Episodes

Joni Briganti

She has earned USA Triathlon’s Lifetime Achievement Award, among other honors. She went from being a USA racer/triathlete into an International World triathlete. In 2017 she qualified for Age Group Team USA Triathlon, and this will be her 11th year racing the World Triathlon Championships. She has raced in Denmark, Slovakia, Germany, Spain, and Australia, and in 2026 will be back in Spain as well as the United Arab Emirates. She is also a USA Triathlon Certified Level 2 Coach. Plus, she teaches 13 fitness classes weekly. As she discusses here, she has been swimming competitively since she was a little girl.

Notable guest quotes:

“I grew up in a very Catholic home, attended Mass all the time, every holiday, all the weekdays, and my mother’s sister – my aunt Dolores – was a sister of St. Joseph. And then we had a really good friend, Father Damien … who I was very close with.”

“I went to Catholic kindergarten, St. Josephat, and then I went to Resurrection of Our Lord elementary school all the way through eighth grade, and then Nazareth Academy High School, all in Philadelphia.”

“I won the 25-meter freestyle at four years old in the age group six-and-under.”

“I swam in the junior Olympics when I was nine. I swam in the individual medley in Washington, DC – took second place.”

“We moved to Japan three days after we got married in 1977… (I) was very involved in the Catholic Church over there too. Father Don, I still remember his name.”

“I coached children’s swim league for three years where we lived in Japan… it was through the Amateur Athletic Union.”

“It was kind of interesting because if it was a Protestant service then they would have just have a cross and then they would bring out a crucifix for the Catholic service in the same area.”

“We moved to Hawaii and I was really into swimming. I did a lot of open water swimming. We participated in the Waikiki Roughwater Swim series and the North Shore Swim series. And I was still running.”

“One of the things that I really love about my love of Jesus Christ in sports is that it had developed inside of me this ministry to encourage others that they could do it too. So, that’s kind of where I want to be to encourage and inspire and ignite others that they can do it too, not just me.”

“Not that I don’t like to win. We all like to win… But to see others, especially people who I work with, achieve their goals, that’s what’s really most important to me.”

“I would … pray the rosary the whole time I was swimming. I pray the rosary on the bike. I pray the rosary when I’m running. I pray the rosary now on a daily basis.”

“I feel like everybody can be empowered by our Savior to do their best… if you saw what my ‘26 season has in store for me, it’s jam packed. And this because of Jesus Christ, it’s because of the grace of God.”

“I feel like I put on the armor of God. And that’s just how I compete. And then when I finish, it’s like, ‘Thank you, Jesus’.”

“There is nothing that means more to me than glorifying the name of Jesus through sport.”

Daniel Gill

He attended Benedictine College Preparatory, where he distinguished himself as a three-sport athlete. He went on to play Division I soccer at Mount St. Mary’s and Longwood University. He later coached at Benedictine for ten years, transforming the soccer program into one of the top-ranked teams in Virginia. He achieved similar success by elevating the St. Gertrude’s soccer program to statewide prominence. In the fall of 2025, he accepted his current position as a teacher and head soccer coach at DeMatha Catholic High School in Maryland.

Notable guest quotes:

“We attended Catholic Mass, but I never felt like there was something specifically special about being Catholic growing up. It was just, I’m a Christian. There’s a lot of Christians out there. It wasn’t until later that I came to see how special being Catholic was.”

“I didn’t attend Catholic school until fifth grade and then I attended Catholic school through high school and then initially Mount St. Mary’s.”

“Probably a pivotal moment was I attended this sleepaway camp every summer called Camp Willow Run, which is in Littleton, North Carolina…. it’s a deeply religious camp and someone there or something there convinced me to turn my life over to Christ at a young age, which I did. And it’s been pretty steady since then.”

“Since I was in middle school, I’ve taken my faith seriously and have not fallen away from it.”

“The ones I really settled on and grew to love were basketball, tennis, and soccer… I played all of those at the varsity level in high school.”

“It had a deep impact on the family that (my brother) made that decision (to enter the seminary). And I think it was very inspiring not just to my parents, but to a lot of my aunts and uncles.”

“I went and visited him (at the seminary)… And that had a deep impact on me because I saw all these men there really with nothing… And their life was basically prayer and work, and they were just so joyful. And then I would go back to the secular world, and I just didn’t see that level of joy or happiness or peace. And so that was a big inspiration for me in high school at a time when really I could have fallen away from my faith. It was the boost I needed at that particular time to keep going.”

“I ended up getting into coaching education and eventually going to Spain to learn about coaching.”

