Catholic Sports Radio
Helping listeners find the right balance and priority when it comes to their faith life versus their sports life, interviews are done with guests who are Catholics in sports - current or former athletes, coaches, officials, clergy, administrators, and more, from the pro, amateur, and scholastic ranks. Whether you're an athlete or a fan, youth or adult, Catholic or not, this show will deliver content that speaks to you and provides opportunities for ongoing reflection for your daily life.
Mon, April 14, 2025
Tom Equels
He has an amazing story of surviving a life-threatening accident a few years ago. He was on the track team in high school and surfed regularly too. For decades he has been an avid motorcyclist, both dirt and touring. He has also been active in martial arts and was a regular participant in sailboat racing. Although he also swims and plays tennis and pickle ball, he perhaps excelled the most as an equestrian competitor as a rider for decades, having won numerous local, regional, state, national, and international championships. He authored a book that came out last year, called, "The Horseman's Tale.” His service to our country is seen in him being a combat-wounded Vietnam veteran and the recipient of two Distinguished Flying Crosses for heroism in aerial combat, along with the Purple Heart. On the faith side, he was knighted by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 for his humanitarian service.
Mon, April 07, 2025
Kylie Hein
She not only competed in both college and high school in volleyball and dance, but coached volleyball for multiple schools over a ten-plus year period and still hosts volleyball clinics, in addition to playing the sport both recreationally and for an annual fundraiser. In her younger years she played four other sports as well. On the faith side, she has a Master's in Ministry and is a certified Catholic mindset coach. In June she will graduate with a spiritual direction certification. She also hosts a podcast, runs workshops, and does Catholic speaking events.
Mon, March 31, 2025
Ralph Linzmeier
He was a competitive swimmer as a youth and played water polo in high school. He received a Presidential Appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he continued with both swimming and water polo. Believing in the value of non-profit service as an important duty, he has focused on his passion for serving, church, the underprivileged, and supporting education and youth. With two other couples, he and his wife conceived, co-founded and led the effort to create Saint Junipero Serra Catholic which has grown to become the largest Catholic grade school in America. He is a Knight of Malta and served on the National Board of Governors of Legatus, a Catholic organization for business executives who strive to study, live and spread the Catholic faith in their business, professional, and personal lives. His focus these days is on the Fruitful Futures Project, a 501c3 devoted to inspiring fruitfulness with the intention of helping others to help to build the Kingdom.
Mon, March 24, 2025
Kelsey Gillespy
She was just inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame at Indiana State University where she twice was first team all-conference, led the country in free-throw percentage in her senior year, and ranks in the top eight in four categories in the history of the women's basketball program at the school. In high school she had been a three-time all-state, all-metro, and first team all-conference selection. In addition, she was an assistant coach for three years for a different high school, with that team winning two Class 5 Missouri state championships during her time there. She has a Master’s degree in sports psychology from the University of Missouri. On the faith side, she is the author of a book called, "In the Trenches: Finding God Through Raising Littles" and another, released last year, called, "Real Life with Mary: Growing in Virtue to Magnify the Lord."
Mon, March 17, 2025
Dr Savannah Santiago
She ran for the University of Colorado | Colorado Springs, competing in cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track. Prior to that she was a school record holder in the 4x400m relay and earned several honors, including - among many others - being named Poway High School Athlete of the Year, and was a five-time state meet qualifier. Today, she still stays involved through a running club, continues to race on the roads, and, most recently, ran a full marathon for the charity organization St. Jude. Her story, however, includes medical challenges, and, in part, led to her today being a foot and ankle doctor and surgeon at a Catholic hospital in Indianapolis, including treating athletes.
Mon, March 10, 2025
Drew Mahalic
He was selected by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the NFL Draft and went on to play four seasons in the pros, first with the San Diego Chargers and then three with the Philadelphia Eagles. He was a linebacker who had played collegiately for four years at the University of Notre Dame, with the Fighting Irish being AP Poll national champions his third season with the team. After his senior year he played in the Coaches All-America Game. He even appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine. During his days as an athlete, he even played two football games in Mexico City. He later received his degree from Harvard Law School.
Mon, March 03, 2025
Cristy Murray
She is the Head Archery Coach for Holy Rosary Academy in Anchorage Alaska, having launched the program herself, and last year one of her student-athletes qualified to compete nationally. She also competed in the Taekwondo National Tournament and has participated in the mud run. Away from sports, she is a certified Catholic neurocoach and expert in helping daughters heal from the trauma of being raised by covert narcissistic mothers. Plus, she is the founder of Blue Veil Wellness, providing comprehensive online coaching programs AND she is the host of a podcast called Maternal Narcissists: Unmasked.
Mon, February 24, 2025
Carolina Marrelli
She started fencing in junior high, stopped during high school to pursue both track and field as well as competition squad cheerleading, then went back to fencing after graduating from college and competed for several years. After a 20-year hiatus she came back to the sport and is now working her way to getting on a national team. Along the way, on the faith side, she had been in full-time music ministry. Plus, she is a certified Health Coach and corporate wellness and women's ministry speaker.
Mon, February 17, 2025
Jose Pulido
He competed for four years in track and field in high school and present day is a coach of an evangelical nature. He is the founder of Holy Family Evangelization, a Catholic coaching organization, AND he is the author of a brand-new book just being released, called, "How to Evangelize Anyone," which is a complete reversal for someone who was an atheist. He has evangelized at universities, Fortune 500 companies, and various non-profits in the U.S., Latin America, and Asia. He has also advised numerous organizations and parishes on evangelization and catechesis.
Mon, February 10, 2025
Jamon Copeland
He is the Head Men's Basketball Coach at Ave Maria University. He is in his 15th season as a head coach, having previously held the position at Aledo High School, The University of Texas at Tyler, a previous stint at Ave Maria, Texas State University, Trinity Valley Community College, and Keller Central High School. He led Ave Maria to the conference tournament championship game in 2021 and his 2023-24 team earned an at-large bid to the NAIA Tournament and won the program's first-ever national tournament game. He is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and a CrossFit Level I Trainer.
Mon, February 03, 2025
Antwyne DeLonde
He was Varsity Basketball Coach for seven years at The Boys' Latin School of Maryland. On the business side, he joined forces with NBA legend Walt “The Wizard” Williams to assist former NFL player Wale Ogunleye with the UBS Sports and Entertainment Division. Together, they revolutionized wealth management for elite clients, including the National Basketball Players Association, and brokered historic deals such as connecting Players TV Media Group — a collective powered by icons like Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, and Kyrie Irving — with UBS. He is also a U.S. Army combat veteran, and he demonstrated a true Christian heart by quitting his seven-figure job to create a social impact company that focuses on financial education for the underprivileged.
Mon, January 27, 2025
Todd Botto
He is a Professor of Athletic Training & Sports Medicine at Quinnipiac University. Over the last 30+ years he has worked in higher education teaching the next generation of athletic training and physical therapy students. He has also practiced clinically in a variety of athletic settings providing medical and rehabilitative services, including having worked as an athletic trainer in professional baseball here in the U.S. and professional soccer in Costa Rica. He was also the Rehabilitation Coordinator, Head Basketball and Assistant Football Athletic Trainer at the University of Southern Mississippi. He worked as a private consultant in the industrial athletic training setting and has provided medical coverage for numerous high school and private athletic events. Over his three-plus decades of professional service he has provided medical coverage for an estimated 7500 athletic events.
Mon, January 20, 2025
Chase Crouse
He played tennis and beach volleyball in high school and the latter when he was a student-athlete at Texas State University. Present day he participates in mixed martial arts, lifting weights, hiking, and doing Spartan races. He is co-founder of and fitness director for Hypuro Fit, whose mission is to bring a technically excellent and authentically Catholic approach to personal training. He also has a story about his own reversion to the Catholic faith, which he shares during this interview.
Mon, January 13, 2025
Ryan Evans
He is in his second season as an assistant coach for women's swimming and diving at the University of Kansas. Prior to joining the Jayhawks staff, he was the head coach at the University of Mary, and before that he had been an assistant coach at the University of New Mexico. Prior to moving into the college coaching ranks, he was the head coach of Reno Aquatic Club from 2018-21. As a student-athlete he graduated from and swam at the University of Iowa, where he was named the team captain for the 2008-09 season. He also received the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award and the Iowa Swimming Leadership Award in 2009. He has a compelling story about his reversion back to the Catholic faith.
Mon, January 06, 2025
Alex DiVerde
He played football in high school but also competed in track, which became his long-term sport. Having broken a school record in indoor 4x800m relay in high school, he went on to compete for four years at Bradley University where he also broke a school record. Post-college he has continued to run, including five marathons and one 50-mile ultra marathon. He even qualified for and ran in the Boston Marathon. Plus, since 2018 he has backpacked approximately five thousand miles across a handful of trails, including the Appalachian Trail.
