Episodes

Dominique Dawes

She spent ten years with the U.S. national team in gymnastics. Over the three Summer Olympic Games of 1992, 1996, and 2000 she won four medals, including gold at the Games in Atlanta and bronze at all three.  In world championship competition she had won three silver medals and a bronze.  In 2010 President Barack Obama named her as Co-Chair of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. And, earlier this year she opened a gymnastics academy in Clarksburg, Maryland.

Notable guest quotes:

“I would say my greatest achievements in life have really been, and continue to be, a mom of four little ones… My athletic achievements, though they were great and I made history, being a mom everyday, even during those tough moments, they beat standing on top of a podium any day of the week.”

“As a mom of four kids… and now a gym owner, I know the kind of environment that I want my kids to flourish in, and it’s one that’s going to be focused on compassion, positivity, and – in a healthy manner – helping kids face those mental blocks and face those fears, knowing that it’s coming from a place of love.”

“Throughout my career, at times I felt as if I was alone, whenever I was going through a dark period in the sport of gymnastics.  However, when I would take the time to go back to my Christian roots, I would realize that I was not alone.”

“Many times, when I wanted to quit, I wanted to give up, I was too tired or frustrated, I would lean on Him and realize that He was going to help me through.”

“I came into the Catholic faith initially in my late twenties.  I felt very called to go to a church in the Rockville (Maryland) area… And I don’t know what led me initially, but, I would go into the Catholic church and I would not go to Mass necessarily, but I would… walk in and really just sit in silence and connect with Christ, get to know Mother Mary a little bit more, sometimes pray, sometimes have a conversation, and really just sometimes sit in silence.”

“I really do feel as if I was led to the Catholic faith at that time because I really was feeling a little lost in the world and even a little lost in my Christian faith, just feeling a little incomplete and not feeling as if I was being led by Him.”

“When I felt led into the Catholic faith and going to RCIA, I chose Saint Kateri Tekakwitha as my saint of choice for my grandmother.”

“There’s so many great parts of the Catholic faith, but I love the connection with Mother Mary because I’ve never had a very strong healthy and deep relationship with a mother figure.  And so I’ve really leaned on her for guidance or leaned on her to kind of lead my way through Christ in my walk today.”

“They asked who would I want to sit down and have dinner with and (I said) Mother Angelica… And just having a great deal of admiration for Mother Angelica and her ministry and the great impact that she’s made globally on millions and millions of people and leading them to the faith and strengthening their faith.  So, just really admiring her heart and her pursuit and really her will in listening to Christ.”

“Christ… is with me and He is guiding me.   I just have to choose to shut off the noise of this world and listen to where it is that He’s leading me to be.”

“Even through hardships in life, it’s where He wants me to be and it’s where I’m going to be strengthened and where my character will truly be at its best.”

“We make it very clear that every kid that walks through our doors, they’re something special, they’re God’s gift, they’re unique, and they’re to be appreciated and valued.”

Related link:

Dominique’s Gymnastics Academy

(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)

Bob Ladouceur

He coached for 35 years and, at De La Salle High School, a private, Roman Catholic school for boys in California, finished with a 399-25-3 record, including a national record 151 consecutive victories, which became the subject of a major motion picture. A number of his players went on to play and/or coach in the NFL.  He had played college football himself as a running back at the University of Utah and then San Jose State, and he is the author of a book called, “Chasing Perfection: The Principles Behind Winning Football the De La Salle Way.”  He also is a speaker who gives talks to parents, teachers, students, and even corporations.

Notable guest quotes:

“I went back to school.  I wanted to study religion, just out of interest.  And this was after I went on a Cursillo retreat when I was a sophomore in college.”

“Everybody loves to win.  That’s a given… And I thought that the power of ‘team’ supersedes anything you can do to try to get that success in terms of wins and losses.  And I really didn’t – I never talked about winning.  Never.”

“I never talked about winning.  I always talked about doing your job, being a good teammate, being a good student, being respectful, just, growing as a young adult.”

“I had wonderful coaches, dedicated Christian Catholic coaches too that understood the whole point of it, is that what we’re working for is community.  What we’re working for is improving ourselves.  And we did all the things that we needed to do in order to foster that.  We had a prayer service every Thursday right after school in our chapel.”

