Episodes

Sister Rita Clare Yoches

She played professional football for four years after having previously been an athlete in another sport, having earned a full basketball scholarship to Detroit Mercy, where she played for four years.  Last year she took her final vows and became a nun, and currently she is a campus minister at Florida State University.  During this conversation you’ll hear her say – among other observations – that she definitely sees the synergy between our faith life and our sports life.

Guest Quotes:

“My story… makes me a little bit relatable because (people) see something other than just the religious garb.”

“Playing aggressive sports and having a deep faith life can go together because Jesus is the ultimate warrior and the best athlete out there and, all of sports, they mirror our image of fighting for good over evil.”

“We are all children of God and that’s the only thing that matters, and whatever we do beyond that is supposed to glorify God and it doesn’t have to fit a specific mold at all.”

“The story is God’s story.  Only God could write a story like mine.  And so it naturally does point back to the Lord in all aspects and draw people to Him.”

“People just didn’t have any idea of how happy I was on the inside with my new relationship with the Lord.  But, it wasn’t bad at all because it just became this amazing point of discussion and it turned so many people who never thought about God or talked to God to think about it after hearing my story.”

“I heard the Lord say to me, ‘You should do this, you could do this,’ and I was like, ‘Do what? Become a nun?  Are you crazy’?!”

“I felt excited, like, the Lord picked me to be His bride, but then I was like, ‘Why me? Why do I have to do this?’  And then I was like, ‘I’m not worthy to do this’.”

“All saints have a past and all sinners have a future.  The stuff that we’ve endured in our life, the evil that we’ve endured, it’s our path to heaven.  It’s what we do with it and how we allow God to turn it into good.”

Theresa Feaster

The Director of Hockey Operations at Providence College for the men’s hockey team, she is a lifelong Catholic, the oldest of five children.  Theresa attended Catholic elementary, high school (valedictorian), and college.  She talks about working at a Catholic institution, the concept of people working together as a team, and the influence of her father on her career.

Guest Quotes:

“The idea of God’s providence and the idea of providence affecting everything we do is something that I’ve really come to appreciate, maybe, especially now that I’m older.”

“All these little things happen that maybe at the time you don’t really fully understand but then you kind of look back and you go, ‘Wow, that was all part of a path that I’m on now.’  So, certainly the idea of divine providence is a huge part of (Providence College).”

“You get this general sense of community and that there’s something bigger than yourself going on here.”

“There is that overarching sense of faith and community that comes with being a Catholic institution.”

“(the Dominican friars)… have become such a huge part of my life… The relationships that I’ve been able to build with the Dominican friars, that’s something that I’m really grateful for… It certainly made my life more rich.”

“I’ve always… been drawn to the St. Francis, ‘Preach the gospel at all times, use words when necessary’.”

“We do have a team chaplain who travels with us.  He’s with us all the time…  He’s a big part of our team.”

Related link:

Providence College men’s hockey

Neal Pionk

New York Rangers defenseman Neal Pionk cautions parents about putting too high of a priority on a child’s potential hockey career.  Plus, he talks about being born into the Catholic faith and attending Catholic school (K-8), coming into the NHL, moving to and living in New York City, and what happened when he tried to attend Christmas Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Guest Quotes:

“There’s a lot more to life than just a sport.”

“Your hockey career only lasts for so long, from the time you’re five or six years old until however long, 20, 30 years if you’re fortunate.  There’s so much more to life after that.”

“Parents… think that this tryout or this game is the end-all, be-all.  Well, it’s not.  Of course it’s important and it’s fun and there’s a lot of good that can come out of it but at the end of the day hockey only lasts until you’re 30, until you’re 35 if you’re really lucky, so, that’s not even half your life really, and to put such a high value on it… it doesn’t last forever and there’s a lot more to it than just those years.”

“One of my favorite parts about New York City, I’m just the average citizen walking down the streets, no one knows who I am, which is the nice part.  Go back home to… Minnesota it’s a little different, but in New York City I’m just the common citizen, which is nice.”

“The Rangers have a team chaplain and we usually, we try to meet up – it’s a little hard with our road schedule – but we try to meet up at least once a month… He works through an organization called Hockey Ministries.  He visits us… or he’s available to talk all the time.”

Related link:

NHL.com bio on Neal Pionk

[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]

Len Clark

He covers University of Notre Dame Athletics for Irish 101 and Irish Illustrated, and is also the Notre Dame reporter for Fan Media.  Len has also served as a reporter for ESPN Radio’s “College Gameday,” as a stringer for AP Sports.  A lifelong Catholic, he is also heavily involved with the Knights of Columbus.  He’s also involved with a project that, when supported, gives a portion of the proceeds to help support research into Niemann-Pick Type C Disease.

Guest Quotes:

“Faith, Notre Dame, and emerging media has really been my path for the past 35 years.”

“When you walk in the classroom and you see the crucifix on every wall it’s not cramming (Catholicism) into your face, it’s there as a subtle reminder just to serve as a foundation for the individuals that have the privilege of going to school (at Notre Dame).”

“We’re talking about the new evangelization that has been out since Vatican II and really came to prominence under Pope John Paul II who had a quote that I read constantly.  He said, ‘Faith is strengthened when we give it to others’.”

“When I was teaching there… I did have some athletes in my class, and so, developing that rapport with them and then having the opportunity to learn a little bit more about them helped me to become a better journalist because I got a better glimpse into the life of a student-athlete, how they’re balancing their academics and their athletics and their spiritual life.”

