Episodes

Rudy Ruettiger

His story was told in a 1993 motion picture that USA Today ranked as the number one “Best Football Movie of All Time,” centering on his time trying to get into Notre Dame and on their football team, and eventually into a game against Georgia Tech when he sacked the quarterback with less than 30 seconds to play in the game. He is a U.S. Navy Vietnam Veteran and has gone on to be a motivational keynote speaker, including having spoken at the White House under two presidents. He has co-authored several books and offered his message in his original production live on Broadway. He also is the co-founder of the Rudy Foundation.

Notable guest quotes:

“Things change… along the way with your faith… So, it’s not the religion, it’s your faith, being a good Catholic.”

“When you step on the campus at Notre Dame, it is spiritual.  So that in itself created a mindset of cleansing.”

“If it wasn’t for the good brothers and the good priests, I would’ve never been at Notre Dame.”

“When I showed up at Holy Cross, the brother – who sat behind that desk – when my friend died, I said, ‘No more shortcuts for me,’ I gave myself up to the Lord, at that moment my whole life changed.”

“You don’t have to see to believe.  It’s your faith.”

“We all are children of God, no matter what religion you are.”

“‘There is a god and you’re not Him.’  That’s one of the greatest lines in the movie.”

“Faith is always in my speech(es).  God is always in my speech(es).  But I do it in a way like the movie does – let ‘em discover it.  Let ‘em discover why faith is important instead of preaching in their face.”

“We’re warriors of Jesus Christ.  Once we understand that we become different people.”

“When Rocky blessed himself I knew he was a man of faith because faith plays an important part.  You’re not asking God to win the fight, you’re asking God to give you the courage and character to fight the fight.”

Related link:

Rudy’s official website

(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)

Victoria Everleigh

She is a highly accomplished figure skater, including being a U.S. Figure Skating Quadruple Gold Medalist. She has been both a national and international competitor in her sport, finishing Top 10 at the 2014 US National Solo Dance Championships, one year after having been US National Champion, Senior Theatre on Ice. She was also the 2013 Nation’s Cup (World Championships) Silver Medalist, Senior Theatre on Ice and the 2012 US National Bronze Medalist, Senior Theatre on Ice.  She has even performed at Central Park as well as in the US Synchronized Championship Opening Ceremonies. On the faith side she is a Catholic novelist with two books out and another coming in September. Plus, she has written for multiple Catholic publications, including America magazine, among others.

Notable guest quotes:

“I grew up in a Catholic family… So, it was pretty much the only thing that I knew, and I feel very blessed that I grew up in a family that took us to church every week, and, by the grace of God, I grew up with the belief that this was super important. This was going to be a lifelong thing and I’m so grateful for that.”

“I did go to a Catholic high school called Immaculate High School in Danbury, Connecticut.”

“At that time in my life I was really wrapped up in this idea that I had to be perfect to be loved and so that permeated my athletics and my academics.”

“Those moments before you’re competing or performing and your name is called and you have that time to get to your opening position absolutely are, they’re quiet… and that can be an amazing moment for prayer.  (During) practice I absolutely believe that conversation with God can be part of that.”

“…33 days of different passages that you’re reading and at the end you consecrate yourself to Mary and there’s a prayer, and, I have done that twice.”

“I remember January 1^st, I think it was 2017… it’s (a) holy day of obligation related to Mary [Solemnity of Mary]… The homily, the priest was saying to really get to know Mary that year… Up until that homily I had never made it a priority or really thought about getting to know Mary and I feel like that homily just really kickstarted things for me and got me interested and was ultimately an invitation and I’m so glad that I was there to receive that.”

“I will usually try to find some sort of retreat to go on, whether it’s either directed or silent.”

“It sort of felt like my faith life and my skating life converged in that moment.”

“I feel like that actually helped me so much to realize that my identity wasn’t in sport… Our love for sports is a good thing.  It can be a way to glorify God.  But, I realized through the time that I was off the ice, that there is more to this life and that my value as a person really didn’t come from my results.”