“We would select three kids from the team… and they had to come in with a song.  They had to come in with a gospel reading.  They had to come in with a complimentary inspirational story… It was a great team builder.”

“It was a focus not on winning, it was a focus on them becoming better people, and in the process, we become a better team.”

“We’re all mortal, and you can’t take life for granted… and you’ve gotta live it to the fullest.”

“It’s just one of the best things our school ever has done.  These kids come back really inspired and transformed.”

“She had quite a prayer line going in her favor, and I would not underestimate that power.”

Related link:

Bob’s book: Chasing Perfection: The Principles Behind Winning Football the De La Salle Way

(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.)

Hale Hentges

A pro football player who made his NFL debut last year as a tight end for the 2019 Washington Redskins team after initially having been with the Indianapolis Colts.  In college he had played for four years and won a national championship at Alabama after having been a top prospect following his high school football days.

Notable guest quotes:

“I grew up in Jefferson City, Missouri, awesome town, right in the capital of Missouri, a really, really fun place to grow up.  My family was a big family.  My dad was Catholic.  My mom was a convert to Catholicism.  And I have three sisters, one who’s older and two who are younger.”

“I went to Immaculate Conception grade school, which is in Jefferson City.  It’s kindergarten through eighth grade… Great teachers, great faith formation, and they really did a good job of helping me understand the building blocks of the Catholic faith and helping me grow in the faith from a young age.  And I think the world needs more Catholic schools and that was a real gem in my development.”

“I went to Helias Catholic (high school), which is in Jefferson City… Another great opportunity to grow in my faith, and more great teachers and priests and people who really helped me grow in the faith.”

“I think another extremely big part (of choosing Alabama) was just talking to my dad.  I mean, we spent a lot of time on the road driving to different (colleges)… He was almost like a spiritual advisor for me…  Along with prayer I think that ultimately made me come to a decision that was extremely easy and clear at the end of it.”

“Head Coach Nick Saban… I was so fortunate and blessed to play for him, not just because he’s a great coach but because he is a strong Catholic man.”

“I wasn’t sure if I was good enough or big enough or fast enough to play in the NFL and it took a big leap of faith to just tell myself and, through a lot of prayer was, with God, and just trying to look for that validation that I am good enough to give the NFL a fair and honest chance and I should, if God has put this in my heart, I really should explore it to the best of my ability and give it my best shot.”

“I just thank God every day that that young kid didn’t give up and that God gave me the strength to persevere and pursue this goal.”

“I think God gives us those opportunities to overcome and lean on Him and trust in Him.”

“If you have an injury… that forces you to miss time, my best advice would be to just pray to Him, just go to Him and ask, ‘God, I don’t know what you’re doing, but I trust in Your plan and Your plan is better than mine.  Let Your will be done, not mine’.”

“God has given me this talent and ability and all of the glory goes back to Him… I obviously have to train and do all those things, but God gives me the desire to train, He gave me the ability to train, this body that He’s given me – all these things are His.”

“At the end of the day, it’s still just a game.  It’s not heaven.  It’s not the end goal.  It’s not everything you’ve ever dreamed of, because everything we ever should be dreaming of is eternal life with God.”

“The only thing that can fully satisfy you is a relationship with Jesus.”

Related link:

Hale’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)

Tomas Cerdeiras

An assistant coach for Belmont Abbey College’s men’s track and field. As a student-athlete there he became the school’s record-holder in the decathlon and earned All Region honors. He has also coached an NCAA DII All-American in heptathlon as well as a male and female freshman athlete of the year for their respective conferences.  Growing up he had competed in football, baseball, and basketball.

Notable guest quotes:

“When they had to leave (Cuba) because of the whole (Fidel) Castro thing, the one thing that they were able to take — you know, they lost everything, their farm, their families, and all that — but the one thing they were able to take when they moved here was their religion… My dad made it a thing to pass that down to us and to kind of share the importance of our religion, Jesus Christ.”

“Growing up it was rosaries every night, daily Mass, Mass on Sundays.”

