Episodes

Joe Paterick

He has done 52 marathons and has been a triathlete for 24 years.  Back in the day he also played football and basketball.  The day before this interview was recorded, he did a 240-mile bike trek from his home in Milwaukee to a Catholic school in Michigan.  In addition to that journey, he also talks about a book he’s writing – but not about his athletic endeavors.

Notable guest quotes:

“I really found, even in life, when you really do for others, it’s the old adage, ‘Do unto others as you want them to do for you’… There is a lot of strength in that.  There really is.  That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?”

“Even as a kid, people used to say, ‘You’ve got that Catholic conscience,’ and I would say, ‘Well what’s wrong with that’?  It’s not a bad thing at all.”

“It’s that character that you don’t give up, but you learn a lot from it with sportsmanship.  Think about it, at the end of a game – in football or basketball or soccer – you shake hands with the person you just defeated.  It was just a game.  Okay?  And, I just think that in the end it doesn’t matter because it’s just a memory – how many wins and that’s good and that – but you don’t have to feel bad because you lost.”

“I could tap into that spiritual consciousness that (my mother) had.  She couldn’t go to church anymore.  There wasn’t a priest to visit her.  Okay?  But there was something very special.  She didn’t even have her legs anymore, but she grabbed my hand one day and she said, ‘I still want to help people’.”

“(My mother) lives within me, but also, with my father, both of them, that spiritual connection is just very powerful.”

“I was a young Catholic growing up, and maybe I wasn’t paying attention I’m not sure, but it didn’t seem like there was enough on the spiritual side.  It was always about proving things.  Not taking Jesus out of it, but it was still the Holy Ghost and God the Father.”

“You don’t need to have Jesus appear in front of you and say, ‘I’m still alive.’  He’s still alive, we just don’t seem him!”

Related link:

Holy Name Catholic School project

[This episode contains a prayer from the Play Like A Champion Today Coaches Manual (University of Notre Dame), as seen in Play Like A Champion Today’s prayerbook for sports, God, Be In My Sport]

Image credit: Miami Dolphins

Cam Cameron

He spent many years in the National Football League, as head coach of the Miami Dolphins, plus he was the offensive coordinator for both the Baltimore Ravens and the then-San Diego Chargers.  He was also quarterbacks’ coach of the Washington Redskins.  In addition, he has many years of experience coaching in college football as well, most recently as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks’ coach at LSU.  He also went through two health scares in the form of serious melanoma and later a prostate cancer diagnosis.

Notable guest quotes:

“Prayer life has been a huge part of my life and my wife, Missy, and our families… I would just encourage everybody, don’t wait until you have a (medical) moment like that before you start praying.”

“My quiet time in the morning is how I start my day.  And I was just very fortunate that I developed some solid habits spiritually and, Proverbs 3:5-6, it’s all about trust, and I just trusted God and the process that I had to go through.”

“I’ve just been really fortunate throughout my career to be around a lot of men of faith, and some of those that come to Mass and our Bible studies.”

“The faith communities I’ve been involved with in sports, especially football, has just been tremendous over the last 35 years.”

“As long as you’re learning, and you don’t repeat those mistakes, that’s what forgiveness is all about.”

“When I was with the (San Diego) Chargers and the (Baltimore) Ravens, in particular, and the (Washington) Redskins, the places I’ve been, and when I was the head coach of the (Miami) Dolphins, that was a huge part of our day, whether it was the coaches’ Bible study, whether it would be – and this is for Catholics, Christians… there’s Bible studies, there’s coaches Bible studies, there’s player and wives’ Bible studies, there’s just a wives’ Bible study.  There’s all sorts of ways that everybody connects spiritually.  And there’s a ton of prayer, before practice, after practice, on the field, on the teams thatI’ve been associated with, and it’s always been a spiritually awesome experience.”