“I would go to the parties in college and in high school, but I wouldn’t partake in a lot of the activities that were going on there. I was a designated driver. So, I just always felt like I was able to keep my own faith. It was my job to spend time with people that their faith was not important to them. And a lot of really great things have come out of that.”

“He also pushed me in my own time to just spend time in front of the blessed sacrament and just be quiet and just sit there with God and with Jesus and not say anything, just sit there. And just that simple act of doing that 15 to 30 minutes a day, which I’ve done every day over the last three years, has completely changed my faith and it’s completely changed really my life and how I interact with people.”

“Every day no matter what has happened, I go into the chapel for 15 or 30 minutes and just sit and so then I’m, instead of relying on myself and my own words, I’m really just relying on God to give me the support that I need and by doing that … I’ve made way more progress in my life.”

Related link:

DeMatha soccer

(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.)

John Paul Raiger

He was a free safety on the football team at the College of the Holy Cross, where he was selected to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. That followed a high school career during which he served as captain of the football team during his senior season, when he helped his team to an 8-3 record after having gone 10-2 with a trip to the regional finals as a junior. During his time at St. John Neumann Catholic High School in Naples, Florida, he was also a member of the track and field team, earning all-area honors and setting a school record in the 200-meter dash.

Notable guest quotes:

“Grew up going to Mass every day and … altar serving was almost expected in a town like Ave Maria… very close knit and I had the honor of serving just the regular Mass and then the extraordinary form as well. So, through that I was able to deepen my understanding of the Catholic faith, and it was just awesome.”

“I was … fixated on football and fixated on myself and, looking back now, especially during my time at Holy Cross, I realized that I did not pursue my faith and that really stemmed from focusing only on myself and what I could do to make myself look better, make myself more popular.”

“Where it all clicked for me was focusing on others and bringing others along with you. So, you can work towards being as good as you possibly can be, but are you really doing good unless you are building other people up?”

“If you’re a high school student looking to grow your faith while also focusing on sports, look towards others and look towards building up the people around you because at the end of the day that is the most important thing you can do and it’ll bring other people towards God and you’ll bring yourself closer towards God through love for your fellow man.”

“I was always in a Catholic school either homeschooled or Catholic school and the structures that they have in place and the opportunities that they have in place are really unmatched in my opinion. I think that’s the whole point is, the opportunity is there to grow in your faith if you grab a hold of it.”

“My first official visit was actually to Bucknell at that time I still hadn’t received the offer from Holy Cross, but I went over to Bucknell … and … spent a weekend there. At the end of the weekend, they offered me a scholarship. I got this funny feeling that it just wasn’t the right spot.”

“I really came to the realization that I’m here for others and to bring others closer towards God in any possible way. And the way I saw it was participate with the team, stay involved, and do whatever you possibly can to help the team.”

“I really made the connection with the faith, and I realized that we’re called to bring others towards the light, we’re called to bring others towards God.”

“God lives in all of us and sometimes we just need others to help us bring it to the surface.”

“The injury really just put me in a spot where I had to consider why I was there … and I almost started viewing the Catholic faith as like a team sport, like football, where your friend might fall short one day. Who’s there to pick him up? The guy next to him. And who’s there to pick up that guy? The guy next to him. And so on and so forth.”

“These were my brothers on the field and now they get to be my brothers in Christ.”

[This episode contains a prayer (poem) by Central Catholic High School (Pittsburgh, PA) Principal Ed Bernot, as seen in Play Like A Champion Today’s prayerbook for sports, God, Be In My Sport]

Will Robertson

He is a left fielder in the Baltimore Orioles organization, having played last year for both the Chicago White Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays. He had been chosen in the fourth round of the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft by Toronto following a collegiate career at Creighton University where he hit .307 with 30 home runs and 147 RBI. During those years he was a Second Team All-BIG EAST selection in 2017 and First Team All-BIG EAST in 2018. And he was named Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American in 2017. Back in high school he had earned four letters in baseball, helped guide his team to the Class 3 State title, and was a three-time All-State First Team selection and earned First Team honors in district and conference.

Notable guest quotes:

“Grew up raised Catholic, both grandparents were raised Catholic, so very, I would say, a very strong Catholic family and kind of extended family as well.”

“I had a Catholic education all the way up to eighth grade.”

“I think baseball was my calling and was happy with the time that I had playing basketball but happy that baseball was there too.”

“(Creighton University) being a Jesuit institution and the high values that they hold for not just the athletes but all the students that go there and then the academics were something very, very important to me.”