Mon, December 30, 2024
Daniel Maigler
He played football his freshman year of high school, moved on to discus and two conference championships in that sport, and then went on to a long career in lacrosse, a sport that he remains involved with to this day. He played for the Illinois Wesleyan University Club Lacrosse team, Oxford University, and Second City/Windy City Men's Club, and he still plays in an over-30 league. On top of all that, he not only has officiated lacrosse, but has coached five high school teams since 2001, plus, Park Ridge Youth Lacrosse, which he has now been coaching for three years. (Be forewarned of two emotional stories in the second half of this episode.)
Mon, December 23, 2024
Taryn Wright Campbell
She is the Head Varsity Volleyball Coach at St. Francis Catholic High School in Sacramento, California, where she was previously the head junior varsity and assistant varsity volleyball coach. As a student-athlete there she had led the team to the state championship as a junior in 2005 before later going on to earn three All-Big Sky Conference awards at the University of Montana. Her coaching career began as a student assistant at Montana and included a stop at Nevada as a volunteer assistant and director of volleyball operations. She also coached club ball for Northern Nevada Juniors.
Mon, December 16, 2024
Fr Edwin Leahy
He has been the headmaster at Saint Benedict's Prep in Newark, New Jersey, for more than 50 years. He is a graduate of that school and has been featured on "60 Minutes" and on FOX News. On the sports side, he wrestled, played football, and captained the tennis team, and went on to coach wrestling for Saint Benedict's Prep. Over six years ago a video went viral of him on the basketball court, hitting a hook shot from three-point range, wearing his clerics. Meanwhile, he received the first Robert F. Kennedy Award for Urban School Leadership from the national Schools That Can organization in 2014 and was named a New Jersey Icon by NJBIZ in 2020.
Mon, December 09, 2024
Eibhlis Moriarty
She competed in a long list of sports from elementary school to high school to university and adult life. Notably, she competed regionally in running and at the world level in dance. Regarding the latter, she is a World Championship-winning professional Irish dancer, and she now dances for coaching. Meanwhile, she ran her first 10K in 2017 and has remained very involved in running. She is the Graduate Lab Coordinator at the University of Nevada Las Vegas for The Optimum Performance Program in Sport (TOPPS), which blends traditional mental health services with sport culture and customized performance coaching.
Mon, December 02, 2024
Paul Ferrante
He went from playing Little League baseball to 25-plus years of men's league softball to playing into his 50s with two years of vintage baseball. Meanwhile, he had also played Pop Warner football and then continued in the sport in high school and college, including being the placekicker on the undefeated 1977 team that is enshrined in the Iona College Sports Hall of Fame. He also spent a combined total of 15 seasons coaching high school and college football. He has been a columnist for Sports Collectors Digest magazine since 1993, specializing in Baseball Ballpark History. He is currently co-authoring his first nonfiction book, about the 1970s Oakland A’s baseball team, to be published in 2025. And, having written other books, he says that his adult baseball novel “The Rovers: A Tale of Fenway” has the most overtly religious themes.
Mon, November 25, 2024
Miguel Menendez
He has been the head baseball coach at Jesuit High School in Tampa since 2014. He had spent many years coaching at Key West High School who, as a player, he had led to a state title back in 1995. As a student-athlete at the collegiate level, he played for the University of Tampa, won an NCAA Division II national title in 1998, and was twice named All-Conference. At Jesuit he has led the baseball team to such highlights as state champions, District titles, and even being ranked No. 1 nationally by several national baseball media outlets. His faith story includes having grown apart from the church as a young adult and later finding his way back, which he talks about during this interview.
Mon, November 18, 2024
Fabio Marino
He started playing tennis when he was eight years old and started teaching the sport at age 19. Two years into his college years he started a tennis academy that became one of the biggest such schools in his hometown. In 1990 he started at an exclusive resort in California, teaching the sport there for what would be 32 years. Along the way, one of the kids he taught there not only became a No. 1 player in college but went on to become a pro athlete in the sport. On the faith side, he pursued a master’s degree in theology from Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, even though he wasn't baptized Catholic until age 27. He emotionally shares his story of tragic loss in his family.
Mon, November 11, 2024
Deanne Miller
She competed in hockey, figure skating, gymnastics, soccer, and dance team as a young girl and teenager, and in her adult years moved into sports pursuits such as tennis/pickleball, receiving Pilates and TRX certifications, and creating a physical certification program under the banner of SoulCore, a Catholic fitness apostolate that she is co-founder of, with a mission to amplify the experience of prayer through physical movement. On the faith side, she has a conversion story to the Catholic faith, which she talks about during this interview.
Mon, November 04, 2024
Deacon Michael Hill
He ran track in high school, competed in intramural sports, later taught himself golf, and coached youth league basketball and baseball, winning a regular season and a post-season title. In 2011 he was ordained to the Diaconate in the first class in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. He has been a 4th degree member of the Knights of Columbus, and this year was awarded a Licentiate in Canon Law from St. Paul University in Ottawa, Ontario. He is a Board member of Deacons Of Hope, a pro-life, non-profit ministry.
Mon, October 28, 2024
Steven Thomas
He spent years playing basketball, including grade school, high school, and college, and then went on to coach basketball for close to 15 years. Along the way he also coached football, including jobs at two Catholic high schools. Two years ago, he walked with a group of guys in the form of a cross across the United States, covering approximately 4,500 miles. He spent five years in the seminary, has written a novel called, "Catholic Joe: Superhero," and is working on another book to be called, "The Team," which he talks about during this interview.
Mon, October 21, 2024
Mark Bruener
He is a College Scout with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was a first round draft pick in the 1995 NFL Draft and went on to play nine years with Pittsburgh and then five years with the Houston Texans. In total he played in 188 regular season games and five in the playoffs. He also served on the NFL Players Association Executive Committee. Back in his days as a student-athlete he played college football for the Washington Huskies, earning All-American honors in 1993. Five years ago, he was enshrined in the Pacific Northwest Hall of Fame.
Mon, October 14, 2024
Juan Cotto
He has spent many years working in sports, from being the Head Football Coach at two different high schools in Washington state to having been an assistant football coach at a third. In addition, he developed a program with the Washington Officials Association and the Pacific Ten Conference in tribute to a high school football coach who passed away from cancer. His work in sports also extends to having been a part of two Major League Baseball front offices, the Atlanta Braves and then the Seattle Mariners. On the faith side, he was Director of Development at the largest Catholic elementary school in the Pacific Northwest.
Mon, October 07, 2024
Bob Katz
He independently produces faith-based films. His most current film, "Average Joe," releases exclusively in theaters nationwide this Friday, October 11th, and is based on the true story of a high school football coach, Joe Kennedy, whose fight for religious freedom — the right to pray on the field following games — went all the way to the Supreme Court, where he won his case. This guest was also executive producer of the film "God's Not Dead." He played on his high school golf team and went on to be an avid racquetball player for most of his life. He also has a story of conversion to the Catholic faith, which he shares during this interview.
Mon, September 30, 2024
Jessica Cox
She is an author and motivational speaker who has been featured on TV shows like "Ellen" and "FOX and Friends," and on networks such as CNN, BBC News, and National Geographic. Despite being born without arms, she is a fourth-degree black belt in taekwondo. She has participated in numerous other sports – either competitively or recreationally – including cycling, scuba diving, surfing, golf, horseback riding, and Philippines martial arts arnis / escrima. In 2011 she received the Guinness World Record for being the first person certified to fly an airplane with only their feet. She not only met Pope Benedict XVI but gave him her Guinness World Record Medal.
Mon, September 23, 2024
Dr Max Engel
He has a long résumé in sports as an athlete, coach, and educator. After being a varsity soccer captain and varsity basketball captain in high school, he went on to compete in rowing at Boston College. Next, he became a boys basketball coach at St. Jude High School in Montgomery, Alabama, and then a girls basketball coach at Mercy High School in Omaha, Nebraska, and now for the last ten years he has been youth soccer and basketball coach at St. Pius X / St. Leo School. He is a life-long bicyclist and from 2007-2013 was a recreational triathlete. Two years ago, he co-authored a book called, "On the Eighth Day: A Catholic Theology of Sport," and teaches in the Theology department at Creighton University.
Mon, September 16, 2024
Megan Harrington
She played volleyball, tennis, and basketball in high school and then went on to be a decorated athlete in college, playing Division I basketball, including being co-captain, getting named to the Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team, and her team having four NCAA appearances. She is the producer of many films, including last year's "Native Ball: Legacy of a Trailblazer," about a Native American female basketball player, and the documentary, "Playing Like a Girl: The House That Rob Built," which will be available to PBS stations nationwide and the PBS Amazon Prime documentary channel starting November 1st.
Mon, September 09, 2024
Kevin Reilly
He was drafted by the NFL's Miami Dolphins and went on to play for both the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots after having played college football at Villanova University on a full athletic scholarship. He is a member of three halls of fame, went on to become a radio announcer for the Philadelphia Eagles, and has even run five half-marathons. Also an inspirational speaker, he has an amazing story of being a cancer survivor and amputee. He is currently writing a book about his Catholic journey, which follows a book he previously wrote, called, "Tackling Life: How Faith, Family, Friends, and Fortitude Kept an NFL Linebacker in the Game."