“Homeschool was really, for me, what I remember, is reading a bunch of saint books… It kind of really helped me… growing in my faith.”

“My dad basically said, like, ‘Son, I don’t care where you go.  Just make sure it’s a good Catholic school, and we’ll worry about the money later’.”

“My dad, at the time, wasn’t sure how he was going to send… us to a private, liberal arts, Catholic school in North Carolina… He started to say a nine-day novena to St. Joseph… and on the last day of the novena we got a check for a large sum of money and all it said on the check was, ‘This is for Tomas’s education’.”

“I think I owe a lot of my spiritual life to a particular monk that I would go to for spiritual direction.”

“I was reading a lot into St. Padre Pio and all of his miracles and his relationship with God.”

“We go through valleys and mountains… But every time you get out of the valley, God gives you the gifts to kind of make you stronger and get you ready for heaven ultimately.”

“It was really just God saying, like, ‘This is the woman for you.’  And we would go to the chapel together and pray all the time.  And it was really a blessing.  And now we’re married.  We just bought our first house and God’s really blessed me with Julia and our marriage.”

“I was working at a secular school for a year and really what I was missing when I was working there was the religious aspect, ya’ know, being part of a Catholic school where I can preach about Jesus Christ.”

“One of my student-athletes, after talking to her… eventually she decided to convert to Catholicism and I was her godfather.”

Related link:

Belmont Abbey College Men’s Track & Field

(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.)

Sean Mock

The Director of Player Development and Recruiting Coordinator for the Tulane University men’s basketball team, a position that he took approximately a year-and-a-half ago after having been special assistant to the head coach at Georgia State. Before that he served as an assistant coach at Henderson State, which came after a two-year stint at Northwood University where he finished up as associate head coach. He has also been Director of Basketball Operations at Miami University in Ohio, where he had played for four years.

Notable guest quotes:

“I’ve been blessed in the sense that I don’t feel like I’ve ever really had to work a real job in my life.  Basketball has always been a big part of what I do, and it’s been able to provide for me and my family for a while now.”

“I was born Catholic, cradle Catholic, both (of) my parents are still together, and they were both Catholics and raised Catholic, so, being Catholic has been a huge part of my life and my faith.  I have a younger brother and a younger sister who remain active in the faith as well.  And I’ve just been very lucky to have that as the root and the foundation of who I am.”

“I think the biggest thing for me was that my faith — and even as I’ve kind of moved around — my faith has always been the foundation.  I always say it’s the one thing in life that is your constant… It’s the one thing that can never be taken away from you.”

“No matter how tough life gets, no matter how frustrating things may be, your faith and God is always what’s going to be there for you.  And that’s the part that always I’ve been able to go back to.  And to be honest with you, I don’t know how I could’ve done or gotten or dealt with many things without that faith.”

“Basketball is not who I am, at all.  It’s what I do.”

“God really doesn’t care whether you win or you lose.  Now, He wants you to give your best effort and do the best, ya’ know, use your gifts as He’s given you.  But that’s not who you are.  It’s what you do and it’s how you use His gifts that matter.”

“What I’ve always enjoyed about the Catholic Mass is the consistency of it.  How everywhere you go it’s the same.  I know that when I go to Mass in New Orleans, Louisiana, my parents that are near Cincinnati, Ohio, they’re going to that same Mass, they’re hearing the same readings.  And to me that’s always been something that’s very comforting.”

“In any part of life, God puts people in front of you at any given moment at any different time and it’s your job to be His hands on earth.  And it’s your job to do His work.  Somebody once told me that you may, as a person, you may be the only Bible somebody ever reads.  So, you have to be ready; when that time comes, you have to be ready.”

“I know God has always taken care of me and He always will.”

“I think that that journey, you gotta trust God and, just, with open arms just follow Him and realize, you know what, it’s in my control but ultimately it really isn’t in my control.”

Related link:

Sean’s Tulane University bio

(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.)