Related link:

Victoria’s official 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)

Kent Lowe

The Senior Associate Sports Communications Director at Louisiana State University, serving as the primary media contact for the men’s basketball team and assisting in the overall Sports Communications office in other sports as needed. He is about to celebrate 34 years as a member of the LSU Sports Communications staff and has also written an award-winning bowling column for The (Baton Rouge) Advocate for more than 25 years. In 2018 he was inducted into the Louisiana State Bowling Association Hall of Fame for his service to the sport. Prior to working at LSU, he had served as the publicity director for Louisiana Downs racetrack. He is also a past president of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

Notable guest quotes:

“My parents, all Catholic… married in the Catholic church and, of course, certainly I was very involved with the Catholic church at what is now the cathedral… But, certainly involved with the Catholic church for… all my life, really.”

“I went to St. John Berchmans, which was the parish and the grade school there and then right next door was Jesuit High School. It’s now… Loyola High School, but it was a Jesuit high school when I attended.”

“I think of the most passionate LSU fans who go to my church… You’ll see ‘em every Sunday there with their purple and gold and that’s perfectly fine but I think you do have to realize that… these are just… young people playing a sport they love.  And you need to root for ‘em all you can but you don’t need to criticize ‘em.  You need to support them in every way you can.”

“It’s always great when you see, after football games, you always see… a group of players, usually from both teams, kneeling at midfield after the game and just saying a quick prayer.”

“There are little things here and there you see along the way that shows you that there is a spiritual presence here at times.”

“There are those moments you see that kinda make you realize that there’s more to it than just winning the game.”

“She’s very focused on not only athletics but her spiritual life.  She always would point to the heavens at the end of a game, and that type of thing.  And that team was very spiritual in many ways.  They’d had Bible study and things like that.”

“The other thing that was also fascinating… was the racetrack chaplaincy program at Louisiana Downs at that time was outstanding.”

“The (race) track also made sure that on Saturdays there was a Catholic Mass before the races started, for those who wanted to attend.”

“I’m a lector… have been for years, love doing it.  I feel it’s something I’m good at.”

Related link:

Kent’s bio on LSU website

Tyler Rowley

He serves as the president of Servants of Christ, which defends life, family, and the Holy Faith through media and activism. He is a past leader in young adult ministry in the Diocese of Providence. His first book, “Because of Our Fathers,” was published last year. His second book, which he is co-authoring with Abby Johnson, is titled “Life to the Full” and will be published early next year. On the sports side, he played college football at Brown University.

Notable guest quotes:

“My father… is a man of integrity and virtue and instilled those natural virtues in his children routinely and he would get down on his knees every Sunday and go to Mass.”

“My younger brother is a priest in the Diocese of Providence.  We’re all committed to the faith… we’re serious about it.  We believe it.”

“I started to read… started to get into the church fathers… and I started to say, ‘Wow… it’s not just something I believe but it’s something that is so rich and provable, in a way, to people.”

“I think I sort of transferred all of my energy and all my passion that went into sports into what I finally realized was much more important, which is the Catholic faith and using all the skills that God gave me to evangelize.”

“You give your feelings and your thoughts to God, and you ask Him for peace with it, and He’ll give you peace.”

“What I took away from sports more than anything is the ability to withstand the physical pains of this world and to keep going and to relate that to the Cross.”

“There’s so many saints that mortification was a cornerstone of their spiritual life… it’s a deep intimacy and connection to the physical world and our physical body that God gave us and Christ took on, and, it’s powerful.”

“I’m fortunate and blessed to be the president of (Servants of Christ)… We’ll get involved in anything that defends the orthodox Catholic faith.”

“We struggled with infertility for two years.  And I had to dig deep into the Catholic teaching on this issue and we found what’s commonly referred to as natural family planning through the Creighton model and we found a Catholic hospital that teaches the Creighton model.”