Mon, September 02, 2024
Greg McMahon
He has won both a Super Bowl and college football national championship. He is entering his second season as Tulane University’s special teams coordinator after having spent the 2022 season coordinating special teams for the USFL’s Houston Gamblers and XFL’s Houston Roughnecks. Prior to 2022, he spent five seasons with LSU, where he joined the staff as an analyst in 2017 and later took over as special teams coordinator. That followed his having spent eleven years with the NFL's New Orleans Saints, the first two as assistant special teams coordinator followed by nine seasons as special teams coordinator. During his time there the team won the Super Bowl in February 2010 over the Indianapolis Colts. He has spent decades around the game, first as a safety at Eastern Illinois and then as a coach at eight different schools over a 25-year period.
Trailer · Wed, August 28, 2024
Trailer - Catholic Sports Radio
Hear what the show is about and sample excerpts from interviews with an NFLer, an Olympian, and a surfer priest.
Mon, August 26, 2024
Joe Patterson
He is the Head Football Coach, Director of Athletics, and Vice President of Enrollment at Ave Maria University. Entering his ninth season at the helm of the football program, he led a turnaround from a winless first season to Sun Division Champions just two years later, earning him Sun Division Coach of the Year honors. He earned his master's degree in Catholic Leadership from the Catholic University of America and taught literature at St. John's College High School in Washington, D.C., for 19 years, the last twelve of which he served as the head varsity football coach, with his teams earning playoff berths in all but two of those seasons. Presently he is at the forefront of a new, free "The Pursuit of Online Wisdom" online course called, "Athletics and the Virtues."
Mon, August 19, 2024
Christopher Chen
He started into sports later in life, with basketball being his primary sport, including having attended a basketball training academy where he learned from NBA Skills Trainer Drew Hanlen. He also worked out with former NBA player and three-time dunk champion Nate Robinson. In addition, he played ball hockey, including winning four championships, and he competed in touch football leagues. Over the last few years, he, "made the conscious decision to serve the church while incorporating lessons learned from sports to help my clients." He is based in western Canada and is a state officer for the Knights of Columbus BC/Yukon State Council, and six months ago was invested as a Knight of the Holy Sepulcher in the Vancouver Lieutenancy. On the professional side, he serves as a Catholic Life Coach for Freedom Coaching. (LISTEN FOR THE POWERFUL TESTIMONY HE SHARES ABOUT HIS EYESIGHT AND A GOSPEL PASSAGE HE HEARD AT MASS!)
Mon, August 12, 2024
Lauren Hazbun
She is a current student-athlete, competing in the sport of volleyball. Away from the court, she brings her love of sports into her faith through a new non-profit that she is the founder and president of, called Field of Dreams Foundation: Catholic Sportsmanship in Action, Corp., which she talks about during this interview. She also shares strong faith testimony as it relates to medical challenges that she has already been having to face throughout her young life.
Mon, August 05, 2024
JJ Niekro
He is a pitcher for the Mississippi Braves, the Double A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, with whom he signed as a free agent in 2021 after having pitched in the MLB Draft League. He then proceeded to post a 2.76 earned run average over 16 ⅓ innings in rookie ball. He had played collegiately in Lakeland, Florida, and in high school as well. Fans of Major League Baseball absolutely will recognize his last name, with his having had three different family members who all played in the big leagues.
Mon, July 29, 2024
Mike Lynch
He is the head coach for women's soccer at Belmont Abbey College, a Catholic college in North Carolina. Having started there in 2011, he has a .633 winning percentage and has earned two conference regular season championships, two conference tournament championships, and competed in three NCAA postseason tournaments. Prior to Belmont Abbey, he also held head coaching jobs at Nebraska Wesleyan University and Truman State University, and as an assistant coach at the United States Air Force Academy. He had played college soccer at the United States Air Force Academy. After graduation, he competed for the active-duty USAF Soccer Team in 1984 and 1985, and was selected to the United States Armed Forces National Team in 1984. He served as Faith-Based Coaches Community Chair for United Soccer Coaches from 2017-2022 and is now on the Board of Directors. He has even completed several marathons, including the Boston Marathon.
Mon, July 22, 2024
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.
Mon, July 15, 2024
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.
Mon, July 08, 2024
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.
Mon, July 01, 2024
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.
Mon, June 24, 2024
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.
Mon, June 17, 2024
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.
Mon, June 10, 2024
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.
Mon, June 03, 2024
Taylor Kemp
He is a former Major League Soccer player with over 100 MLS appearances throughout a six-year career that took him to four continents and more than ten countries. He spent ten years in locker rooms of the highest level, from the University of Maryland, to D.C. United, to the U.S. Men’s National team. On the faith side, after living a life apart from God for many years, he experienced the unique challenges of converting from within a professional locker room. Nowadays he is the Vice President of Content at the Augustine Institute and is co-host of the catechetical series "Symbolon," which has a new version launching on the Formed app on July 17th.
Mon, May 27, 2024
Matt Hoven
This is something of a special edition. This guest was on the show before, more than a year-and-a-half ago, back on Episode 190 in September 2022. He is a professor and Kule Chair at St. Joseph’s College, a Catholic college at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada. And since we met him then – and you can go back and hear his story on that episode – this conversation instead gives us all the chance to learn all about a fascinating individual from the world of sports and our Catholic faith, because this guest just last month had a book come out that is a Number 1 New Release on Amazon in Canadian Historical Biographies, a book called, "Hockey Priest: Father David Bauer and the Spirit of the Canadian Game," published by The Catholic University of America Press.
Mon, May 20, 2024
Krista Steinbeiser
She has coached for FC Dallas Juniors and for TOCA -- which is an official soccer training partner of MLS -- in addition to being a private trainer / entrepreneur for soccer skills, camps, and events. She has six years of training in Krav Maga, Karate, Jiu-jitsu, and other forms of self-defense and now teaches private lessons to individuals, groups, churches, and monthly women's seminars. She received ISSA certification in fitness and nutrition and worked with dietitians for five years, plus 25 years of experience working with various coaches and instructors. She played division I college soccer at McNeese State University, where she was First Team All-Conference and earned the Golden Boot Award. She had been varsity soccer MVP in high school and also competed in club and other soccer programs.
Mon, May 13, 2024
Brett Milazzo
He is an outfielder with the Schaumburg Boomers of the Frontier League, which is a Professional Partner League of Major League Baseball. Last year in 78 games played he batted .300 and had a .995 fielding percentage. After playing collegiately at the University of Minnesota-Duluth he went on to play double A ball with the Chicago Dogs of the American Association. He had started his college career at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. He also trains youth baseball players at a local facility. On the faith side he has a reversion story that he shares during this interview.
Mon, May 06, 2024
Colleen Scariano
She grew up playing a wide array of sports, from softball, basketball, volleyball, and track, to swimming and volleyball. She has also played golf and in tennis leagues, plus she has run a half-marathon AND a triathlon. Present day her focus, fitness-wise, is on stretching, strength, and restorative movement, adding that she loves a good hike. She has overcome personal tragedy more than once, and, she is the co-founder of SoulCore, a Catholic fitness apostolate whose mission is to amplify the experience of prayer through physical movement. Their signature SoulCore Rosary is a 60-minute strengthening workout that is set to the prayers of the rosary.
Mon, April 29, 2024
Fr Steve Kim
He has been the Catholic chaplain for the NFL's San Francisco 49ers for the last eight years, which have included two trips to the Super Bowl. He was a competitive golfer, to the point of having considered going pro at one point, AND he did a 53-mile walk from East San Jose to East San Francisco as part of a fundraiser. He is the founder and president of several non-profits, was ordained to the priesthood at age 25 back in 2011, and just celebrated one year of serving as the principal at St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in Alameda, California, near Oakland. He not only earned a BA in philosophy and religious studies from Santa Clara University (SCU), but, earned three degrees at Saint Patrick's Seminary and University, PLUS, he went back to SCU for his master's degree and then got his doctorate from the University of Southern California.
Mon, April 22, 2024
Ciaran Clarke
He is an undefeated professional MMA fighter, currently boasting a 9-0 won-lost record, with his most recent victory having come on March 22nd, winning by way of a third-round submission in a featherweight match, after which he said, "I feel really great in this weight class and please with the help of God we can keep this streak going." He hails from Dublin, Ireland, and is signed to Bellator MMA. From March 2012 to November 2018, he had 24 fights as an amateur. He had begun his combat sports journey through boxing at age 12 before transitioning to MMA a few years later.
Mon, April 15, 2024
Anna Zschuppe
She grew up playing soccer from the age of 9 and played goalkeeper and striker for AC Premier, Croatia Cleveland, and Kirtland High School and was trained under some notable former U.S. national team players. She also has received her youth futsal/indoor referee license from the U.S. Soccer Federation, and she served as the girls’ head soccer coach at Braves Soccer Academy for U9-U11 teams for two years. She now partners with Ignite Athlete Training in Dallas, Texas, as a soccer trainer. Meanwhile, she quit her six-figure, Fortune 500 job in corporate America as an HR consultant at age 26 to start her own business helping faith-based believers who feel like they've hit a breaking point in their lives or careers to discover their unique purpose, boost their confidence, and become the most authentic versions of themselves while keeping Christ as the focal point through mind-body-spirit wellness and connection.
