Episodes

Dr. John Acquaviva

He played college baseball and then following his senior year took an offer to play professionally in Italy. He was educated in the field of fitness and exercise physiology and is a Catholic speaker, professor, and author, having written three books, the latest of which just came out in February and is called, “Improving Your Sportsmanship Through Catholic Teaching…and Common Sense: A Practical Guide for Athletes, Parents, Fans and Coaches.” His faith walk includes having entered the seminary to study for the priesthood, and present day he teaches at Wingate University in North Carolina and is the host of “Faith and Sport” on Radio Maria.

Notable guest quotes:

“My mom worked really hard and was really good about directing us toward Catholic school… she was determined to have her kids, especially the latter five, graduate from Catholic high school.  So I was (grades) one through 12 at the Catholic school.”

“I served as an altar boy from, like, fifth grade through eighth grade and looking back on it, I thought that was an important part of my faith life.”

“I started playing baseball.  And then by the time I was in eighth grade, I was a basketball player.  I was a football player.  And I did the same thing in high school.  I played all three of those sports in addition to running track for a couple of years.”

“I had literally prayed to our Lord to have the opportunity to play professional baseball.”

“That’s why the scripture says don’t just pray but pray specifically on what you want.  I said, I want to play professional baseball.  God goes, I’ll send you to Italy.”

“I’d been thinking about the priesthood.  And I started talking to a good priest friend of mine, Father Gregory, about it.  And he said, I think this is a genuine call that you have.”

“I said, ‘I think I’m going to apply to the priesthood.’  And the biggest reason was, I not only felt it in my heart, and in my head, but when I was at church, I would often listen to the readings, and then I would start developing what I would say for the homily.  And I remember I told my friend, Father Gregory, and he goes, ‘John, that’s something because I never did that.  And I’m a priest, right’?”

“Once you commit to this life, there is a certain level of responsibility that you have.  And what I mean is, you’re not asked to just sit back on what you were raised on and go to Mass one time a week and then that’s what the faith is.”

“There is no aspect of life where the faith doesn’t apply.  Like, whatever we are doing as a parent, as a coach, as a teacher, whatever we are doing.”

“Everybody has their own experiences, which are only unique to you, right?  My experience in sport, my experience playing baseball and rugby, I played for 15 years after college and so forth.”

“We need to apply our faith to sport… through the virtues of respect and loyalty and discipline and so forth.”

Related link:

John’s official website

Brad Wilkerson

He served one year ago as Assistant Hitting Coach for Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees.  He played for eight seasons in MLB, having been drafted in the first round of the 1998 MLB Draft by the Montreal Expos and then going on to play for them and the Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, and Toronto Blue Jays. Along the way he earned the distinction of hitting the last home run in Montreal Expos franchise history, AND, following their move to Washington the next season, hitting the first grand slam by a Nationals player. He won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2000 Olympic Games in Australia. He was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012, two years after having been inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a “Gator Great.” Prior to his college career he played for the U.S. national junior baseball team and was the MVP of the World Junior Baseball Championship in 1995. Along the way he has also coached for USA Baseball and Jacksonville University.

Notable guest quotes:

“I went to Catholic school through fourth grade – Immaculate Catholic School… I grew up at that school and that church.”

“I lived right down the street from my grandmother she went to Mass every Saturday night.  We were right there with her almost every Saturday night… her and my grandfather really led our family and faith-based and the Catholic religion.”

“When I started my sophomore year, turning 15 years old, and I got invited to go to Team USA as a 15-year-old in baseball and I kind of, when that started, you know, we went to the World Series when we were 12, and, you know, didn’t really see it then, but I knew I was pretty good.  But then once I did that at 15 I kind of figured out, hey I might be alright at this baseball stuff.”

(while away at college) “I think I stayed active in my faith, and, you know, I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t have got to do what I did, without the supports around me and people keeping me grounded.”

“I really leaned on my family.  I remember back then I used to go to Confession a lot more.  My grandmother would push that.  I leaned on her, I leaned on my immediate family, and they always kept me grounded and always made sure that I was putting the time in at church and putting the time in in prayer.”

“Every game during the National Anthem I always say a prayer, like, every night, every game, I’d always say a prayer, and I would always pray that, not that God would give me hits or God would give me, you know, great performance or whatever, just give me great wisdom to make great decisions… and great reaction during the game, and thank you for the opportunity.”