Related link:

Tyler’s website

(This episode contains a prayer by Gregg Easterbrook from the NFL.com and ESPN.com column “Monday Morning Quarterback,” as seen in Play Like A Champion Today’s prayerbook for sports, God, Be In My Sport)

Zach Blaszak

He is the Director of Athletics and Activities at Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He has been supporting student-athletes as a member of the CCHS staff for ten years, and one year ago was promoted to his current role after having been Assistant Athletic Director and Athletic Trainer. In total he has had an 18-year career in secondary school athletics, working with hundreds of coaches and thousands of athletes. He did his undergrad in Athletic Training at Merrimack College and earned his Master’s in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation — with a concentration in Athletic Training and Athletic Administration — from Western Michigan University.  As a student-athlete himself, he had played football in high school.

Notable guest quotes:

“I come from a family of strong Catholic faith… Some of my fondest and most memorable events in my life have been always surrounded by the church and by my family’s faith.”

“I’m a product of Catholic education.  My parents made extreme sacrifices for my siblings and I to go to Catholic schools from… kindergarten through college.”

“My dad was an usher at Mass.  My mom was a Eucharistic Minister.  My brother and I were altar servers and I’m pretty sure I could still say that I’m the reigning Altar Server of the Year at St. Bede Parish from 1996.”

“Service has always been a part of my life, whether it’s a mission trip or a service trip that I’ve gone on or just being a servant leader and doing those behind-the-scenes things for our athletic program, that’s always been an important part of who I am.”

“Like I said, I’m a product of Catholic education all the way through college.  That’s always been a strong part of my life and I always made time for that… Making sure that my faith life didn’t suffer for my studies or for my job.”

“I realized what was missing at my previous school (job) and it was a faith-based education and a Catholic school environment, whether it be the pre- or post-game prayer, or the athletes doing service together, or having a pre-game Mass, that’s what was missing for me in those two years.”

“…to start a family, we came out here (to Massachusetts) and by the grace of God there were two jobs open at Central Catholic, one for a Campus Minister, which (my wife) was able to get and then for the Athletic Training position within the athletic department.”

“I’m able to take part in the athletic piece and attend some retreats or be an active participant in our school liturgies and prayer services and our service program.”

“Our school mission… is to make Jesus known and loved and whether that’s in the classroom or through our faith life or through athletics, we could easily accomplish that.”

“There’s a spiritual aspect about athletics that I always love… make Jesus known and loved, care for the least favored and those in need, while succeeding on the field or the court or playing surface.  We’re not just here to win games.  We’re here to build successful and intelligent young men and women.”

Paula Umana

She is a former professional tennis player who is now a speaker, an author, and the tennis coach at Holy Spirit Prep in Atlanta, Georgia, with an amazing story of a nervous system disorder that left her quadriplegic.  She had been the Number 1 tennis player in her country of origin, Costa Rica, including having been Central American Champion for nine years and representing her country at the Central American Games.  She has written a book called “40 Gifts of Hope: Encouragement in Times of Sickness and Suffering.”

Notable guest quotes:

“Costa Rica is a small country… I was born in a family of seven children, and I am the youngest.  And the Catholic traditions in… Costa Rica are really strong.”

“… family of seven kids and for my dad it was very difficult to be able to afford a tennis career for somebody, but, God provides, and things started to get better.  At the time I was 17 I took a very serious decision in my life that was to become a professional tennis player and dedicate all the time to practice, maybe eight or nine hours a day of tennis.”

“He was the one who asked me the question, ‘Would you like to take tennis serious and play everyday and to do homeschooling and practice,’ and I was like, ‘Yes, but I need to be able to afford all these expenses for my dream.’  So, I remember, I started praying for that.”

“I think that was the beginning of, for me to be very close to God.  I was just praying for finding a way to do it.  And I remember I found some Catholic friends and also, I started to call some companies in my country and I was able to get good sponsors and that’s how I was able to come to the United States.”