Mon, April 08, 2024
Claudio Reilsono
He has had a long career in baseball, including being the all-time leader in wins as coach of the Carnegie Mellon University baseball team, which he guided to consecutive conference championships in 2015 and 2016. As a professional scout, he has assisted in professional player signings all over the world and in 2002 was named General Manager of the Global Scouting Bureau. He is also a professional hitting instructor, conducting his own hitting camps in several states and serving as a hired instructor at many baseball camps. He was voted into the “Steel City Sports” Hall of Fame in 2014, and is the author of a book called, "Lead from the Heart Up, Not the Neck Up."
Mon, April 01, 2024
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."
Mon, March 25, 2024
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.
Mon, March 18, 2024
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."
Mon, March 11, 2024
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.
Mon, March 04, 2024
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.”
Mon, February 26, 2024
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.
Mon, February 19, 2024
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.
Mon, February 12, 2024
Faust Ruggiero
He played baseball in college and has coached over thirty youth sports teams across baseball, soccer, and basketball. In addition, back in 1994 he started Phillies Fan Central, bringing fans of the MLB team together toward a common goal of enhanced communication with the organization. This will mark thirty years of providing services to Phillies fans. Meanwhile, he is an award-winning author and therapist, who says that everything he does is designed to bring people closer to the Lord, and to help them understand how to move from the worldly distractions that cause so much pain and into a more spiritual way to live.
Mon, February 05, 2024
Annie Agar
She is a sports content creator who has more than 1.6 million followers between TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter combined. She is also an NFL and college football correspondent, and has extensive sports broadcasting experience, including having been a sports reporter at the local news station in her hometown and having done sideline reporting for the NBA affiliate team from her hometown as well. As a student-athlete she had competed in softball, basketball, and cross country, and later started into doing triathlons. On the faith side, she has powerful testimonies of perseverance, which she shares during this interview.
Mon, January 29, 2024
Erin Yenney
She just retired a year-and-a-half ago after having been a pro soccer player, although she has now started a new semi-pro women's indoor soccer team. Her pro playing career had seen her with a team in Turkey, which was preceded by playing for a team in Finland. Before that she played for two different teams here in the States in the National Women's Soccer League, and before that played for a team in Colombia that became champions of the first year *of* the women's pro soccer league in that country. That came one year after having played in Sweden. As a student-athlete she had played Division I women's soccer at the University of Louisville after having been her high school's all-time leading scorer.
Mon, January 22, 2024
Jimmy Coleman
He is in the middle of completing three ultramarathons in 30 days. The last one will be at the end of this month and is being called an Adoration Ultra, which will start in Mass, then Adoration, and then running to other Catholic churches and spending time in Adoration at those. He currently owns one course record for most miles ran in 24 hours (103.5). In his days as a student-athlete he competed in JV football, JV soccer, varsity wrestling, and ran cross country. In the case of the latter, he was team captain and the team finished third in the state and he got scouted by some smaller colleges.
Mon, January 15, 2024
Fr Don Calloway
He is closing in on 21 years since his ordination to the priesthood. He is Vicar Provincial and Vocation Director for the Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. He is also a well-known conference speaker AND leads pilgrimages to Catholic shrines around the world. He is the author of 18 books and has a radical conversion story that he tells here. On the sports side, he has been surfing since he was eight years old and has surfed all around the world.
Mon, January 08, 2024
Dan Torpey
He is a competitive Masters Athlete for Olympic weightlifting and strongman competitions, AND he works as a referee, plus he is on the Board for USA Olympic Weightlifting. He has won bronze and gold medals at local and Texas state meets and even did a strongman competition in late 2019 and finished in third place for the master’s group and qualified for Nationals. He also dabbled in “Vintage Baseball” – baseball played by the original 1860’s baseball rules – and he played on such a team for about three years. On the faith side, he is managing partner of Virtuous Leadership LLC, working with bestselling author Alexandre Havard. He is also a Legatus member, serves as a national board member for Young Catholic Professionals, served on the Board of Catholic Charities Dallas, and was a member of Regnum Christi for eight years.
Mon, January 01, 2024
Jay Romig
He is the Team Administrative Director for the National Football League's New Orleans Saints and has the distinction of being the organization's longest serving employee, having started with the team in 1977 as an assistant athletic trainer. In 2017 the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame presented him with the Joe Gemelli "Fleur-De-Lis" Award, and he has affectionately earned the unofficial title of "Vice President of Everything." He had been a football manager all through high school, having attended Brother Martin High School, which is a private, Catholic, all-boys college preparatory school run by the United States Province of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart.
Mon, December 25, 2023
Bennett Lee
A catcher who this past June was chosen by the Detroit Tigers in the sixth round of the 2023 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft after having played collegiately, first at Tulane University and then at Wake Forest. Prior to that, he was a four-year letterwinner on the baseball team at Jesuit High School in Tampa, having been part of the team that ranked No. 1 in the nation in 2020, at 9-0, and that won the state championship in 2019, posting a 27-5 won-lost record. Away from sports, he is a convert to the Catholic faith, as heard in this discussion.
Mon, December 18, 2023
Dr Dobie Moser
A special episode, of sorts, he returns after having previously been on this show way back on Episode 120, more than two-and-a-half years ago. He is the Senior Director of Mission Integration, CYO, and Social Action for Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Cleveland. Earlier this year he was awarded St. Ambrose parish's Servant Leader Award. Over two years ago he had started a parish-based mental health ministry at St. Ambrose, and, as we hear about in this conversation, back in January of THIS year CYO began training their athletic directors regarding the mental health crises of children and teens.
Mon, December 11, 2023
David Belfield
He is the head men's basketball coach at Belmont Abbey College -- a Catholic institution. Previously he had been an assistant coach at the United States Military Academy (Army West Point). As a student-athlete he had played collegiately for two seasons at the University of South Carolina-Aiken, before moving into a student-assistant coaching role. He had earned his first coaching position in 2018 at UNC-Charlotte and is a graduate of Charlotte Catholic High School.
Mon, December 04, 2023
Rick Eckstein
He has been working in baseball for parts of four decades now, including having been the hitting coach for the Washington Nationals and the Pittsburgh Pirates as well as the player information coach for the Los Angeles Angels AND the minor league hitting coordinator for the Minnesota Twins. He was also on the coaching staff of the 2008 Team USA Olympic baseball team, plus he coached at the collegiate level, including the University of Kentucky, as well as the University of Florida, having played for the Gators during his years as a student-athlete.
Mon, November 27, 2023
Joe Wieland
He has been playing professional baseball since being selected in the fourth round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft by the Texas Rangers. He is a pitcher who has played in MLB for the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Seattle Mariners, plus he has earned numerous honors while pitching at the minor league level, and he even spent a couple seasons pitching in Japan and one other in Korea. As a student-athlete he had been named State Player of the Year by two newspapers while playing high school baseball.
Mon, November 20, 2023
Bear Woznick
He returns after having first been on this show way back in October of 2019 (Episode 38). He is a TV and radio host, author, speaker, and world surfing champion. He operates Deep Adventure Ministries and his new book -- his third book -- is called, "12 Rules for Manliness: Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?"
Mon, November 13, 2023
Dr Brian Duncan
He owns and coaches at a mixed martial arts gym and runs an acupuncture sports medicine clinic. He has been training in martial arts for 30 years, having started in karate and gotten his black belt in Koei Kan Karate at just 14 years old. He eventually trained in Wing Chun and practiced and taught it for ten years and got a black belt in it as well. Along the way he dabbled in different martial arts like Kendo, freestyle wrestling, Judo, and others, eventually finding his way into the world of MMA. He is now a fifth-degree black belt in SGC Karate and Kickboxing and a blue belt in BJJ. He is a convert to the faith and recently started a line of Catholic themed athletic clothing called Catholic Fightwear.
Mon, November 06, 2023
Brooks Bollinger
He was chosen by the New York Jets in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft and spent time with four different organizations between then and 2009, to also include the Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, and Detroit Lions. He went on to play for the United Football League's Florida Tuskers, leading them to a perfect regular season won-lost record and to the championship game and was named season MVP and came back to start for the Tuskers the next season. He went on to two high school football coaching jobs and was the quarterbacks coach at the University of Pittsburgh. Back in his days as a student-athlete he was a four-year starting quarterback on a football scholarship to the University of Wisconsin, and in 2017 he was inducted into the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame. Listen for a powerful story in the second half of the show when he describes a professional opportunity and the sacrifice he made for family reasons.