“When you first move away from your parents… you kind of get sidetracked a little bit just trying to… find out who you are and trying to figure out who you’re going to be as both a person and athlete and also a man of faith.”

“Prayer and praying the rosary has always been a big deal to both me and my wife and our family and praying the rosary and having a process and a prayer life to fall back on is huge and understanding that I’m way more than just a baseball player.”

“I didn’t really have any sort of help either negotiating or how the whole thing went down because I was flying in an airplane, so I didn’t have any Wi-Fi or reception obviously so another thing, yeah, put it in God’s hands and let Him create the plan.”

“My support system with my wife and my family and my faith definitely help me carry through (adversity).”

“That’s why you have faith in God and then also have faith in your support system that no matter what happens that you’re more than a baseball player, you’re more than somebody that tries to hit a baseball, and you’re important in other people’s lives as well.”

“Whatever God is wanting to talk to me about in that silence before I take the field or listen to my music, try to take a little bit of time to let Him talk to me before then.”

“I feel like something God calls us to do is use our gifts, use our platform, which happens to be baseball for me, and to shed the light and share your faith.”

Related link:

Will’s page on MLB.com

(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)

Kevin White

An Athletics Administration Leader & Educator who authored a book published last year called, “The Good Sport: Reflections on a Full Life in College Sports.” He is one of the most accomplished and respected athletic directors in American sports history. Over his 47-year career, he has shaped some of the most prominent programs in the nation, from Notre Dame to Duke, earning countless accolades and the enduring loyalty of those he mentored. As a testament to his unparalleled influence on athletics, 32 of his former assistants now lead sports programs across the United States, and four of his children head college sports programs. Sports Illustrated has dubbed his family the “First Family of Athletic Directors.”

Notable guest quotes:

“I was born and raised in a typical Irish Catholic family… and had the opportunity to move through that environment… My grandparents lived with us most of the time… I have Irish citizenship… dual citizenship.”

“We were very much an Irish Catholic family with an awful lot of connectivity to Catholic America. I attended St. Martin of Tours grade school, elementary school… and then later on I went to St. Joseph’s College… and… I was at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, a diocesan school… and then later on I spent time … at the University of Notre Dame.”

“My wife and I became a coaching duet, so to speak.  We were both largely track and field coaches.”

“That tournament ran for about 20 years and hosted 32 small Catholic institutions from around the country wherein they would come to Dubuque, Iowa in January to play in this tournament – 16 men’s teams and 16 women’s teams – and we had just a lot of fun putting that together, but we had some of the great former Catholic and currently Catholic coaches in our country get involved.”

“The way the sports business has evolved I would have never perceived we would be where we are today… this thing has just changed dramatically and we’re not quite where we’re going to be.  I think at this point we’re still in transition and I think I could say that about sport in any context, just not college athletics.”

“Len talked about writing his book largely about Notre Dame leadership and asked if I would be interested in writing … a segment … on Father Monk Malloy who had been the president for about 18 or 19 years… I was … really proud to have the opportunity to write about one of the great human beings that I had ever met or one of the great priests that have ever represented our faith.”

“We’re in a bit of a calamity state where we’ve deregulated the NCAA to a point of, we’ve almost destroyed the level playing field and it’s pay-for-play and schools are buying players from other institutions.”

“My ministry was probably not a heck of a lot different than yours… I’ve been in love with being an educator for almost 50 years… but I’ve loved the opportunity to work with young people and for them to think big, dream big, and be really aspirational, just not in sport but in education and also in life.”

“I’ve always kind of felt that … to do the right thing when nobody’s watching, I think, is what we teach our kids as parents.”

“I think we’re all here to become bigger, faster, and stronger but more importantly better and to serve each other and I’ve always felt a commitment to do that.”

Related link:

Kevin’s website

Lauren Evans

She played tennis at Furman University, with the program consistently finishing as a ranked team. They won the regular season conference championship for DI Southern Conference four times and the tournament three times and attended the NCAA tournament every year except for her senior year, when she was named MVP. She ran cross-country her senior year and a month after graduating ran her first marathon, finishing second in Italy. She had two opportunities to run professionally and has run four 50 miler races, finishing 3rd in the American River 50 Miler and winning several 50k’s. She had grown up playing tennis since age three and played tournaments in England and Italy. She came to the Catholic faith while in college, which she talks about during this interview.

Notable guest quotes:

“I grew up in Italy for a while and we had the opportunity to go in many, many churches. Also, when I lived in England, we went in a lot of churches just to see the art and architecture.”