“I moved to Miami, Key Biscayne, and… I remember the Catholic church there… St. Agnes… I remember I used to practice and then go to the house where I used to live… and have dinner and then after that I just used to go to the church and sit down outside of the church.”

“After (my son) was born, my body just started to get all paralyzed in a horrible way until I was just a person in a bed not being able to move.”

“In Costa Rica we have a special day for the Virgin Mary and it’s a day called the Virgin of the Angels, where everybody goes in pilgrimage and walks through the country to pray and to offer and to give thanks.  So, my aunt decided for everybody to go for me and pray.  And that was on August 2nd of 2015.  Well, on August 4th of 2015, that was the first time I was able to sit down.”

“On February 11^th of 2016, that was the day of the Virgin of Lourdes, my mother-in-law called me, and she said, ‘I’m praying for you.’  I was in a wheelchair on my front porch, and… that was the first time I was able to stand up.”

“The biggest miracle for me was… my daughter, Marie, went on a mission trip to the Virgin of Lourdes and all the doctors told me, ‘You’re not going to be able to walk anymore,’ … and when my daughter was in the Virgin of Lourdes praying for me, a lady stopped me in the supermarket and she said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, but, I didn’t walk for twelve years.  And I discovered this device on my legs.’  And it’s a man in Seattle that is doing them.  It was not a neuromuscular center… I met this lady in the supermarket right when my daughter is in front in Lourdes praying for me and my situation.”

“It is so beautiful how our Blessed Mother is always available for us, to help us.  Like the same way that women, as moms, we’re available for our kids and sometimes our kids are teenagers and they don’t talk to us and they don’t look at us, but we’re always there waiting for them to come to us and… to help in any way.  So, I think we have to go to Her because she’s amazing… I love Her so much for everything that has happened in my life.”

“I learned that the best way to win was offering my suffering.”

Related links:

Paula’s book “40 Gifts of Hope: Encouragement in Times of Sickness and Suffering”

Paula’s 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.)

Anna Wilgenbusch

She was the University of Dallas’ first NCAA cross country two-time All-American. She holds the five thousand meter and ten thousand meter school records at the University of Dallas for track and field and the 5K and 6K school records for cross country. She was the only female NCAA Division III cross country All-American in the state of Texas in 2019 and 2021. She is headed to the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota to study for her master’s degree in Theology, and she writes and authors Catholic children’s books.

Notable guest quotes:

“I attended Holy Trinity Catholic elementary and middle school in Tallahassee, Florida.  They had just a wonderful Life Teen program, so, I was really involved in my youth group.”

“I went to Covecrest Catholic camps in the summer and really encountered the Lord there.”

“I went to a Catholic high school… and really discovered the beauty of the tradition of the faith.”

“I do try (to) reverence the day of rest, really, as a day where I can take a day off from training, if I am training, even at the university level sometimes I would cross train on Sundays, but usually I would really take that to be a very intentional day of rest.”

“Even in the repetition that we find so meditative in the rosary, I think that kind of translates into running a little bit of just your footfalls, step after step, mile after mile, kind of forming into this very meditative process of prayer.”

“My prayer before every race is just let this race be a prayer and just consciously uniting whatever suffering comes out of that experience with the cross, and that’s something that I find immensely fulfilling about running.”

“My team… went and volunteered at the convent of the Sacred Heart in Bloomington, Minnesota, where the Sisters of Pro Ecclesia Sancta live.”

“I have discerned for many years, and I’ve stayed in a convent in Peru, in Spain, and also in Florence, Italy.”

“Really, a heart of discernment is, getting to know the heart of Jesus.”

“I also taught catechesis with the program Totus Tuus in the summer of 2019… through the southern part of Minnesota… at different parishes.  It was a wonderful experience.”

Related link:

Anna’s books on Amazon

[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]