Mon, October 30, 2023
Marty Langlois
She runs Rebuild the Body -- Catholic-based coaching integrated with fitness -- and she also runs Catholic Body Image, which uses a Theology of the Body approach. She is also a fitness instructor and is in the early stages of starting a podcast. As a student-athlete she had played basketball in high school and then in college worked the women's basketball team's home games. She later became an assistant coach for high school basketball and present day is getting ready to run a 5K in November. She has a story that she tells here about a major medical occurrence that she has had to work to overcome.
Mon, October 23, 2023
Nick Schneigert
The Head Track & Field and Cross Country Coach at the University of Dallas, which is a Catholic institution. Prior to his current position he had spent a year-and-a-half working as the Program and Events Manager with Chicago Area Runners Association. He has a wealth of coaching experience that includes collegiate, high school, youth club, and adult levels for cross country and track and field. Overall, he has coached 25 USTFCCCA All-Americans, nine NJCAA All-Americans, and two Northern Athletics Conference All-Conference athletes. A Military Veteran with high honors, as an athlete he competed for the All-Navy track and field team. Plus, while he was not on duty, he competed as a sprinter/mid-distance athlete, at various NCAA college meets and open meets. He has competed in over 100 road races including nine marathons and one ultramarathon.
Mon, October 16, 2023
Talmadge Nunnari
He played for Major League Baseball's Montreal Expos after having been chosen by them in the ninth round of the 1997 MLB Amateur Draft out of Jacksonville University. At that school he hit better than .330 each season with the Dolphins, including a school record .450 batting average in 1997, when he earned multiple honors. As a student-athlete he had previously played at Lurleen B. Wallace Community College in Alabama, where he was a two-time all-conference selection. After having been an administrator and coach for the Pensacola Pelicans/Blue Wahoos Baseball Club for nine years, he currently runs Coach T's Hit Lab, offering professional batting lessons and baseball clinics, as well as youth, high school, college and pro evaluations and analysis.
Mon, October 09, 2023
Bill Lazor
He is a Senior Offensive Assistant with the NFL's Houston Texans. He has 15 years of NFL experience, including serving as Offensive Coordinator with the Miami Dolphins, Cincinnati Bengals, and Chicago Bears. He was also the Quarterbacks Coach for Cincinnati, a role that he'd held with Philadelphia, Washington, and Seattle as well. He had gotten his start in the NFL in 2003 as an offensive quality control coach with Atlanta and later became an offensive assistant with the Falcons. Along the way he had a three-year stretch serving as Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach at the University of Virginia, was offensive coordinator at the University of Buffalo, and spent seven seasons as an assistant coach at Cornell University, for whom he had been a three-year starting quarterback, graduating with 26 passing and offensive program records.
Mon, October 02, 2023
Julia Webb
(PARENTS MIGHT SCREEN THIS EPISODE BEFORE LISTENING WITH MINORS.) With two very powerful stories that she shares here (and a borderline third at the end), she is in her second season as an assistant coach with the Ave Maria University cross country and track programs. Previously she'd been an assistant coach for the cross country and track programs at the University of Arkansas Little Rock for two seasons. She also has coaching experience at the high school level, having coached at two high schools in the Portland, Oregon area. While there, she also spent five years as a running coach at Nike World Headquarters. Back in her college days she was a decorated student-athlete, and has remained an active runner, currently holding the world records for fastest 10k race and fastest half marathon finished while pushing a stroller.
Mon, September 25, 2023
Ray McKenna
A Washington, D.C.-based attorney and former general counsel of the General Services Administration. He served as a lay baseball chaplain for eight years and is the president and founder of Catholic Athletes for Christ. He has served in sports-related ministry for close to 30 years including ministries associated with Major League Baseball, the NFL, professional boxing, and youth sports programs. He was a participant in Rome at the Vatican’s first-ever sports conference in 2005 and has been working with the Vatican’s sports office to promote the Church’s mission in the United States.
Mon, September 18, 2023
Chris McManes
He is entering his eighth year as Assistant Baseball Coach at DeMatha Catholic High School near Washington, DC, having been the freshman head coach for two of his years there. He has also worked as Sports Information Director at Catholic University, which is also near our nation's capital. His career in sports has also included work as a journalist, covering NBA games in DC. More recently, he coached T-Ball for eight years, coached 10-and-under basketball, and along the way picked up a Coach of the Year honor. This all followed his having been a student-athlete back in his high school days. Listen for the physical challenge he overcame to play four different sports!
Mon, September 11, 2023
Mick Souza
He is a former World Bodybuilding Champion, including having won Mr. Universe in 1992. All told he competed in AAU Mr. East Coast, AAU Mr. USA, AAU Mr. America, and NABBA Mr. Universe -- some of those more than once and earning three first place finishes and two second place. He also competed in the 1991 Tokyo Sumo Wrestling Premier Event, winning the bronze medal. In addition, he also became a professional skateboarder; even holding the world record for jumping onto a moving skateboard -- four feet and ten inches. And he was even a semi-professional boxer for three years. As a student-athlete he had broken records in high school for the high jump and track events. STAY TO THE END FOR AN EMOTIONAL STORY ABOUT HIS BROTHER.
Mon, September 04, 2023
Pat Flynn
He got into martial arts in high school and competed in Tae Kwon Do in college, along with a little Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. That got him heavily into fitness and especially kettlebells, which led to him starting various fitness platforms and writing books related to minimalist methods of strength and conditioning. On the faith side, he has an amazing reversion story and next month will mark the release of his fifth book, this one to be titled, "The Best Argument For God." He also has his own podcast that teaches listeners why it's better to be better at many things, not best at just one, covering everything from fitness and mental health to business and writing to philosophy and theology.
Mon, August 28, 2023
Terry Malone
He has more than 30 years of coaching experience and currently serves as a senior offensive analyst for LSU football. His coaching career includes winning a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints in 2009 and capturing the 1997 national championship with Michigan, having been a part of five Big Ten Championships with the Wolverines. Prior to coming onboard with LSU, he spent three years at Bowling Green where he served as offensive coordinator along with coaching the running backs and offensive line. That was his second stint with their program, having previously been there from 1986-1995 when he served in a variety of roles and helped them to back-to-back MAC Championships and bowl game victories in 1991 and 1992. He also coached at Western Michigan, Purdue, Holy Cross, and Boston College after having begun his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Arizona.
Mon, August 21, 2023
Rev Msgr Christopher Nalty
He was a varsity wrestler at Jesuit High School in New Orleans during which time they won three state championships. (He was second in the state one of those years.) He went on to play intramural sports at Notre Dame, played flag football in seminary at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, and was a referee of the annual flag football game when he worked there as a Vatican official. He is an avid hunter and fisherman, and a PADI Master SCUBA diver, all while serving as the pastor of Good Shepherd Parish in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Along the way he had received his law degree from Georgetown University, went on to practice law for six years, eventually leaving to begin studies for the diocesan priesthood at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.
Mon, August 14, 2023
Clayton Carlin
He is the Associate Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator for Sam Houston State University football. Prior to his current role he had spent four seasons at Coastal Carolina serving as defensive coordinator. Before that he spent two seasons at Bucknell as defensive coordinator after having spent the previous six years at Cornell where he served two stints at defensive coordinator, spanning four seasons. He got his start at the Division I level as a graduate assistant at Nebraska, which led to opportunities with New Mexico State, where he spent two stints, mixed in with one year at Villanova and two at Buffalo.
Mon, August 07, 2023
Lamar Hunt Jr.
He is a member of the founding family of the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and is also the owner of the Kansas City Mavericks, a franchise member of the ECHL. In addition, he is the founder of the Loretto Foundation, LLC, a private charitable organization. He also serves as interim president for St. Michael the Archangel High School in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, and on the board of directors of Hunt Midwest and the Bright Futures Fund. He has also served on the board of Dynamic Catholic for many years.
Mon, July 31, 2023
Dr Lisa Petronis
She is a licensed clinical psychologist and licensed marriage and family therapist who has seemingly done it all, sports-wise. She currently participates in boxing, having played sports her entire life, including basketball, softball, running, and bodybuilding. Her athletic background also includes collegiate basketball, Division I offers, options to play internationally, and playing with a WNBA farm team. She has coached youth basketball as well as a senior women's Olympic basketball team and has a sports ministry currently that provides sports-oriented training and integrates faith, with an emphasis on cultivating virtues.
Mon, July 24, 2023
Tom Darabaris
He is the Director of Development for Catholic Sports (not affiliated with this podcast), a national young adult sports ministry that is building community for young Catholics, while growing the Church through marriage and conversions. A cradle Catholic, he was the final cut from his high school basketball team, and fell into a party lifestyle. After falling away from the faith in college, he experienced a powerful conversion his junior year. The community of faith he encountered through Catholic Sports in Denver played a pivotal role in his spiritual journey. Today from the national office in Colorado he is helping oversee five sports being played in each of four different states, helping unite and provide fellowship for young adults ages 18-39.