“Sports are a beautiful thing, but I certainly experienced the parental pressure which I think is not healthy. That said I’m grateful that I played tennis. I’m grateful that I ended up on a college team.”

“I had a little bit of success in England but then when I went to Italy I played on the red clay and was older. And in Italy the way they function is you can play with 14-and-under, 16-and-under, 18-and-under, but the majority of the tournaments are just based on your level and it’s more of like a professional system. So, you would play against adults and I really felt that if you’re just talking from a sports development perspective that was really helpful because adults just think differently. They have more experience. Just because they’re older and have more experience, they’re smarter with how they play the game. So, I think my tennis game really took off by playing against adults.”

“When I first got to Furman it was a culture shock because I had grown up overseas my whole life. I had spent several years with Italians and then I went to the so-called Bible belt, and it was just a different culture. And so, the first semester was really difficult. I wanted to just go home.”

“I really liked going. I thought, this is good. I’m missing something. I love the joy, the communal prayer, but I did feel like something was missing.”

“Growing up in Italy there was some form of osmosis of going in and actually having the presence of Christ in the church, in the tabernacle.”

“I started going to Mass with her and I started going every Sunday when it was on campus and after a while I said I want to be Catholic.”

“I went to run the marathon, it’s very close to Loreto and I think I had an awareness that this is a special place. So, I ended up going to Loreto because I had an extra day there and I asked people, ‘What should I do,’ and they said, ‘You should go to Loreto because it’s right here.’ And it never registered to me that, like, Jesus’s house was there.”

“The biggest goal is that I will remain in relationship with my kids as they grow up and that they will become saints. And the goal of marriage is to mutually sanctify each other for mutual sanctification.”

“Why be mediocre? I think that’s the best lesson like from sports is you can’t really be mediocre and succeed. So, it’s like, you take what you learned in sports, and you have to apply it to the spiritual life. You can’t be mediocre in the spiritual life. That’s called being lukewarm.”

(This episode contains a prayer originally from catholic.org, as seen in Play Like A Champion Today’s prayerbook for sports, God, Be In My Sport)

Dr Dillon Caswell

He grew up a four-sport athlete, including having been a highly recruited football player out of high school. Present day, he continues to train and compete across multiple sports. He is a Board-Certified Sports Clinical Specialist who has worked with elite performers across a wide spectrum: from semi-professional rugby players and Division I collegiate athletes to former NFL players and nationally ranked senior Olympians. A convert to the Catholic faith, he leads Hope Not Nope’s human performance initiatives, serving military special operators, elite athletes, and driven entrepreneurs. Plus, he has also authored a book by the same name, Hope Not Nope.

Notable guest quotes:

“We went to a couple Easter, Christmas Masses here and there, and never really understood what was going on. And we always had this belief in a higher power, but we weren’t really having conversations about faith or where to direct it.”

“I grew up playing four sports. They were football, basketball, wrestling, and baseball.”

“Out of high school, when people asked me, ‘Hey, what’s your plan?’ to me, my plan was, I’m going to go play college football. That’s the path… And I just remember being recruited for six to seven months and having conversations with all these coaches, and all these things happening.”

“I always had a belief in God. But it was the first time that I realized that His plan is greater than our plan, even when we don’t know why it’s happening or why we’re going through this particular thing.”

“That’s when I started to find the love of helping athletes reach their highest potential through human performance. And the avenue that I was doing that through was starting to study to become a physical therapist, which then continued to grow and grow and grow and … really kind of marked my faith journey of getting serious about seeking the Lord and what this all means and where to direct that to.”

“The scripture that kind of anchors what I get to do is Romans 5:35 and it helps us show us what true hope is and it kind of gets into a little bit of sports science as well.”

“When it was put on my heart to start the business and write the book, Hope Not Nope, my initial mission at that time that I shared was, I wanted to end suffering because my family was going through it, I was going through it, and I knew how much it, it’s a struggle, it’s hard, it’s a challenge to go through that adversity. And thankfully that perspective completely shifts because it’s not necessarily about ending suffering. We have to go through some of the suffering or some of the nopes that we face. It’s how we can turn that nope that we face into hope through that power and grace of the Lord.”

“It’s so amazing to just have this gift of the Catholic church and the tradition and the sacraments that are in it. It was everything that I was looking for.”

“We were told we have to have the golden ticket. So, we spent about 12 hours at the Vatican searching, trying to get this golden ticket. And we finally got it and then we ended up not needing it, whatsoever.”

Related link:

Hope Not Nope

(This episode contains a prayer seen in Play Like A Champion Today’s prayerbook for sports, God, Be In My Sport)