Episodes

Mark Aylward

He has played sports his whole life. He was captain, All-Star, and MVP of his high school baseball team and a starter on their varsity basketball team.  Collegiately he attended Notre Dame and played in the Bookstore Basketball Tournament all four years that he was in college.  After high school he had continued to play in a variety of sports into his middle age, including softball, tennis, golf, and basketball, across multiple leagues. Present day, he continues his exercise in the form of walking, yoga, stretching, and calisthenics.  He also has been an avid sports fan his whole life.  And, he has created a free, downloadable publication called, “Find Your True Purpose: A Simple Workbook to Help You Connect Your Gift to Your Work.”

Notable guest quotes:

“Two of my uncles were priests, and one of my aunts was a nun, who eventually left the church; not left Catholicism, she left the church with a priest in her parish, and they got married and spent the rest of their lives together as practicing Catholics.”

“We were in Catholic school the next year.  It was a good move, because we did, we got a lot of discipline, and I can only imagine how challenging school would have been for me if we never made that transition.”

“My brother played, we played on the same teams growing up.  We were undefeated for three years in a row in Little League when my father was a coach.”

“(At Notre Dame) it was a wonderful experience.  I certainly got the whole Catholic environment culture vibe.  You know, professors talked about it openly.  There were events, Catholic events all the time everywhere.”

“The nature of my fatherhood was so intense.  I took them everywhere.  I went to all their games.  I met with all their teachers.  I worked from gymnasiums and dance recital studios.”

“So, I did some self-reflection and I thought, you know, this can go two ways.  This can go bad and sinful, or this could be a really good opportunity to reconnect with God.”

“One of my favorite things that I’ve ever heard one of the priests say is, you know the one thing that we all have in common here is we’re all sinners.”

“Everything I do is spiritually influenced and, you know, I’m very thankful to God as often as I can be.”

“It’s become much like my faith, you know, practicing, my exercise and my breathing and my visualization and meditation and prayer, and then walking, getting out in the sun and exercising my lungs, when I miss a day or two, I can feel it.  It’s no different than when I miss a day of reading that prayer in the morning, which I almost never do.”

Related link:

Mark’s official website

(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)

Paul Joel

He has a miraculous health-related story. On the sports side, he played football in high school and college, including in the Glenwood Football League and training camp with the New York Jets’ farm team. During his first two years he became the best table tennis player in college. As a Pulmonary Fellow at Mass General Hospital, he worked with some of the world-class runners competing from the Boston Marathon. He is the author of a novel called, “A Man Like You and Me: A Supernatural Adventure Story,” whose purpose, he says, is to increase faith in God in the reader, and is about supernatural events that started in his life in 1982.

Notable guest quotes:

“I had a kind of a rough childhood, kind of I was always alone… the only way that I made friends was on these sports teams.  So, sports was kind of like a saving grace – suddenly you have friends.”

“We were high school kids, and we were playing against men who were like 25, 26, 30 (years old).  I played four years in that league, and we won the championship three times.”

“I woke up in the middle of the night and the orthopedic surgeon, a resident, sawed open the cast and my foot was paralyzed and numb.  So, I had a numb, semi-paralyzed — the strength came back but since 1971, that was the end of football and that was also the end of being an orthopedic surgeon.”

“All of the Boston Marathon elite athletes would come through and they would get tested.  And, of course, they could do much more exercise than I could because they were world-class athletes, but when it came to the anaerobic threshold, the part where you’re now making lactic acid because you’re using up more oxygen than you’re taking in, I was able to go further than any of those people.”

“I get a message.  I don’t hear anything, it’s just somebody who’s just talking right into my brain.  ‘I love you, your sins are forgiven,’ and suddenly I’m all happy and I’m excited and the creator of the universe just communicated with me.”

“My wife… she’s a firm believer… a fine graduate of Catholic high and very devout Catholic.”

“I look back where the light is and I see a Christmas tree for a few seconds.  That disappears.  And I see an Easter candle for a few seconds.  That disappears.  And then I see the face of Jesus and I’m petrified.”