“When I was at the University of Evansville we had a Catholic group called the Newman Center and the Newman Centers are located at college campuses all across the country… it gave me more of an insight into the students outside of the classroom.”

“I can remember one Easter Sunday that we were on the road… and it was not mandatory, but, there were a lot of Catholic students on the team that year, but, they used that opportunity to invite the non-Catholics to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to Mass’ – which was actually held at a gym – and it was a great experience.”

“I’m a cradle Catholic… the older I get the more appreciative I am of the faith.”

“Be who you are, share your story, and lead by example.  And I think that’s how I define the evangelization.”

Related links:

Len’s Notre Dame Football Heritage Project

Pat McCaskey

A Chicago Bears’ Board Member and a Bears’ Vice President, he is the Chairman of Sports Faith International, which recognizes people who are successful in sports while leading exemplary lives. He is the author of six books (four about sports and faith) and participated in sports extensively as a student-athlete: basketball, baseball, football, track, and cross country, and currently runs Masters Track.  His grandfather (and godfather) was George Halas, the founder of the Chicago Bears.

Guest Quotes:

“God gave me the gift of writing and public speaking.  He has been very, very good to me with those gifts and many other things.”

“When I was seven months in my mother’s womb, she received the blessing for expectant mothers.”

“I am a lector at St. Mary’s church and St. Patrick church in Lake Forest.”

“After dinner, after I finish my chores, I like to shoot free throws until I make ten.”

“My grandfather was a man of faith and a man of prayer.”

“My grandfather lived the Ten Commandments of Football and I wrote them.”

“The (Chicago) Bears have Mass and chapel service before every game, home and away… We try to get the Pope, because we think our games are important.  We offer 100 dollars and two tickets.  Chuck Simpson said, ‘He probably doesn’t know who to bring’.”

“If we all tithe we can do a lot for the Kingdom of God.”

Related links:

Sports Faith International

Pat McCaskey’s books from the publisher

(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)

Joe Mesi

A former heavyweight boxer who finished with a 36-0 won-lost record (29 KOs), getting to No. 1 in the world where he would’ve fought for the heavyweight title but suffered a serious head injury (brain bleed).  Last year he was inducted into both the New York State Boxing Hall of Fame and the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.  He had also been a 1996 U.S. Olympic alternate.  Joe started a foundation called Champs Against Bullying and there is also the Baby Joe Mesi Fight for Organ Donors.  Listen to the end to hear what his “holy box” is.

Guest Quotes:

“You want to say boxing in my life was an accident.  It was almost like I stumbled upon it.  But yet in life there are no accidents, right?  It’s the path God bestowed upon me.”

“God gave me this path for a reason.  And as I look back and now, I’m an adult and I have a family, I’m able to clearly see that boxing was just the tool that God gave me.  The goal was to give back.”

“We know boxing is a dangerous sport and I’d say a prayer before every fight and I’d go into my opponent’s (locker) room too and try to say one with them.”

“I struggled with depression for a few years… I struggled with ‘Why me? Why God? Why this? Why now?’  But… it became clearer and clearer each day ‘Why me? Why now?’ … Through my church goings and talking to my priest… I was taught and I learned.”

“I was supposed to be heavyweight champion.  But I once read, ‘If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.’  Because, this was His plan and I can’t argue that.  Because He had a great plan and He protected me.”

“Here I am asking God for such silly little things in prayers and these people have lost their children.”

“And I’m thinking… did God put me here to box all my life just to receive this one letter because someone’s walking around now with a healthy organ?  Because it all makes sense to me.”

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

Chris Ledyard

Inducted into the Sports Faith Hall of Fame in 2015, the next year he became the Athletic Director at JSerra Catholic High School after more than 20 years at the helm of the athletic program at Franciscan University. Before that he was a Catholic high school vice principal. Married with six children, he was a college athlete (wrestler at Ithaca College) and has coached track and field, soccer, and wrestling.

Guest Quotes:

“I was at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, and I really felt the call from the Lord to go there after being a high school vice principal for six years.”

“I was the token Christian dude on the wrestling team.  And I really didn’t know how to act.  It was very difficult to stay in the faith, keep the faith, amongst people who thought my faith was silly and that it was kind of a joke.”

“I know that that was the Lord… preparing my heart for the reason that I wanted to begin talking to the administration at Franciscan about, ‘Hey, we should bring sports in, so when there’s a kid coming out of high school who really wants to be surrounded by people of like sports in the faith and still have a strong athletic experience in college, we should create a home for that person’.”

“(my brother) said, ‘If you don’t know your Creator, you don’t have anything’… A few days later I literally was in a room by myself and I started to seek Christ again.”

“I had a very deep personal experience at that particular point where it literally felt as if God was pouring water over my head.  I didn’t know that I was dirty and I certainly didn’t know why I was crying.  But, I knew that something cleansing was happening to me… God made Himself real to me.”

“The tough times were driven by the fact that I knew that God was real and that I needed to continue to move forward.”

“When you talk about… the integration of sports and faith… I can’t separate them.”

“When I hire new coaches, I literally say to those coaches, ‘I’m looking for coaches I can comfortably pray with’.”

“For 18 weeks I’ve been in a Bible study with coaches where we’re going through Acts together and we’re literally praying daily that the Holy Spirit guides us in our relationships with these athletes.”

Related link:

JSerra Catholic High School Athletics

(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)