Episodes

Erinn Black

She was on the Division I George Mason women’s soccer team and then served in a Student Assistant Coaching/Manager role with the team.  Earlier on as a student-athlete she had competed in three sports in high school: field hockey, track, and soccer.  Now doing missionary work on a college campus, she was an all-state field hockey player and captain of her travel/high school soccer team.  Injuries in her athletic career played a key role in the growth of her faith life, as she talks about here.

Notable guest quotes:

“Born and raised Catholic and have always been.  Both my parents are Catholic and that’s how they raised us.”

“What I found with each injury and the intensity of it, there were so many ways that I was able to enter into a deeper relationship with Jesus in that.”

“Our suffering is always an invitation to die to ourselves for the sake of others.”

“He loves meeting us there.  That is what’s echoed in scripture.  He’s going to those who are in poverty, the weak, those who are poor.  And at this rate I was extremely poor.  I was suffering severely in my injuries.”

“It’s one thing when you can live into the faith when things are good.  But it’s a whole ‘nother thing when you’re choosing that in the darkest days of your life.”

“There were plenty of days where I ended in the chapel, with tears, and just emotional, but being very consoled by Jesus and it actually being life changing for me.”

“I was still empty, and I had everything that the world told me that I should have, and nothing could fill that infinite longing in my heart until I met Christ.  It’s as simple as that.”

“When the Lord revealed that the ‘why’ that I was asking Him — ‘Why didn’t you give me the platform.  I could’ve done this, that, and the other for You” — He made it very clear.  He said, ‘Erin, you wouldn’t have chosen me, and I wanted your heart so bad.  It would’ve got so lost.  You would not have chosen me, and I wanted you too much’.”

“I’m very thankful, very thankful, for the suffering I’ve gone through, and the degree that I did because I wouldn’t be the person I am, I wouldn’t have the heart that I do, and I wouldn’t know Christ in the depth that I do either.”

“I was so used to kind of being the anchor for most of the people in my life that I needed someone who was going to sprint with me towards heaven.”

“I dove completely into just greater healing, consistent prayer life, sacramental life, this new community, the people I surrounded myself with.  And then I was able to dive into that with my soccer team, lead them in Bible study, and accompanying my closest friends on the team.”

Related link:

Erin’s FOCUS profile

(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)

Carley Whitney

The Assistant Athletic Director, Head Girls Basketball Coach, and Summer Camps Director at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio.  She is also the founder of IAmHer Basketball and had attended Kent State, where she played club soccer for four years, having been captain/manager for three.  During that same time, she was driving back and forth every day to coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary, where she had been a three-sport athlete, earning eleven letters (four in soccer, four in softball, and three in basketball). She was an All-Ohio soccer player during her high school years as well.

Notable guest quotes:

“I’ve been a product of Catholic education my entire life.  Played CYO sports.”

“When you say, ‘How does my Catholic faith play a role,’ I guess it’s not so much a role it’s a part of me.”

“St. Vincent-St. Mary High School has allowed me to innately be myself; to live my faith, to talk about faith, to use it as a tool and a vehicle, to ingrain faith and sports.”

“I have a strong foundation.  I was raised in a Catholic household where your rent payment was, going to church on Sunday.  There was no expectation.  You didn’t sleep in.  That was an expectation.  If you lived at home you were getting up and going.”

“I’ve always been one to kind of give it to God.  I live my faith in my own unique way.”

“Before games I go sit in the church parking lot, and I have my quiet time inside the church.”

“When you have large, large changes in your life… that is God… God only gives you what you can handle and He was preparing me… and has for the last eight years.”

“I’m trying to make young women better than when, how they came to me.  I also think that’s kind of God’s work.  You don’t get paid enough for all the hours you put in.  You get paid in heaven points hopefully.”

“I am a Catholic woman who is a faith-filled person who is allowed to use their faith as a tool.  If that wasn’t who I am that might be different.”

“Within my own (summer) camp I run my camps just like I run my program.  You’re getting a taste of what we do.  We pray before everything.”

Related link:

Carley’s bio page on St. Vincent-St. Mary website

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

Linda Randazzo

The Assistant Track & Field Coach and Recruitment Coordinator at Belmont Abbey College, also studying (through Divine Mercy University) to become a licensed sports psychologist. Previously she was on staff with the track coaches at Immaculata-La Salle High School in Miami. As a student-athlete she competed in the 200m and javelin at Belmont Abbey College, having also competed in track and field in high school.  There was also some very notable sports involvement in her family, which she talks about in this episode.

Notable guest quotes:

“There was kind of no question for my parents that… my brother and I were going to be put in the best schools that we possibly could be put in, and these, of course, were all Catholic.”

“Every time there was a tryout at St. Theresa, I tried out for the team and by the grace of God I made the team.”