“We’re in Rome… in October 1982, western Europe, on Europasses, and I’m walking up the Spanish steps and I look up and I see the Holy family with baby Jesus… and that’s important because that’s the reason why we went to Barcelona, to see the sacred family church.”

“On April 29, 2022, miraculously my memory comes back.  What’s even more of a miracle is all the MRIs showed that the parts of my brain responsible for memory were destroyed.”

Related link:

Paul’s official website

[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]

Terry Tucker

He attended The Citadel on an athletic scholarship, going on to co-captain the men’s basketball team in his senior year and then receiving the Senior Class Sportsmanship Award at graduation. He had played for Marist High School in Chicago and was co-captain and MVP of his team in his senior year and was All-State Honorable Mention. He had also played for St. Charles Prep High School in Columbus, Ohio, playing both for the JV and the varsity basketball teams. He’d started out playing on the St. Anthony Middle School basketball team that won the Boys’ Basketball of America National Championship. More recently he was the varsity coach of the girls basketball team at Emery High School in Houston. He is also the author of a book called, “Sustainable Excellence: Ten Principles to Leading Your Uncommon and Extraordinary Life.”

Notable guest quotes:

“Catholic faith has always been an important part of my life… I was an altar server growing up, loved being an altar server.”

“The Catholic faith has been a huge part of my life… years of trials, tribulations, ups, downs, goods, bad, but keeping God, Jesus, at the center of all that’s been going on.”

“I… went to The Citadel… my youngest brother… pitched for Notre Dame… my middle brother… played for the Cleveland Cavaliers.”

“There was a priest (at college)… and so I would go to Mass every day that I possibly could… and then my junior year I was elected as president of the Citadel Religious Council.”

“I had three knee surgeries in high school… So, playing in college was literally a miracle.  I mean, the fact that I had the opportunity to do that after three knee surgeries was absolutely amazing.”

“He says, ‘Terry, I’ve been a doctor for 25 years, and I have never seen the form of cancer that you have.’  And at the time I was told it was a death sentence, that if I received a miracle, I might be alive in five years, but more than likely I would be dead in two years.  So, I was given the death sentence and thought well maybe through the grace of God I can turn that death sentence into a life sentence.”

“Humility I just define as service above self – what can I do to make other people’s lives better?”

“The faith, the family, the friendships that I’ve had – which I call my three F’s – those have absolutely kind of melded together.”

“And there’s sort of that old joke that says when we talk to God it’s called prayer; when God talks to us, it’s called schizophrenia.  And God never told me to write a book.  But I think what God does is, He puts people in your life that start making the suggestion, ‘You should do this.  You should write a book’.”

“Our purpose in life should not be to fill ourselves up.  Our purpose in life should be to empty ourselves out, certainly for the betterment of ourselves, but also for the betterment of our family, of our friends, of our community, of our country.”

“I say a rosary every day.  And I spend at least an hour in prayer.”

Related link:

Terry’s official website

(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)

Dave Schultz

He was active playing baseball as a youngster, and then added swimming to his list of sports when he got to junior high. As he got into high school, he stuck with swimming but dropped baseball, only to find out in the future that he was being scouted at the time. Later in life he taught at a Catholic school where he was also the softball coach and took a group of girls who never won a game prior to him coaching to being division champs. He would also coach baseball for the city parks and rec league, plus he coached for a couple of years in the Catholic Youth Organization.

Notable guest quotes:

“I was born and raised Catholic, but after I was confirmed, my parents did not push to go to church anymore.  We were regulars in the pews every week up until that point.”

“(My father) was a well-rounded athlete, growing up… and, the baseball part, I like to think it’s genetic too ‘cause my grandfather would’ve gone pro if it wasn’t for World War II.”

“Baseball was very big to me.  I played baseball from age five all the way to ninth grade… I was one of those kids that would just play any sport that was available.  I played basketball… flag football… golf.  I played tennis, a little bit of everything.”

“During (college) I remember going to church and I would hear friends talk about going to church and it just kinda popped in my head that, ‘Ya’ know, I kinda miss that part.’  I just remember having some feelings that kinda started pulling me back towards it.”