“I went to Cursillo this past Spring… and that was just off the charts.  And then I have a, every Tuesday morning at 6am I have a Cursillo group that, we meet, a group of men, a prayer group, so that’s kind of the routine now.  Cursillo was hard to do when you’re in coaching, but now that I’m in business instead of coaching I’ve got time to set my own schedule, so I get to do a lot of cool Catholic things now.”

“Our traditions are so awesome in the Catholic church, but for some of the younger teenagers and young adults, sometimes they’re looking for a little bit more, I’m not saying evangelical, but I’m gonna tell ya’, this… Cursillo, and just everything with that movement,… I can’t express how exciting it is.”

(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)

Sue Moucha

A four-time member of Team USA for the Paralympics, winning seven medals – two silver and three bronze in swimming, and two GOLD in running.  She set one world record in swimming and holds two American records in swimming.  In all she has amassed an amazing 250 trophies from able-bodied competitions.  A lifelong Catholic, she was also a 1996 Olympic torchbearer.

Notable guest quotes:

“Back when I was growing up, in elementary school, you had a disability you were put sort of to the side a little bit, so I was always a spectator.  And when I started participating in sports, it was like, ‘Wow, I’m good at something.’  And … one thing leads to another, it helps your self-confidence, it brings you out.  I had something to share with people in conversation.”

“I was Catholic, I went to Nativity Catholic School and… I received the Distinguished Alumni (Award) from every single school I’ve attended – elementary, high school, college, and graduate school.  I went to Tampa Catholic High School.”

“What bothered me a little bit in high school was, I was still trying to accept my disability.  I did not participate in the Paralympics until I was age 21.  So, I was still trying to work at accepting my disability, so I didn’t participate in sports in high school.”

“For myself, being disabled and handicapped, to see something concrete that says, ‘Wow, you’re good at something.  You received first place,’ it just carries over.  It helped my self-confidence in the way I carried myself.”

“When I was little I’d say, ‘Oh God, I wish I could do that.  Ya’ know?  Why can’t I do things like everybody else?’  And God introduced me to the Paralympics and this was His way of telling me, ‘Sue, you’re good at something and you can share this with others’.”

“I have said that tremendously, quite a bit.  When I was little I’d say to God, ‘Why me’?”

“My mother was the one that got the sign (language) interpreter person involved (at Mass).”

“I present an award every year named after me, the Sue Moucha Overcoming Adversity Award, and I think that that is so neat because I’m disabled and this is an able-bodied field.”

“I’ve had to ask God to help me to accept it.  And once you accept something you can move forward… I just pray to God 24/7 to help me through life… God’s helping me all the time.”

Tom Scott

A Team USA competitor in karate, he has participated in a long, long, LONG list of events ranging from Pan American Games to World Championships, the World Games, and more, having won numerous gold, silver, and bronze medals nationally and internationally.  He attended Texas Christian University where he met his now wife, who is also Catholic.

Notable guest quotes:

“The way I really see sport is, it’s always been my number one communication tool with God.  He’s always pointed out to me where I can improve my life in becoming a better person.  So, not just a better athlete.”

“Sometimes that fear of losing, when sport weighs so much on athletes’ hearts, it can hinder their ability to perform at their best.  So, really, my faith does allow me to let go of some of those fears of winning, losing, and just play the game to please God.  So, it really is the backbone and safety net for me.”

“Even while you’re winning doesn’t mean your faith life is strongest.”

“Reach out to the saints.  I think it was four years ago, exactly – four or five years ago – that I really started to build a relationship with Saint Sebastian, the patron saint of athletes, and he really just took over for me.”

“Sometimes I used to wonder, ‘Is sport – does it really even matter at all?  Does Jesus care if I’m winning or losing or all this time that I’m spending on it?’  And it took time for me to realize that, yes it actually does.  It pleases Him to see His creation do something that they love to do, whatever it might be.”