“I stay grounded through my faith and through my family and without them I wouldn’t have anything.  They supported me no matter where I went.”

“You deal with adversity, and you can either use that adversity as motivation – where, you can go pout and you can go in the corner and start feeling sorry for yourself, and – I tried to use it every time for motivation.”

“I used to visit churches on the road.  I would go to different cities, and I would go to these cathedrals or some kind of Catholic church.  It was unbelievable… I just really felt revived and really put everything in perspective of why I was here and what I was doing with my life.”

“I just want to see kids smile, you know, and we would bring them to the game with the tickets, whether it be that or the Wounded Warrior Project that we did in Dallas… and we built a baseball field back in my hometown.  I was very proud of that, partnered with MLB on that, and it’s always been a passion to give back.”

Related link:

Brad’s career stats on MLB.com

Thomas Morstead

He is the punter for the New York Jets, entering his 17th season in the NFL.  He was chosen in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints and went on to play his first twelve seasons with them before playing for both the Jets and the Atlanta Falcons in 2021, then the Miami Dolphins in 2022, and back to the Jets last season. He is coming off a 2023 season during which he set four New York Jets franchise punting records.  He had played collegiately at Southern Methodist University, and on the faith side has a conversion story that involves a familiar name from this show’s guest list.

Notable guest quotes:

“I went to church every Sunday.  My mom was very active in Sunday school, and it wasn’t a sometimes thing, it was an every week thing, and it was a very serious part of my upbringing and I’m very grateful to my mom, specifically, for always making it a priority.”

“I played basketball, did karate.  And really soccer was always my main thing.  I just loved soccer.  It was my favorite sport growing up and I was very good at it, scored a lot of goals.  And football, I did seventh and eighth grade.  I broke my leg at the start of ninth grade in a scrimmage and then didn’t really play after that ‘til I went out for the team my senior year of high school.”

“My dad was actually a professional cyclist and very easily could have pushed me into the cycling world and never ever did that. I’m sure he would have loved for me to pick up cycling and then all to do that with him.  But he just let me do my thing and at the same time, I would say both my parents were extraordinarily encouraging and continue to be to this day.”

“I almost quit football after the first three or four weeks of my freshman year.”

“I almost transferred after my first year to another school close at home… not getting opportunities on the team that I felt like were deserved.”

“We did our marriage prep with Monsignor Christopher Nalty down in uptown New Orleans.  And he really was the first person that got me persuaded, intrigued, curious.  He answered some questions for me about some of my hiccups with the Catholic faith that were never answered until I had that conversation with him.”

“NFL life is kind of a preparation for the aging process in life.  And I think when you get towards the end of your time in the NFL, probably just the same as in life, it’s an encouragement to let people know that they’ve positively influenced the direction of your life and your family’s life and how you do things.”

“We were able to go underneath the Vatican on a scavi tour and get a look at St. Peter’s remains.”

“I find that game day can be a spiritual experience for me.”

“And a lot of times, I’m in my own space – kind of like when you should pray quietly by yourself and not for everybody to see – a lot of times during the game, that’s kind of how I pass my time, is, just what’s kind of little prayers throughout the game.”

“I feel like God’s put me there that day to do a job.  And I’ve done all the preparation.  I did all the work, the rest, the recovery, the nutrition, all the things that are required for me to be my best.  And I almost feel like the results are not up to me.”

Related link:

Thomas Morstead bio on nfl.com

(This episode contains a prayer attributed to a blog published by the National Catholic Register, as seen in Play Like A Champion Today’s prayerbook for sports, God, Be In My Sport)

Fr Jason Nioka

A former judo champion who has walked the path from seminarian to the diaconate to – 48 HOURS BEFORE THIS INTERVIEW – ordination, while being in charge of the largest contingent of Olympic chaplains, about 40 Catholic priests, nuns, and lay faithful. This role of service to the world’s elite athletes is under the banner of the Holy Games, a project led by the Conference of Bishops of France. Holy Games is the programme of the Catholic Church to spiritually accompany the world of sport and major sporting events.

Notable guest quotes:

“Effectively, I was raised in a Catholic family, and I did not go to Catholic school, but I attended public schools through my entire schooling… and I was baptized when I was 14 years old.”

“I went with my family every year on pilgrimage in Lourdes.  It is for sure from that moment that something started to happen regarding my relationship with God.”