“One of my friends who volunteered regularly at one of the churches near campus, they said, ‘Hey, there’s openings for some catechists.  Do you want to join as a volunteer…’ and, I agreed to it.”

“I moved on to a Catholic school and taught there for three years, but during those times I volunteered to be the softball coach!”

“I’m the kinda coach, also, I’m always giving advice, but I’m always doing it positively… You’ll never hear me bash a player.  I don’t believe in that.  I don’t like seeing that.”

“It’s taking a step back and realizing it’s not about you… When they’re out on the field you can’t do everything for them.  You just have to teach as much as you can and hope that they’re able to do it out there on the field… You’ve got to give some release to your ego.”

“I was on the Parish Council for a couple years…  It was just something I felt called to do…. and… I was an active Knight for about two years or so.”

“The Catholic education, we think it’s been great for (our kids).  They’ve been very aware… of their faith and what it means to help out each other and what it means to give of themselves.”

(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.)

Bonnie-Jill Laflin

She is a trailblazing sports broadcaster, TV personality, author, and philanthropist. She is the first and only female NBA scout, holding the front office executive position with the Los Angeles Lakers. A former ballet dancer, she is the first woman to dance at a professional level for three teams in two sports: the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys. She is the first woman to be awarded six championship rings in two professional sports, earning a Super Bowl ring and five NBA championship rings. In addition, she has competed in barrel racing and created her own rodeo drill and flag team. She is also the author of a brand-new book, called, “In a League of Her Own: Celebrating Female Firsts in Sports.”

Notable guest quotes:

“A very strong Catholic faith upbringing, Catechism, all my schools I went to were Catholic schools, so, at a very young age that was very important to my family and myself.”

“When I was living in San Francisco just recently I was able to go to Mass there.  It’s just beautiful, and it’s, for me, walking in there with the upbringing and my family, it just resonates so differently.  It’s a beautiful cathedral church, but, just in itself because of the tradition that we’ve had, it was really neat to be able to actually start to go to Mass every Sunday there.”

“I started playing sports: softball, running track, basketball, and then on the other side, ya’ know, off the field, it was being a cheerleader and dance and so forth, so it’s kind of like two different aspects of myself, with the sports – the tomboy – and then also the dancing and the ballerina and all of that as well.”

“Being a cheerleader for the (NBA’s Golden State) Warriors was my first professional sports team that I was with, and it was kind of the combination of my passion, which was dance and sports.”

“This was the 80s where you’re, ‘Okay, there’s not a lot of opportunities for women, so, okay, well this is a way for me to be involved with sports’ … This is the way for me to get in to be a part of the sports teams that I love, is, being a cheerleader and I was grateful enough to be with the Warriors and then my first year with the 49ers we went to the Super Bowl… cheering for Steve Young and Jerry Rice.”

“What was great about the Dallas Cowboys (cheerleaders), which I loved… is that we prayed before every practice, we prayed before every game… we’d say the Our Father… and I really thought that was so special.”

“When I was a scout for the Lakers I was the only female – and still the first and only female to scout in the NBA – there was something where I wanted to be able to create a space where women could feel that there are areas in sports that maybe aren’t the normal sideline (roles), whether it’s a cheerleader whether it’s a reporter, that there are other areas in the sports world are spaces for women.”

“That, to me, is not something – with my integrity and my faith – I would never do a tell-all book.  I wanted something a lot more inspirational, aspirational, empowering, and positive.  And so, I said ‘no, no, no’ and people kept saying, ‘Well you’re never going to get the book deal.’  Well, I kind of just, ya’ know, God has a plan, right, so, you have to be patient, and so I waited, and I finally got a great publishing deal, and I was able to tell the story that I wanted to.”

“For me and my career and my faith I’ve never taken shortcuts… It’s more fulfilling and I can look at myself in the mirror and know that I’m doing the right thing.”

“God has a plan for us, He’s not going to give it to you right away, so, I think that sometimes people need to remember that.”

“That’s kind of my calling.  I feel at the end of the day when God has placed me in a situation that I am so grateful for what I have, and you’re supposed to give back.  I believe you’re put on this earth to give back.  That’s been instilled with me since I was a really young girl when my mom and dad would take us to the different Catholic retreats, we would go and help in Mexico.”

