Related link:

Kelsey’s author/speaking website

(This episode contains a prayer by Fr. Brian Cavanaugh, T.O.R., as seen in Play Like A Champion Today’s prayerbook for sports, God, Be In My Sport)

Dr Savannah Santiago

She ran for the University of Colorado | Colorado Springs, competing in cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track. Prior to that she was a school record holder in the 4x400m relay and earned several honors, including – among many others – being named Poway High School Athlete of the Year, and was a five-time state meet qualifier. Today, she still stays involved through a running club, continues to race on the roads, and, most recently, ran a full marathon for the charity organization St. Jude.  Her story, however, includes medical challenges, and, in part, led to her today being a foot and ankle doctor and surgeon at a Catholic hospital in Indianapolis, including treating athletes.

Notable guest quotes:

“Catholicism is something that is really important, especially to the Hispanic side of my family.  Growing up, I very distinctly remember my great-grandmother, my grandma… praying with her rosary every single night.”

“My dad had told me so many different stories about the priest from Our Lady of Guadalupe – which was our church in San Diego – coming over to the house for Sunday dinners and Father Brown and all of that.”

“The most important thing was that we understood the role of God in our life and the role of Jesus’s sacrifice.”

“I played tennis and swam and did all those other things.  But running, I would say, is the only sport that I was actually good at.”

“I had made plans to join the Peace Corps.  I had signed a contract for two years in Costa Rica where I would be studying infectious disease and teaching Spanish… I was going to run my last year of college track and COVID hit, and it just turned the entire world upside down.”

“We have a chapel on-site at our hospital … We also have numerous chaplains who are available to talk to patients.  I actually had a patient tell me the other day that he called a priest to come bedside.”

“I’ll go up to the chapel and I’ll talk to one of the priests there or I’ll just light a candle and say a quick prayer for the patient and their family.”

“I was able to help with building homes.  I actually did all of those mission trips with my mom and so it was really cool because we were part of a women build crew.  So, it was a full women team who were building homes for these families down in Mexico.”

“I think athletes tend to push themselves really really hard and I love the discipline that running has given me and I love the community that I’m a part of, but I do think that there has to be a stopping part and we have bodies that can fail on us and just because your body is breaking down doesn’t mean that the rest of you has to break down too.”

“I just feel like I have such a bigger purpose and all of those things truly did happen to me for a reason and while it didn’t feel like it in the time, I am just so lucky that I went through those experiences and got to the other side and I just can absolutely see how God’s work really played out.”

(This episode contains a prayer by Fort Worth Christian Football League parent Linda Fleshman, as seen in Play Like A Champion Today’s prayerbook for sports, God, Be In My Sport)

Drew Mahalic

He was selected by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the NFL Draft and went on to play four seasons in the pros, first with the San Diego Chargers and then three with the Philadelphia Eagles. He was a linebacker who had played collegiately for four years at the University of Notre Dame, with the Fighting Irish being AP Poll national champions his third season with the team. After his senior year he played in the Coaches All-America Game. He even appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine. During his days as an athlete, he even played two football games in Mexico City. He later received his degree from Harvard Law School.

Notable guest quotes:

“My parents were members of a Cana group where they had visitors, I think it was weekly.  They came over to discuss Catholic issues.  The big day in my life as a child was … the day I received first Holy Communion.”

“At age 11 as a member of the Cub Scouts, I got … something called the Parvuli Dei Award.  That’s going to Mass for 21 consecutive days.”

“I didn’t go to Catholic school and neither did my brother and he wound up a Catholic priest.  The public school was literally in our backyard, and so that was just a little bit too good to pass up.”

“Mary was the manifestation of God’s daughter herself.  And I don’t think that’s a stretch given how many Hail Mary’s we say, but I think her place is actually more special than we even give her credit for.  I maintain that belief even today.”

“We went to Mexico City and played… that was special to me because that’s where Our lady of Guadalupe, the image that really converted the entire country of Mexico from Juan Diego.  And that image is on my phone.  That’s my screen because I think that’s the most phenomenal thing that nobody has figured out… It’s a miracle.”

“My original ambition was to be a New York Yankee.  I was a good left-handed pitcher… I went to high school…. And they had a great football program.  And so, I wound up being the all-state quarterback and player of the year in the state of Michigan.”

“We won the national championship in the Sugar Bowl against Alabama in 1973.  I did appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated that year… We beat Alabama in the most exciting game I’ve ever played in my life. At the end of the game, we were the undefeated national champions.”

“My very first game that I played at San Diego I attended one of these FCA meetings in Houston and the speaker – it wasn’t Joel Osteen, but it might have been his dad – it was the most inspiring speech I think I’ve heard, about how we were all in blood covenant with God.”

“The Philadelphia Eagles, for what it’s worth, were the equivalent of the Catholic team in the NFL.  A monsignor traveled with us and held Mass before the games and the whole administrative staff was Catholic and it wasn’t that much different than Notre Dame.”

“A visit I made with my daughter … we just traveled … specifically to go to Medjugorje … I’m a believer that those apparitions that still occur monthly are legitimate… it was very meaningful to be there.”

(This episode contains a prayer originally from prayers-and-poetry.blogspot.com, as seen in Play Like A Champion Today’s prayerbook for sports, God, Be In My Sport)

Cristy Murray

She is the Head Archery Coach for Holy Rosary Academy in Anchorage Alaska, having launched the program herself, and last year one of her student-athletes qualified to compete nationally. She also competed in the Taekwondo National Tournament and has participated in the mud run. Away from sports, she is a certified Catholic neurocoach and expert in helping daughters heal from the trauma of being raised by covert narcissistic mothers. Plus, she is the founder of Blue Veil Wellness, providing comprehensive online coaching programs AND she is the host of a podcast called Maternal Narcissists: Unmasked.

Notable guest quotes:

“I believe we should have faith in everything that we do, especially with sports and the media that sports is getting nowadays, it’s really a good way to evangelize.”

“I was born and raised Catholic, and then did go to Catholic school, starting kindergarten, up until like first two years of college.”

“When she brought me to Our Lady of Lourdes – this was in the Philippines – February 11 is her feast day, and they have a healing Mass.  They are like the whole day would be like a healing day.  And according to her after she had brought me there, I rarely got sick.”

“I always tell everyone I made it because not because I was strong, not because I was great, but because I prayed every night.  Even as a child, I had a pouch of prayer books with me, and I prayed every night before I’d go to bed.”

“I got into taekwondo after the military. I won state and then qualified for national championships.”

“Our church here in Alaska, they put a pilgrimage together last year and it’s to visit the Marian sites in Europe.  So, we went to Fatima and then we went to Lourdes… when I got to Lourdes, it really felt to me that I was coming home.”

“A church is not just like one person going and worshiping.  I mean, it’s good to have your time with Christ, but we’re a community and we’re there to help each other and lift each other up.”

“I also have a specific time to go to Adoration every week, which I really look forward to going to and it’s another best kept secret which should not be a secret that you hear Christ when you’re in front of the Blessed Sacrament.”

“I wanted to be a neuro coach because it’s more than just mindset.  It’s digging deeper and figuring out those neuro pathways that have been formed since you were a child that’s clearly affecting how you function in your day-to-day life.  And what’s better is if you add scripture to it.”

“Christ does not want you to feel eternally guilty and feeling bad.  That’s actually the enemy (that) wants you to feel bad because he wants you in despair, but then Christ actually is there.  He gave up his life for you and saved you.”

Related link:

Cristy’s official website

(This episode contains a prayer from the National Catholic Coaches Association’s “The Leadership Papers,” although originally credited in there to The Coach’s Bible.)