Mon, July 17, 2023
Jeremy Otto
He serves as the radio voice of Michigan State softball and #2 for volleyball, plus fill-in for the University of Toledo, as well as various championships for the Michigan High School Athletic Association. His past roles have included being the lead voice of the United Shore Professional Baseball League, DePaul University softball, and various other free-lance opportunities. During college he interned in the radio booth with Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers, after which he landed the job as the TV broadcaster for Detroit Mercy. He is also entering his tenth year as the voice for Salem Media Group Detroit's Catholic Football League on their news talk station, the Patriot. He had even been "recruited" and given an athletic scholarship to start a broadcasting program at Marygrove College.
Mon, July 10, 2023
Chris Ice
He holds the NAIA baseball career batting average record with a .480 career average while in college. He had played basketball and baseball for four years in high school before going on to play baseball at both Creighton University and St. Mary of the Plains College. After graduation, he was a graduate assistant at Ft. Hays State University and then a head assistant baseball coach at St. Mary of the Plains College. In addition to playing and coaching collegiate baseball he officiated high school football, basketball, and baseball, AND college (JUCO & NAIA) baseball and basketball. He also served on the executive committee for his local youth baseball league for ten years and started a non-profit organization to support the travel high school basketball team. His faith initiatives are just as extensive, if not more so, than all he has done with sports, including having been president of Ave Maria University, plus having a new book out that draws heavily from incorporating his Catholic faith into the business world and having gone through a major life tragedy.
Mon, July 03, 2023
Joe Mach
He is the Assistant Head Coach of the football team at Detroit Catholic Central High School, where he has been on the staff since 2008. Along the way he coached in two State Championship games and, prior to his promotion this year to his current role, had been promoted to Defensive Coordinator in 2018. He was an Undergraduate Assistant Coach at The University of Michigan from 2003-2005, and as a student-athlete playing for Detroit Catholic Central, he was a member of back-to-back state championship teams. He holds a B.S. in Physical Education from The University of Michigan and his father is in multiple Halls of Fame as a football coach.
Mon, June 26, 2023
Jared Zimmerer
He has trained in bodybuilding, Brazilian jiu jitsu, boxing, Jeet Kune Do, powerlifting, the Scottish Highland Games, and is currently going for hybrid athlete. He is the author of a book called, "Ten Commandments of Lifting Weights." On the faith side, he has a Master’s in Theology from Holy Apostles College and Seminary, and earlier this year was named the Director of Extension Strategy at Benedictine College, which has been named one of the top Catholic colleges in the nation by First Things magazine and the Newman Guide. Previously he had served as the Director of the Word on Fire Institute.
Mon, June 19, 2023
Mike Evoy
He was a three-sport athlete in high school before going on to Siena Heights University, where he was on the baseball roster for two years. He was a CYO Athletic Director and coached basketball at two Catholic schools. At a different Catholic high school, he was the Athletic Director, before moving on to Associate Director of the Detroit Catholic High School League. He has also served as Chairperson (Lead Driver) of No Sports on Sunday in the Archdiocese of Detroit and is a Certified Play Like a Champion Sports Ministry Coach and Parent presenter. He's the Athletics and Student Services Coordinator for the Archdiocese of Detroit in the Department of Catholic Schools.
Mon, June 12, 2023
Dave Matheson
He spent almost four years as the Public Relations Manager for Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers. That followed stints as the University of Houston's Assistant Sports Information Director, the University of South Alabama's Assistant Sports Information Director, and the University of Georgia's Sports Information Assistant. He currently serves as an Official Scorer with Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres, a role he also held with the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros. He has umpired Little League Baseball, has coached youth soccer and baseball, and, back in his days as a student-athlete, played baseball and wrestled. On the faith side, he is the Director of Development for Catholic Answers, and serves as the backup host for their live radio show.
Mon, June 05, 2023
Hayden Dalton
He is a pro basketball player competing in Israel in the Basketball Champions League for a team called Hapoel Holon B.C. He has also played for teams in Denmark, the Czech Republic, France, and Spain, after having played at both the University of Wyoming and Central Wyoming College. In his final season with the University of Wyoming he earned a number of honors and was profiled in the USA Today. After college he played for the Denver Nuggets’ NBA Summer League team. He had enjoyed a successful career as high school basketball player, culminating with being named First Team All-Continental League as a senior.
Mon, May 29, 2023
Lenny Wilkens
He is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach as well as for being an assistant coach with the 1992 Olympic “Dream Team.” He played in the NBA for four teams over 15 years and was a nine-time All-Star and would later be named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history. Before ending his playing career, he took on the role of player-coach with two different teams. As a full-time coach, he guided the Seattle Supersonics -- winning a championship in 1978-79 -- and then the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Atlanta Hawks, the Toronto Raptors, and the New York Knicks. In the midst of all that, he also coached the U.S. men's basketball team to a gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. He also served for nine years as vice president of the National Basketball Players Association, served as president of the NBA Coaches Association, held a number of jobs in the Supersonics’ front office, and served as a game analyst on basketball television broadcasts. He also wrote an autobiography called, "Unguarded: My Forty Years Surviving in the NBA."
Mon, May 22, 2023
Gene Zannetti
He was a nationally ranked All-Ivy League wrestler at the University of Pennsylvania AND he was an assistant wrestling coach at Springfield College. He is a certified School Psychologist, Personal Trainer and Nutritionist, and, along with his brother he now runs Wrestling Mindset, to help wrestlers reach their full potential in wrestling, school and life. He has two master’s degrees, including one in Sports Psychology, and his master’s degree thesis has been published in the International Journal of Wrestling Sciences. On the faith side, he is the founder of Spiritual Strength, whose aim is "building the total athlete for Christ." And his book, "Spiritual Strength: Building the Total Athlete for Christ," was reviewed and endorsed by Cardinal Burke.
Mon, May 15, 2023
Erin Broestl
She is a skier, participating in downhill, cross-country, and waterski as well as snowboarding. At the University of Michigan, she had competed in giant slalom, which followed her junior high and high school years when she ran the mile in track, half mile, and the 2-mile, for a combined total of six years in track, including lettering in track and field. Plus, she even did three years on the swim team in junior high. She is a mom of a large Catholic family yet still ice skates, swims, and hikes. She is also a blogger and the author of a book called, "God Made the Moonlight."
Mon, May 08, 2023
Bill Hanzlik
He was an NBA first round draft pick, being chosen 20th overall by the Seattle Supersonics, playing two seasons with them and then eight with the Denver Nuggets. During that time, he earned an NBA All-Defensive Second Team honor and would go on to serve as an assistant coach with the Charlotte Hornets and the Atlanta Hawks before becoming the head coach of the Denver Nuggets. He had played his college basketball at Notre Dame, helping lead the Fighting Irish to the Final Four, and was selected for the 1980 U.S. Men's Olympic Team, although they did not compete due to the Americans' boycott of the Moscow Games. Many years later he received a Congressional Medal of Honor created especially for those athletes. Present day he does pre- and post-game TV for the Denver Nuggets game broadcasts, and he is the CEO and Co-Founder of the Gold Crown Foundation, a non-profit whose tagline is, "Preparing kids for the game of life."
Mon, May 01, 2023
Dr Kevin Cummings
Back in his days as a student-athlete, after having played for the well-known Rockhurst High School, he attended Missouri Western State University on a four-year football scholarship and would go on to be inducted into their Hall of Fame. He was also selected as the Missouri Western 25th Anniversary Scholar-Athlete Award by the university in 2001. Later in life he would serve as the Kansas City Chiefs Team Dentist for 23 years. Meanwhile, he was ordained as a Deacon in the Diocese of Kansas City-St Joseph, but is currently assigned to the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas. Concentrating much of his efforts in the Ministry of Respect Life issues, alongside two other non-profits that he is a part of, he has co-founded a 501(c)3 called Deacons of Hope, aimed at organizing the Ministries of Deacons into a community of Deacons who emphasize pro-life initiatives. It has even gotten the seal of approval from the Vatican and Deacons of Hope aims to reach Deacons and parishes around the U.S., if not internationally too.
Mon, April 24, 2023
Samantha LaMar
She was a late bloomer athletically, save for one sport that she competed in during her high school years. In her adult life she discovered bodybuilding and fell in love with the discipline of the sport and continues to this day to train like an athlete. She became a certified Personal Trainer and helps others not be intimidated by the weight room and think of themselves as athletes in training. However, the sport they are training is the race of life itself. The story that she tells at the end of this interview might just be the strongest part of her testimony! (UPDATE: Since this interview was recorded, sadly, Dr. Kevin Vost passed away. He is mentioned in the second half of this episode in conjunction with an event that was being planned for later this year.)
Mon, April 17, 2023
John Knuth
Providing some emotional testimony in the second half of this episode, he’d won eight consecutive state championships and nine overall as the volleyball coach at Marysville High School in Michigan where he had three consecutive undefeated seasons, registering 192 straight wins. He won 20 consecutive district and regional championships and over ten seasons had an amazing won-lost record of 584-9. In 2015 he was inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He coached three sports for 27 consecutive years at Marysville, and all together, he coached football, girls basketball, boys basketball, track & field, and volleyball. He is the author of a book titled, "Coaching 100 Days With Jesus."