Related link:

Bonnie-Jill’s book

Bill Bommarito

He has written a book on coaching youth sports, which just came out at the start of this month and is titled, “Beyond the Skills and Drills: The Keys to Successfully Coaching Youth Sports.” He has been involved with both high school and youth sports for 47 years. In addition, his nationwide coaching and parenting seminars have been attended or watched by nearly one hundred thousand participants.  He was previously a guest on this show more than three-and-a-half years ago, back on Episode 78, and since then has had two impactful developments in his family that are part of the very emotional testimony he shares here.

Notable guest quotes:

(Regarding the passing of three siblings) “As a family we immediately turned to our Catholic faith and to the good Lord in prayers… We held onto our faith… and it made all the difference in the world as to how we walked that walk.”

(Regarding a devastating diagnosis during Bill’s daughter’s pregnancy) “We had a dear parish priest, who we love dearly, who shared with us some words that completely changed… how we looked at this devastating news.”

“Just FYI, for your audience, there is a thing in the Catholic church called ‘baptism by desire’.”

(Regarding the daughter Bill’s pregnant daughter was carrying) “Father Mike replies and… went on to say – and this was a game-changer for us, absolute game-changer – here’s what he wrote.  ‘Before she became your daughter, she was first and remains always God’s daughter… You two have been chosen to carry her to the doorway of our eternal home’.”

“We lean very heavily on our faith family at our church, and we are blessed a thousand times over with people that we know are praying for (Bill’s wife) every single night and what a difference that makes, and because we’ve been in the community for so many years, we gain strength from the community as well.  But, once again, it’s another way in which our faith sustains us.”

“We’re blessed with the Catholic faith to be available to us 24/7/365, and we use it!”

“How do we take care of each other?  How do we (coaches) take care of those who’ve been assigned to us on our roster?”

“When I go to bed at night, I feel pretty good that a lot of coaches are impacted and a lot of families are impacted by the work, and I actually call it a ministry.  It truly, for me, is a ministry, and I think it’s a way to reach out and evangelize what we’re doing as Catholics.”

“He happens to be a Marianist priest, by the way.  I went to a Marianist high school and a Marianist university and he’s one of my all-time favorite people.”

Related links:

Website for Catherine Cares (non-profit)
Bill’s official website

Joseph M. Lenard

He played hockey from a very early age, starting off as a center before switching to goaltender, playing for his high school, and then going on to become a goalie coach and ultimately head coach. He then spent approximately two decades as a referee for the Michigan Hockey Association of United States. He has also written multiple books, including, “Terror Strikes: Coming Soon to a City Near You,” which was a Number 1 Amazon bestseller and is a Christian book with a baseball sub-thread. He also hosts his own show, called, “Christi-Tutionalist Politics,” which has a sub-heading of ‘Christian and U.S. Constitution.’  He also talks about being both a cancer survivor and a suicide survivor.

Notable guest quotes:

“Born into a Catholic family… I did attend Catechism classes in the summers so that I would have introduction or involvement in both the world and the faith realms of education.”

“Six years old, I think I was, when I was first put on skates.”

“All sports – if you have the right mentorship, the right coaches, the right, even, officials – teaching morality.  Sportsmanship matters, right?  Being a good human being, a good Christian.  Being there for the right reasons and treating each other well.”

“At the end of the day there has to be and should be that shaking hands at the end of the game, camaraderie, win or lose, good effort, that sort of thing.”

“God works in mysterious ways… the (Damar) Hamlin incident, they all came out and kneeled in prayer.  Thank God… that brought that back, that sportsmanship – kneeling to God in prayer.”

“My writings… are a calling… I feel they are not of me, they are from me, they are through me.”

“Life over death, hope over fear, faith over despair, love over hate, good over evil.”

“Before Covid, churches would do festivals to raise money… ‘cause you can get monies out of non-believers.  I dealt blackjack at the Vegas tents for many a church, including my own.”

Related link:

Joseph Lenard’s website