“I started judo when I was 3 years old.  This sport was recommended to my parents by my psychologists in order for me to express myself and for being self-confident.  This sport offers also great values.”

“I competed last November with my club.  We had the Paris Championship and we won with my club, so, I am a Parisian champion.”

“I was in such peace in Lourdes when I was there with my family, and I started to wonder how could I serve Him.  I did not know how, but I always felt in peace and that is why I started to ask myself why not become a priest.”

“Sports give me values which are the same that we also need as a Christian, like perseverance, self-control, orderliness and sovereignty – many qualities we need to give the best of ourselves.”

(for athletes at the upcoming Olympics) “There will be Mass in many languages such as French, English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese.  It will depend on the demand we have.  We will try our best to offer the possibility to attend Mass in all languages that we can.”

“We did realize that following athletes in a spiritual way is very important.  This program will last and get developed in the future.  It could even be a source of inspiration for the Olympics in LA in 2028.”

“When I was an athlete, a judo champion, my faith helped me to be the best… Faith always helped me to give the best… plus for me faith was very useful during my defeats.”

“For me it was very important to have, like, 30 minutes with the blessed sacrament and just to pray (to) God and to ask me, to give me the strength, to give me the peace, and just to trust Him in what He wants for me.”

Related link:

Holy Games website

Robbie Mouton

He was a pitcher on his high school baseball team, including being All-State AND having thrown a no-hitter at a tournament where he made the All-Tournament squad. He went on to college baseball at both Bradley University and the University of Minnesota-Duluth.  He also played in the Northwoods League for the Alexandria Blue Anchors.  Almost immediately after his baseball career he delved into the world of skiing, with notable runs such as Jackson Hole and Big Sky, among others. He even combined skiing with faith, as he talks about here, plus he also served as an adaptive ski instructor.

Notable guest quotes:

“I was born and raised Catholic, grew up going to Saint Ambrose … in Woodbury, Minnesota… went to Mass there pretty regularly with my family … received all the sacraments through school.  Obviously being a Catholic school, we had religion class and learned about our faith in that way.”

“My big faith influence, or, model of faith, was my grandma… just a woman of very, very deep, beautiful faith, who has inspired me to pursue that same faith and find the joy that she finds through her faith and her relationship with Christ.”

“Pitching, just being on the mound felt like a sacred place to me and had that confidence when I took the mound that I would be able to do what I needed to do to help the team at the end of the day.”

“I fell back on my faith, and I remember something my dad always said growing up is, ‘An hour spent with God is never an hour wasted.’  And so, I found a lot of solace and comfort in going to Mass.  Bradley (University) had an 8 p.m. student Mass on Sunday night so I was able to go after Sunday evening lifts and just started to get, I guess, more plugged in with the Catholic community there.”

“We, at the time, had FOCUS missionaries and a Newman Center there as well and, yeah, there were several people that took me under their wing, and, I would say, viewed me as a child of God and not just the baseball player and I found comfort in that as well.”

“(I) remember Adoration at that retreat and just how beautiful that was to be in God’s presence and fully realizing that this is God’s presence, and that’s where I began to gravitate towards being with the Eucharist especially in times of great need and finding so much comfort in God’s physical presence.”

“Going into Bradley (University) as a baseball player who, somebody who fully identified themselves as a baseball player and that was where my worth laid, coming out of that retreat and recognizing that I am a son of God and that’s where my identity lies, and that completely changed my perspective on life and where I put my worth.”

“We met up with other college athletes and FOCUS missionaries at the Houston airport and, for the next four or five days, were in Puerto Rico working with the kids, I would say of some very impoverished areas on the west side of the island, and it was … life changing.”

“I, quite frankly, think that all of us athletes and missionaries got so much more out of that trip than the baseball skills or the volleyball skills that we imparted on the kids there.”

“As hard as it was in that moment to go back to my apartment and be in tears and be confused, I just continued to pray, ‘Lord, if this is Your Will, like, I don’t, I don’t understand it, but I’m okay with it, and help me to see Your plan for me through this’.”

“By the way, we’re sneaking in Saturday night Mass at 5 p.m. at the Utah Newman Center and driving 40 minutes from the mountain in our ski gear to make sure we hit Mass over there.”