“Whenever I travel international, I always get an opportunity to, in another country, to meet and maybe even help someone in need – on a street corner or someone asking for food or money and I can walk right into the store right there and count my blessings and, I’m getting Gatorades for the tournament anyway, so I turn around and ask them what food they need for themselves or their families.  Those are the moments too that come out just through sport.”

“Something that’s neat about karate is that the entire sport is built around control… In karate, if you can keep a cool head, it is such an advantage and I think my temperament, a lot that comes from my Catholic faith, helps me to stay so calm.”

Related link:

Tom’s website

(This episode contains a prayer adapted from one by an unknown Confederate Soldier, as seen in Play Like A Champion Today’s prayerbook for sports, God, Be In My Sport)

Rich Donnelly

Currently the manager of the Kingsport Mets, he coached in the major leagues for over 25 years, most recently as third base coach with the Seattle Mariners but other stops along the way that included a World Series ring with the Florida Marlins in 1997.  He was even a part of the Team USA coaching staff two years ago at the World Baseball Classic, which was won by the Americans.  Rich talks about tragedy that he and his family had to overcome, as well as coming back to his Catholic roots after he felt pressure to pick baseball over his faith – this despite being born and raised Catholic and at one time even considering going into the seminary.

Notable guest quotes:

“I had visions of being a priest until I went to the seminary and found out they didn’t have a baseball team.”

“When I got into pro (base)ball, I had this fallacy that you couldn’t be a man of faith and be a baseball player.”

“I would crawl on my hands and knees… all the way through a parking lot… to get into my car so nobody would see me go to church.”

“There was something inside of me that said, ‘Rich, the place where you love to be, besides a baseball field, is in church’.”

“When I was ten years old, I used to go after church, after Mass I would go down in the basement in my house… and I would celebrate the Mass with my Daily Missal… I would put on a robe and pretend I was a priest up on the altar.”

“I said, ‘Tell me the bottom line.  Quit beatin’ around the bush,’ and (the doctor) said, ‘Rich, she has nine months to live’.”

“I was blaming God for her getting the brain tumor.”

“The Lord was sending a message to me that, okay, now do you believe?  Now are you satisfied?  Now do you want to change your life?”

“When was I most happy?  The first 16 years of my life, when I was in church every day, when I was praying.  I said three decades of the rosary every day.  I said my morning prayers, my evening prayers.  I talked to God all day.  And, I had a patron saint, Saint Jude, the patron of hopeless cases, which I surely was.”

“I have a saying that I use daily… I say there’s two kinds of people; those that are humble, and those that are about to be.”

“You can’t reach perfection.  You can’t reach perfection in sports and you cannot reach it in your life.”

“No parent can call up a major league organization and say, ‘Could you put my kid in the big leagues?’  It doesn’t work that way.  It’s like, everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die to get there.”

Related link:

“The Chicken Runs at Midnight” book

[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]

Steven Lopez

A five-time Olympian, he won a gold medal in taekwondo at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Games and then a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics.  He is also a five-time world champion.  Born in New York to Nicaraguan parents, he has had a lifelong walk with Christ as a Catholic and uses this CSR appearance to witness to such, including having had to get through an unfortunate incident last year.

Notable guest quotes:

“The most important thing has been my faith, with all the struggles, the challenges, the obstacles that we all face.  There isn’t one of us that is not without struggle.  And as an athlete, specifically, of course, … we can always push harder, we can do one more rep, we can run a little faster… And the same thing goes with the spirit.  And I think that’s THE most important thing… Are you gonna feed the soul?  Are you gonna feed the spirit?”

“Without our Lord and savior Jesus Christ that has given us this opportunity, this beautiful thing called life, then none of us would be here.  And so for me, every time that I would go out there and compete, it was an opportunity for me to showcase the talents that God has instilled in me.  And that’s a small way that I can go out there, perform, and give all glory to Him.”

“The more times that you avoid temptations, I think that spiritual muscle grows.”