Mon, April 10, 2023
Abraham Lucas
He was chosen one year ago this month in the third round of the National Football League Draft, 72nd overall by the Seattle Seahawks. He is an offensive tackle who appeared in all but one of Seattle's 17 games this past season and was named to the All-Rookie Team. He also played his college football there in the Pacific Northwest, having been a four-year starter at right tackle for Washington State, starting 42 consecutive games. He was the first Cougars offensive lineman in program history to earn All-Pac-12 Conference honors four times and would go on to play in the Senior Bowl. During his student-athlete days in high school he was named All-USA Washington second-team by USA Today.
Mon, April 03, 2023
Seth DeMoor
He has been a professional mountain runner, winning the Pikes Peak Marathon in back-to-back years (2020 and 2021). He also competed for the United States at the World Mountain Running Championships in Argentina in 2019. And he continues to train for road marathons and ultra marathons, with the hopes of qualifying for the 2024 marathon Olympic Trials. Collegiately he had competed for the University of Colorado and helped contribute to National Championships in cross country. After graduating from there he went on to start a Catholic apostolate after graduation called "One Billion Stories," which he talks about here.
Mon, March 27, 2023
Tim McCormick
He was drafted in the first round, twelfth overall, by the Cleveland Cavaliers and went on to play ten seasons in the NBA, playing for Washington, Seattle, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Houston, Atlanta, and the New York Knicks. He had been on the NIT Champion University of Michigan basketball team and was named the NIT MVP. Earlier he had been a McDonalds All-American. In addition to being a longtime color analyst on ESPN, he has worked as a consultant with NBA players over the last two decades teaching strategies to improve performance and achieve greatness. He also runs the NBA Players Association’s TOP 100 Basketball Camp for the elite 100 high school players in the nation.
Mon, March 20, 2023
Ted Karras
He is an offensive lineman who has played seven seasons in the NFL, most recently with the Cincinnati Bengals. He was a sixth-round pick by the New England Patriots in the 2016 National Football League Draft and spent five of his first six seasons with New England, including being on two Super Bowl-winning teams with the Patriots. In 2020 he appeared in all 16 games as a member of the Miami Dolphins. As a student-athlete he had started 43 games during a career at the University of Illinois, including being team captain in his senior year, 2015, and in high school he helped his team to two state titles. On the faith side, he will be a speaker this coming weekend at the National Men's Conference in Cincinnati.
Mon, March 13, 2023
Dr Kevin Vost
He has competed in a variety of strength sports including Olympic weightlifting, bodybuilding, powerlifting, Highland Games Heavy Athletics, and team tug-of-war competitions. He worked as a weightlifting and fitness instructor in college and has written several articles for fitness magazines and four books on strength training. His most recent book from 2022 is "You Are That Temple! A Catholic Guide to Health and Holiness," and in total he has written twenty-seven books for Catholic publishers on a variety of topics. Although retired, he continues to do heavy strength training almost every day.
Mon, March 06, 2023
Mark Duffner
He has been a coach in the National Football League for 26 seasons, including serving as Senior Defensive Assistant with the Cincinnati Bengals for the last four seasons. Previously he was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for three seasons, which had been preceded by two years on the coaching staff of the Miami Dolphins, after having spent eight years with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He also worked with the Green Bay Packers and has come full circle as his NFL coaching career started with Cincinnati in 1997. Prior to the NFL, he coached 22 years in the college ranks, including 11 as a head coach. Back in his days as a student-athlete he played college football at William & Mary and would later be inducted into the school's hall of fame. On the faith side, he will be a speaker later this month at the National Men's Conference. LISTEN IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW FOR WHAT AT ONE TIME HE WANTED TO BE AT SOME POINT IN HIS LIFE!
Mon, February 27, 2023
Alan Webb
He is one of the greatest middle-distance runners in American history and currently serves as the Head Coach for Track & Field/Cross Country at Ave Maria University. He is a three-time United States champion in the 1500-meter run and represented the United States in the event in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Prior to his current role he made coaching stops at the University of Virginia, Portland State University, and the University of Arkansas Little Rock. Following his retirement from competitive running, he became a successful triathlete, ranking in the top 100 in the world in the International Triathlon Union World Triathlon Series in 2015. In his early days he was even a successful youth swimmer.
Mon, February 20, 2023
Father Sean Loomis
He is three months shy of the ten-year anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. He is Parochial Administrator at Annunciation BVM Parish in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Back in his days as a student-athlete he attended Kutztown University on an athletic scholarship and, as a pole vaulter, won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship. In high school he had been an All-State pole vaulting champion when he graduated in 2003.
Mon, February 13, 2023
Joe Condit
He is the founder of the largest Catholic-focused talent agency in the world. The clients he works with are men and women across numerous sports, with him having started the company back in 2006. He is also the founder of the National Catholic Men's Conference. Back in his days as a student athlete he played basketball at La Salle High School in the Greater Catholic League South, which ESPN has called the most competitive high school sports league in the country. Since his playing days he has done both refereeing and coaching in basketball. Stay to the end to hear about his connection to a game that is a historic moment in Major League Baseball history.
Mon, February 06, 2023
Dr Pat Castle
He has raced in 25 marathons since 1990. Over a twenty-ONE-year span, he was the fastest person on every base he was stationed -- nine assignments -- based on the Air Force aerobic fitness test (1.5 miles), and in 2010 he was the Scott Air Force Base Athlete of the Year, chosen out of 3,500 airmen. From 2007-2009 at the U.S. Air Force Academy, he coached the cadet marathon team and competed. Previously at the Academy, as a cadet athlete, he coached the squadron boxing and cross-country teams to the Academy championship. Back in his high school days he was captain of the track and cross-country team AND top distance runner. He is the President and Founder of LIFE Runners, the world's largest Pro-Life team.
Mon, January 30, 2023
Michael McGlinn
Having received countless scholarship offers, he was an offensive lineman for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the first part of the 1990s and played in all four major bowl games in four consecutive years; the Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl, and he is a part of the Catholic Athletes for Christ speakers bureau. Today, he gives concerts all over the world and also makes short films that explore much of the thematic content in his music in order to reveal an intimate look at the Merciful Face of Christ and the faithful become confident in God. He is the founder of Sistine Films, a production company that specializes in emotionally impactful story-based content that reveal the true face and heart behind leaders and their organizations.
Mon, January 23, 2023
Darrel Chaney
He was chosen in the second round of the Major League Baseball amateur draft by the Cincinnati Reds and went on to play eleven seasons, appearing in over 900 regular season games with the Reds and the Atlanta Braves combined. He played an additional 19 games in the playoffs, including going to three World Series, winning one. After his playing career in the big leagues, he was part of the broadcast team for Atlanta Braves games on both television and radio. Back in his days as a student-athlete he also starred in football, and even went on to play professional slow pitch softball after his time in MLB. He is a past Chairman of the Board of the Major League Alumni Marketing and his story was told in a book called, "Welcome to the Big Leagues... Every Man's Journey to Significance."
Mon, January 16, 2023
Zoltan Mesko
He was selected in the fifth round of the National Football League Draft in 2010 and went on to a pro career with the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cincinnati Bengals, including playing in a Super Bowl. He had played his college football at the University of Michigan after having become one of the best high school football kickers in the nation, excelling both as a punter and placekicker. For his first season in the NFL, he set a rookie record for net punting yard average. Off the field, he started a Foundation, which he talks about during this interview.
Mon, January 09, 2023
Casey Martin
He has had a long and highly decorated career in professional rodeo, including numerous appearances in the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and multiple top five finishes in the world standings. A longtime steer wrestler, he first joined the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in 2002 and over his career he has competed seemingly all across the country. He attended McNeese State University in Louisiana and back in his days as an amateur had qualified for College National Finals Rodeo in 2002-03 and had qualified for the National High School Finals Rodeo in 1998-99.
Mon, January 02, 2023
Eric Sutulovicn
He spent 16 years as a coach in the National Football League, working as a special teams coach for the Houston Texans and the Atlanta Falcons, and, in between, as an offensive assistant coach with the Detroit Lions. His years in the NFL included going to Super Bowl LI in February 2017 with Atlanta. He also coached in the college ranks, at the University of Kansas, the University of Pittsburgh, and at his alma mater, Louisiana Tech University, which he had attended on a football scholarship. He had played both football and basketball back in high school and coaches high school football present day.
Mon, December 26, 2022
Jeff Grabosky
He completed a solo and unsupported 3,700-mile run across America in 2011. During the journey he ran while praying for intentions people sent him from all over the world. He became one of only a small handful of people to cross the country in this manner, finishing with one of the longest routes in history while averaging more than 30 miles a day over the four-month journey. His book, "Running with God Across America," was published in 2012 and details his prayerful journey. He also has a chapter in the book, "Across America on Foot," which was published in 2020. He has continued to run after his journey, running long distances on his own, in the U.S., and even in the Holy Land. He had begun running at a young age, competing in cross-country throughout high school and recreationally in college, eventually completing his first marathon in 2004. He is currently the vice chairman for LIFE Runners, which he talks about during this interview.