“For a lot of Italian-Americans heritage and faith go hand-in-hand.  So, that greater glory to God and I think just being around all of these men and women who emphasized the importance of sport and virtue in conjunction with one another, as a little girl that kind of gave me the guts just to go out there and play with the guys.”

“They served as professional mentors, of course, teaching me all about the practicalities of being a coach.  But also, they served as spiritual directors as well for me.”

“Coaching and athletics, the physical element of everything has its limits… But when you’re working with these student-athletes… there is a point where it does always turn to spiritual direction because we are a body and spirit all in one all the time.”

“I think at every point in some Catholic’s life you’re going to be challenged.  Your faith is going to be challenged.  And I think that’s unfortunately a byproduct of our fallen nature.”

“I remember thinking, ‘My gosh, this is so much more than just rosaries on the mantle or pictures on the wall.  This is truth.  This is something that is actually something that people would, without hesitation, give their life for rather than renounce Christ and His truth and the beauty that is Catholicism’.”

“We have to cooperate with grace and go where God and the Holy Spirit beckons us.”

“There’s no such thing as coincidences, only Divine Providence.”

“I have never been let down in my prayerful petitions to the Blessed Mother’s intercession.”

“Christ felt every human emotion… Nothing we struggle with is unfamiliar to Christ in such an intimate way.”

(This episode contains a prayer attributed to legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, as seen in Play Like A Champion Today’s prayerbook for sports, God, Be In My Sport)

Kristen Phillips

She played professional basketball in the WNBA, FIBA, and European Super League, being named the latter’s Player of the Year in 2009. After her playing career she spent seven years as the Associate Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Seattle University, a Division I level school.  During that time, she also earned her master’s degree in Sport Business Leadership.  As a student-athlete she had been a four-year starter and three-year captain and Defensive Player of the Year at the University of Washington, following a high school career during which she was an All-American and Gatorade Basketball State Player of the Year.

Notable guest quotes:

“I’m a cradle Catholic… We were a busy sports family and it made a real impression on me that wherever we were — tournament or going from gym to gym or baseball field to baseball field — wherever we were, however busy we were, we always made it to Mass every weekend.”

“Off to college and then overseas I always made a point to get to Mass no matter where I was.”

“A conversation started in class about euthanasia, and I remember sitting there and the longer I sat there not saying anything the more uncomfortable I felt within.  And I just thought, ‘We are called to share the gospel.  We are called to speak the truth.’  And so, after a while I just couldn’t not say anything… It’s important to speak the truth.”

“My faith was always something I tried to keep in the center.  So, always going to Mass, recognizing ‘this is my true identity’.”

“When I was overseas that was how I spent a lot of my time, was, studying the Catechism.”

“Truly once I got (to Fatima) it was one of the most profound experiences and I try to — even all these years later, I try to — put it into words.  But what I can say is that in that experience I felt that the Blessed Mother really became a real person to me.  I just felt her love in a way that I never had before.”

“I began praying the rosary daily after that and it truly just changed my life in so many ways.”

“When I played in the WNBA, they had a chapel service before each game… both teams would come together, would pray together… It was something that I really enjoyed.”

“Keep running the race.  Keep running after the Lord and trying to live your life to please Him.”

(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)

Brittany Bock

She was a two-time All-American at Notre Dame, reaching the Final Four three times in four years.  She went on to excel as a professional soccer player for seven years and was part of championship teams and earned the opportunity to train at the highest level with the US Women’s National Team.  Listen in the second half of the show for her powerful story, overcoming eleven surgeries, broken ribs, and concussions, all while moving to seven different states.  In addition to being a former pro athlete, she is a mentor, coach, speaker, and massage therapist.  There is also an amazing story in the second half of the show about her trip to the Holy Land last year.

Notable guest quotes:

“Growing up, even on Sundays going to Mass, we were ministers of the altar… So, big part of our life.”

“In my recruiting process… I had a lot of schools looking at me… So, when I was looking at colleges… my faith was a huge part of that.”

“My faith, I think, my soccer journey and my career, it’s like this yearning to grow with the Lord in relationship.”

“I was always drawn to players that had a deep relationship with the Lord or were seeking.  And so, through that journey, I would, in every city I went to… I would find — obviously easy as a Catholic to find — Mass in places where you go, which I’m so grateful.  But I would end up going to Mass by myself… So, I was still growing in my relationship with the Lord.”

“I was just praying, like, ‘Lord, I need You to show me, like, I want You to show me how You want me to walk with You.  And, like, open doors, or shut doors that need to be shut and open doors that You want opened.’  And so, I moved (to Colorado).”

“Ultimately, it’s that pain and that suffering that, it’s where we find Jesus even more and we are more bound, like, connected to Him at the cross and can surrender that.”