(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)

Jared Veldheer

He is a veteran of 12 years in the NFL as an offensive tackle, including having come out of retirement three times – as recently as this past December!  He was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft and, in addition to that team, went on to also play for the Arizona Cardinals, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, and Indianapolis Colts, appearing in a combined total of close to 130 games, counting regular season and playoffs. He even spent time in the New England Patriots organization. He had been a First Team All-American in college and is a fitness and health enthusiast who just launched the “Big Serious Show,” which he is releasing weekly on his YouTube channel.

Notable guest quotes:

“I grew up… Catholic… I attended Holy Spirit Elementary School.”

“I was able to earn a scholarship in football and went to Hillsdale College and that’s really where my love for football started to grow and I continued to get stronger, faster, was around a great group of guys, and it just really started to take off from there.”

“I did not show up my freshman day, reporting day, with NFL anywhere in my radar.  It was the furthest thing from my mind. I got there I wanted to become a doctor or some kind of medical professional.”

“As I matured in my (NFL) career, my prayer life definitely matured.”

“There was this trickle effect, and it was probably just God nudging me towards Him, like, ‘Hey, I’m here, like, I’m here for you.  Let’s do this together.  You don’t have to do this by yourself’.”

“I remember my year with the Denver Broncos… it was amazing how just having that active prayer life and being able to communicate and talk with God, it just took a lot of the burden off, took a lot of that load off my shoulders and I was really able to enjoy my time more.”

“I want to express all this gratitude that I have for this amazing life that He’s blessed me with and (I) just really got into a great routine of whenever I would feel that overwhelming gratitude within me or just, you know, if it was being thankful for a sunny day with birds chirping, to just stop in that moment and say thank you and just be grateful for the life that He’s blessed me with.”

“I was the lunch lady for our kids’ elementary school, for St Paul the Apostle Elementary School in Grand Rapids, Michigan… and it was a lot of fun.  I wanted to try to take my love for cooking and nutrition and apply it to how I would want to feed my kids and a whole school.  So, (I) went in there and we really created a program.  I was able to take real whole foods, cook them, and provide a healthy balanced lunch for the kids.”

“Waking up in the morning I throw on some coffee and put my phone open and first thing I try to do is go into that app and read the readings and Psalms and say a prayer and be able to start my day like that.”

Related link:

Jared’s official YouTube channel

(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)

Larry Tucker

He was chosen by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the eighth round of the 1983 NBA Draft. He has been enshrined in both the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the Great Lakes Valley Conference Hall of Fame. He is the Lewis University men’s basketball all-time scoring leader and helped the program to its first conference championship and to their first two NCAA Tournament berths. Present day he is the president of Marist High School, a Catholic institution in Chicago where the SportsPlex was named after him this past December, having been their principal for 22 years and a basketball player back in his days as a student-athlete there.

Notable guest quotes:

“We went to church on a regular basis every Sunday, holy days as well.  My mom would have us say novenas sometimes at home when there was a family member who maybe had an illness or something and just those values were placed in us.  Church was always something we did as a family.”

“I started to get on the radar.  I was growing to 6’6” and I was on the radar of some division one basketball scouts.”

“I remember thinking, ‘I’m going to do the best that I possibly can with the God given talents I’ve been given, to try and make something of this’.”

“Eloise Saperstein… was my agent and her father, Abe Saperstein, had started the Harlem Globetrotters.  I was pretty excited that out of the blue, this woman came in with a pretty good basketball pedigree, I would say, and wanted to represent me with the potential that I might get drafted.”

“I was depressed.  I think that depression lasted for months and when you don’t think there’s a plan, I mean, God has a plan for you.”

“I came to Marist and that was kind of, you know, a pretty pivotal moment in my life that sent me on what I would say is a pretty good career path and again I think God just puts people in your path.”

“I’m sitting in the car and I’m driving an hour each way to school, and the morning I spent an hour in prayer, and it just calmed me by the time I got to school I felt confident… and I think just put me on a good path to start my day each morning.”

“The important part is paying attention to what God is doing and who God is putting in your life to help you make some of the decisions that you need to make, and you’re not alone, and there is a plan.”

“(My son) had a couple of coaches at U of I, one of them was Lovie Smith, who we knew from coaching the Chicago Bears, and Ryan had a unique relationship with Lovie Smith.  They would have conversations where Coach Smith would call Ryan into his office and just say to him, ‘Ryan, you just need to tell me, is the Holy Spirit alive in this locker room?’”

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