Patrick Novecosky

He played baseball in elementary school, soccer in high school, and now in his adult life is an avid marathoner, including having participated in events from southern California to New York City to Naples, Florida, and even Rome, Italy. Meanwhile, he wrote a book called, 100 Ways John Paul II Changed the World, and has won more than two dozen awards from the Catholic Press Association. He met Pope St. John Paul II five times!  He also talks here about having gone five times to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

Notable guest quotes:

“My dad had had two goals in life.  One was to be married for 50 years, which he accomplished, and have a large family and raise them in the faith, which he did… His pride and joy was knowing that he raised his family … to know Jesus and to love their Catholic faith.”

“The faith… was the base that I grew up with and when times got tough, I turned to God and the church and never looked back.”

“As human beings we’re a body and spirit, so we need to feed both of them and some of the lessons I learned in sports, both in baseball and in soccer, have stayed with me.”

“When I get to heaven… I’ll just be overwhelmed by God himself and the heavenly hosts and all that.”

“Basically, my whole career as a journalist, as an editor, as a publicist, has been in the Catholic faith.  So, God had this plan for me, that I never could have foreseen to be working in His church for my entire life.”

“And my boss said, ‘Would you like to meet the Pope?’  And I said, ‘Do you need to ask?! If there’s a list, just put me on it, please.’  And they put me on the list and on October 1st, 1997, I met John Paul II for the first time.”

“I’m just a farm kid from Saskatchewan, I’m speaking to the greatest Pope in a thousand years and he’s listening to me.  Incredibly humble.  I felt very humble to have that opportunity…  Not only that, I got to attend his Mass, in his private chapel, in the Papal apartments, across the hall from his bedroom, his study where he did all of his great work.  In his private chapel where he prayed and did some of his greatest work.  And it was one of the greatest days of my life.”

“I do find (Pope St. John Paul II) as – because I met him so many times – as one of my personal patrons.  So absolutely, I pray for his intercession pretty regularly.”

“When I was a teenager, I made a pledge to ride my bicycle across Canada – five thousand miles – to raise awareness for Pro-Life issues.  My parents vetoed that idea, but I publicly said that I would do this and made the commitment to do this as a 16-year old Canadian kid. So, Pro-Life has been one of my passions.”

Related link:

Patrick’s book – 100 Ways John Paul II Changed the World

(This episode contains a prayer originally excerpted and adapted from Day By Day: The Notre Dame Prayerbook for Students by Thomas McNally, as seen in Play Like A Champion Today’s prayerbook for sports, God, Be In My Sport)

Bas Rutten

A UFC Heavyweight Champion and three-time King of Pancrase world champion, he finished his career on a 22-fight unbeaten streak (21 wins, 1 draw). He has been inducted to the UFC Hall of Fame and has appeared in movies and on TV shows. He is a retired mixed martial artist, karate and taekwondo black belt, and Muay Thai kickboxer.

Notable guest quotes:

“I was the ‘leper’ in school, something I, of course, hated at the time, but now I kind of embrace it because isn’t in the Bible the word, right, leper?”

“A woman, something happened, boom, I’m in, ya’ know. I always felt the need to take care of the problem because now it was my gift, I thought.”

“I think (God) waited. He waited for the right moment… He also gave me a whole bunch of injuries, to make me retire, which was something I hated at the time but now I’m embracing it.”

“Everybody in hell is proud.”

“I’m very happy now that everything was done the way it was done and I truly believe that when I was ten years old there was a little seed planted in my head by the Lord.”

“And then a whole St. Thérèse thing starts happening… Everything started flowing together. It was just really weird, and, but really cool.”

“Slowly but surely I started doing everything in Latin.  I think it’s a little bit deeper for me.  I also like Latin Mass a lot.”

“I always wanted to say… ‘Hey, for all the people who do this, this, and this, read Revelation 3:16.’  This is where Jesus talks about the lukewarm, that he will [spit you] out of [my] mouth… They’re in the middle, who do just the minimum amount to get passed by.  He’s not really happy with those people.”

“I need at least an hour-and-a-half in the morning for my prayers and my meditation and for everything that I do, the daily readings, and I go into the reflection, I go really deep, the divine intimacy, I do a lot.”

“Doing a small good thing is still doing good.  Doing a small evil thing is still doing evil.  It doesn’t matter what measure it is.  Evil is evil, good is good.  So, try to always do something good, and not evil.”

Related link:

Bas Rutten’s website

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