“Not that God does things to us, but He’ll use… all for good for those who love Him.”

“I started to, in this journey, as I continued to fall down, there were times when I just felt weaker and weaker and weaker and cried out to God, like, ‘Why? What am I doing wrong?!'”

“He continued to say ‘I’m right here with you.   Your scars are mine.  I have those.  I know what you’re going through.’  And so that continuous draw through the suffering and through the pain, just, as He continues to pursue our hearts, all the time.”

“Instead of taking things into our own hands it’s like, ‘God we give this to You!'”

Related link:

Brittany’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)

Bobby Allison

A NASCAR Hall of Famer who was the 1983 champion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and had three Daytona 500 victories, among numerous other titles and championships. He won on 27 different tracks and had at least three wins in every NASCAR major. He ended his career with 85 victories and was named one of NASCAR’s “50 Greatest Drivers.”  He was also a seven-time Most Popular Driver Award-winner.

Notable guest quotes:

“I had nine brothers and sisters… We also had three babies who died as babies, which in those days was accepted a little bit more readily than it is in today’s world…. And we were Catholic.  We went to Mass on Sunday as a family.  My mom and dad were great Catholic parents.”

“I went to… a kindergarten through twelfth grade Catholic high school in downtown Miami.  And in… my junior high school year, the bishop built a Catholic boys school and a Catholic girls school just north of the downtown area and I switched over to Archbishop Curley High.”

“My mom was a great, great Christian… and my dad was the best Christian Catholic man that I ever knew.”

“I felt like bad situations, bad luck in racing, whatever, might be partial punishment for some misdeed that I had done.  And I felt like I was one of those people that was successful with God being merciful.”

(On dealing with the death of his son Clifford) “I spent many hours and tears and just tried to come up with some equation that would give me some peace.  I did continue to go to Mass, and I tried to stay within the sacraments… I prayed for peace for myself, peace for the family… just general prayer, and lots of it.”

“I was so devoted to my career and the racing industry that I could not put up with people — owners or mechanics — (with) any kind of negative attitude toward whatever went on.  I was there to do the best I could and if we had a bad day I would say, ‘Thank you, Lord. Things could’ve been worse’.  And when we had a good day, I tried to share that with everybody that was involved with me.”

“One special priest, when he could get a day off every now and then, he’d show up at a racetrack and give the invocation… and he was a delight to me too… we got to meet and talk and became great friends.  And I talk to him even frequently right now.”

Related link:

Official Bobby Allison website

Kerri Gallagher

The Director of Cross Country, Track and Field at Manhattan College in New York.  In July 2016 she had been named head coach of Manhattan’s men’s and women’s cross country, mid-distance and distance programs.  An elite-level professional runner, she represented the United States in the 1500 meters at the 2015 IAAF World Championships. She had finished third in the 1500 at the USATF Outdoor Championships to qualify for the World Championships in Beijing, China, among other international competition.  In her days as a student-athlete she set six school records and won four Atlantic 10 titles competing for Fordham University and was named to their Hall of Fame Class of 2017.

Notable guest quotes:

“Our faith was definitely central to my experience growing up.  We were praying regularly as a family.  We were going to Mass on Sundays and on holy days… I was very blessed to have such a great family support system.”

“Matthew 28:20.  I put that in my Twitter bio pretty recently… ‘I am with you always.’  That was just a very succinct truth that I think is currently just speaking to me and it’s just kind of grounding me in relationship with Jesus right now.”

“That was a priority for my parents to put all nine of us through Catholic school, grade school and high school.  At the college level it was our choice.  But I did decide to attend Fordham University, which is a Jesuit university.”

“God knows us better than anybody ever could, better than we know ourselves.”

“I had actually recently at that time started volunteering with the Sisters of Life in New York City and one of the Sisters that I had been working with… made some helpful suggestions to me… and one of them was to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament, to go into a church and just sit in front of the tabernacle.”

“This was the first time I approached Jesus in complete need, without a pre-determined solution.”

“I think that was the first time I was open to a relationship with Jesus where it was two ways now.  It wasn’t just Him inviting and me blocking.  There was just this really beautiful experience of Him caring for me.”

“What athletics is about, in my opinion, is the opportunity for personal encounter.”

“Hindsight tells me that there was a very prayerful approach to a lot of what I was doing.  I just didn’t necessarily have the awareness of it.”

“We have the faith and the knowledge that God is using it for His good, if our intention is to be in line with His Will.”

“I have so much confidence that athletics is such an avenue for encounter with God.”

“I am co-leading our young adult group at my local parish and that has been such a gift in my life.”

Related link:

Kerri’s bio on Manhattan College website

(This episode contains a prayer from the South Bend Indiana Inner-City Catholic League, as seen in Play Like A Champion Today’s prayerbook for sports, God, Be In My Sport)