“(my brother) and I would read the Bible every night.  I still do.  And every morning as soon as you open your eyes you just thank God for another day.”

“You have to be really cognizant that when you’re in church, you really are in church.”

“Through it all, like, it was just laced through my whole life, through my sports life, that, faith, belief in God, no matter what — because a lot of people feel good, when things are going well, ‘Thank you God,’ or, it could go the opposite, they feel that you did it all on your own and so you forget what got you there.  For me it’s when the things go well, thank God, and when things don’t go well, you thank God just the same.”

“A lot of times when we grow, when we get stronger, and when our faith is strengthened, is during those times of struggle.”

“Each and every one of us is a unique individual and masterpiece of God’s creation and we just have to look deep inside and see what those talents are, what the Spirit calls us to do, and use those gifts.”

“I remember praying that if I ever reached a certain level of success that I could have a platform that people would be willing to listen to me or to hear me or to see me compete that I would always bring glory to Him.”

“2008 for me was, even though I – and I’ll put this humbly – ‘only’ won the bronze, for me it was the best Olympics because I got to experience that Olympic Games alongside my younger brother and my younger sister and my older brother.”

“I feel that the faith really comes into action and you have to place your faith into action when things are going badly or things are going tough or you’re in a dark time.  That’s when the faith really gets tested.”

Related link:

Steven Lopez on Facebook

(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)

Taylor Schroll

A four-sport athlete in high school, he ran track in college, at a Catholic university — including competing against some Olympians — and today is a coach for the boys track team at a Catholic high school in Texas, where he has guided them to a many “firsts” in school history, such as district champs, regional champs, and medals at the State meet.  A father of three, he also is a full-time missionary and hosts a Catholic podcast too!

Notable guest quotes:

“I fell in love with the basketball before I ever fell in love with anything, like God, my family, I loved basketball from a very young age.”

“I was a college freshman, I ran at Incarnate Word… My literally first race ever, it was an indoor meet, I ran the 60-meter dash and I got down on my blocks and I looked to the guy on the right.  He looked very familiar and I quickly recalled that I watched him on TV the year before, winning the Big 12 Championship in the hundred.”

“(My college career) ended at Baylor with… three guys and one girl that were Baylor alumni that came back for the meet to, like, the four of them ran as their own team, they ran unaffiliated, with all these other colleges… All these guys had won medals at the Olympics!  And I got into the blocks against Darold Williamson, who got a medal at the Olympics… I felt like he was done with his 200-meter race by the time I got out of the blocks.”

“I had come up in youth ministry, like, youth ministry in high school essentially saved me being Catholic.”

“What’s really cool about the coaching in particular is that a lot of times in youth ministry or in campus ministry where I worked… there was a huge group of people that I couldn’t connect with, which were the athletes.  A lot of ’em didn’t care about their faith.  And I was like, ‘Well I care about sports.  Let me go start coaching ’em.’  And I started building real relationships with these young men… And then slowly because of my relationship with them that I built out on the track and field they started coming around on their faith and being, like, look, a lot of this stuff applies here too.”

“Here in the United States, this has become a mission territory.  This used to be an extremely and overtly Christian nation.  As things have shifted in our society, like, especially with young people… A lot of these kids don’t know anything or if they do know they don’t care.”

“I was the nerdy kid that loved Star Wars… I was the athlete.  I was the church kid.  I was the class clown.  I was all these things, so I am able to connect with these young people.”

“The youth minister that actually impacted my life?  He was a high school quarterback and that’s how we bonded.  So, I didn’t really see it coming.  There were some seeds there that started…”

“That’s why it’s been so cool here, recently, in these last, like, ten years or so.  There are SO many athletes who are our heroes – our sports heroes – who are big-time Christians.”

“This is cool, I can do this.  I can love sports and God and actually live a life of Christ while playing football, basketball, baseball, whatever.”

Related link:

Ablaze Ministries

(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)