Mon, December 19, 2022
Brad Seng
He competes year-round as a professional ironman triathlete. He is the head coach of the 18-time national champion University of Colorado Boulder triathlon team, and he is a USA Triathlon Level II Certified Coach AND a Certified Sports Nutritionist. He had spent his years as a student-athlete competing in soccer, including during college, and was even a swimmer in high school. In addition to his racing endeavors, he is a nationally recognized abstinence speaker and has spoken to thousands of teens & young adults on the benefits of being physically, emotionally & spiritually “buff.”
Mon, December 12, 2022
Erin Honbarrier
She played basketball in high school -- and later competed in many alumni basketball games there -- and was a decorated college soccer player. Attending Whittier College in California, she not only played soccer all four years but was team captain for two years, was multiple 1st Team All-Conference, and in her final year was both 2nd Team All-American AND Conference Player of the Year, with her team being the regular season champion. She also coached her daughter's soccer team for one year, and, she has a strong connection to the NFL's Denver Broncos, which is talked about during this episode.
Mon, December 05, 2022
Dr Jimmy Walters
He has been in various roles in sports throughout his life. In his childhood he played CYO basketball and Little League baseball. In high school he played intramural softball and has also played in softball leagues in his adult life. He also coached CYO basketball in the past and nowadays helps coach his daughter's baseball league. He also had a long history as a sportswriter for a newspaper in Queens and had been the Assistant Sports Editor for St. John's University. He is the author not only of a book from two-and-a-half years ago called "Dreams Come True: Discovering God’s Vision for your Life," but, more recently, a second book that just came out this past April, titled, "Batter Up: Answering the Call of Faith and Fatherhood."
Mon, November 28, 2022
Gerry Cooney
He was a pro heavyweight boxer from 1977 to 1990, following an amateur career in which he posted an amazing won-lost record of 55-3. As a pro, he was 28-3, with 24 of those victories coming by knockout. He rose to a number one ranking by the WBC and in Madison Square Garden in 1981 defeated former world heavyweight champion Ken Norton by a knockout just 54 seconds into the first round. According to the legendary George Foreman, he was one of the three hardest punchers Foreman had faced in his career, which is proven by him being ranked on "The Ring's" list of "100 Greatest Punchers of All Time." Unfortunately, there was a curveball thrown into all this, though, as evidenced by the book he co-authored, which is talked about here. He founded F.I.S.T. -- the Fighters' Initiative for Support and Training, an organization which helps retired boxers find jobs. He is an inductee of multiple Halls of Fame and has a show on SiriusXM Radio.
Mon, November 21, 2022
Amy Seago
She is in her 19th season at the helm of the track and field and cross-country programs at the College of Charleston, up in South Carolina. During her time there, athletes have captured 22 conference titles and have earned nine NCAA regional appearances. Prior to her current employer she served as the head women's cross-country coach and assistant men's and women's track and field coach at Washington & Lee for two years. She began her career as a graduate assistant at Pittsburg State in Kansas. In her days as a student-athlete she was a track and field All-American at Allegheny College and served two years as a team captain. She was honored in 2004 as a member of the NCAC All-Decade team for both cross country and track and field and was subsequently elected to the Allegheny Athletic Hall of Fame.
Mon, November 14, 2022
Javier Aguirre
He is co-organizer of Copa Católica, a soccer tournament for parishes that launched eight years ago and has seen more than 35 teams and over 500 participants. As a result of his involvement with that initiative he has organized and participated in other sports events, including as a referee. This year he started as a trainer for the under-15 team in his town in the Netherlands and he is also organizing amateur world cups. He and his co-organizer of Copa Católica have roots in participating in multiple instances of the worldwide encounter with the Pope known as World Youth Day.
Mon, November 07, 2022
Sister Jean
She is a nun with the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM), having been received into the order in 1938 and taking her final vows in 1945. She went on to teach at St. Charles Elementary School in North Hollywood, California, where she started a sports program, coaching women's basketball, softball, volleyball, track, ping-pong, and yo-yo. In 1994 she took on a role with the Loyola University Chicago men's and women's basketball teams and since 1996 has been the team chaplain for the men's basketball team. In January 2017 she was inducted into the Ramblers' Athletics Hall of Fame. On August 21st of this year, she celebrated her 103rd birthday.
Mon, October 31, 2022
Patrick Pulis
He was a longtime soccer player as a student-athlete, ranging from club teams to high school to rec leagues while attending college. As an adult he coached soccer as well. As he was discerning the priesthood, he became interested in running, eventually training to run a half-marathon. He wrote a book called, "Touched By A Flame: A True Story of One Man's Journey in the World of God," which includes his experience running and training. He also mentions another book during this interview, and he has a side business inspired by his interest in the saints.
Mon, October 24, 2022
Keara Mooberry
She has been a swimmer for probably more of her life than not, starting from a young age to club teams to high school to college and even participating today in US Masters Swimming. Plus, she also coached high school swimming, AND she is going to be a judge at CYO swim meets. Along the way, as a student-athlete, she also competed in cycling. She has also come to see the connection between swimming and her faith, which she talks about here. As a wife and a mother, she also has a side business that serves those same roles and is influenced by her Catholic faith.
Mon, October 17, 2022
Brett Meister
He spent 23 years working for the Harlem Globetrotters, leading the team's Communications Department. During that time, he arranged two visits to the Vatican and accompanied the Globetrotters players to meet Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis. Previously he had served as VP of Communications for the Continental Basketball Association, working as the league’s main spokesperson and liaison to the NBA and USA Basketball. His international experience also included work on the US Olympic Committee press information team at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games and serving as assistant venue press manager for the 2013 World Baseball Classic. As a student-athlete he played football, baseball, and ran track & field in high school, still holding the school record for 400-meter hurdles and being inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2018. This past March he was named the Director of Communications for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix. He is also a professional sports photographer and prior to his new role shot Georgia Tech football and men’s and women’s basketball.
Mon, October 10, 2022
Pat Macken
He is a Canadian tennis professional who has been in the industry for 43 years. He served as Director of Tennis at the prestigious Arbutus Club in Vancouver for 34 of those years. He has a Tennis Canada Coach 3 and Club Pro 2 certification and has trained all levels of players from red ball through provincial teams. As a competitor he has won nine National Senior titles and with his brother Tony was part of the top open doubles team in British Columbia for ten years. He has been selected to represent Canada and B.C. in numerous events. He also writes a column on sports and faith for The B.C. Catholic, which is the Archdiocesan newspaper in his area.
Mon, October 03, 2022
Vic Ferrari
He ran cross country track as a student-athlete, has coached flag football, and – now residing in Florida – continues to play competitive co-ed softball. He is a retired New York City Police Department detective who has written six books over the last six years, the latest of which just came out in the latter part of June and is titled, "Confessions of a Catholic High School Graduate." He also tells a fun story here about playing wiffleball in front of an eventual A-list celebrity.
Mon, September 26, 2022
Jordan Langdon
She is a parent coach, motivational speaker, podcaster, and licensed counselor with Families of Character, which equips parents to lead their children with confidence and courage. As a student-athlete she played both basketball and volleyball, plus talks here about having even been on the men’s golf team, in addition to having ran track too. She also holds the all-important roles of being a wife and a mother (with children that play sports) and has thoughts about her experience at the gym and, “belonging to a team at home,” as she has discussed on *her* podcast and as is talked about during this episode.
Mon, September 19, 2022
Matt Hoven
He is a professor and Kule Chair at St. Joseph's College, a Catholic college at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada. Three months ago marked the release of a book he co-authored, called, "On the Eighth Day: A Catholic Theology of Sport," and three years ago he was the lead editor of a book titled, "Sport and Christianity: Practices for the Twenty-First Century." He even has another book that he is working on, which is talked about in this interview. As part of his higher education, he studied at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. As a student-athlete he played high school basketball and in his adult years has done some coaching and has played recreational sports.
Mon, September 12, 2022
Ed Hastings
He played college basketball at Villanova, including playing with the Wildcats for the national championship and being chosen by the Boston Celtics in the NBA Draft. He would go on to become an assistant coach for men's basketball at Villanova and nowadays is a professor in the Theology Religious Studies department there. At one point he was director of the Center for Sport, Spirituality, and Character Development at Neumann College, where he also served as the chaplain for the men's basketball team. He also spent 15-plus years as a priest.
Mon, September 05, 2022
George Rose
He is the Executive Advisor of Pacific Rim Operations with the New York Yankees, which includes having served as a Japanese translator for the likes of Hideki Irabu, Masahiro Tanaka, and Hideki Matsui, among others. As a student-athlete he had competed in baseball, soccer, rugby, and track & field. He also serves as an advisor for Japan's Yomiuri Giants baseball team. He is a board member of "Catholic Men for Jesus Christ," a now 25-year old organization. He also has a radio show called, "Brothers in Arms," which airs monthly. And, he is a cancer survivor who by far is not only the first person to come on this show with a story about a miracle that would help confirm a saint, but probably the ONLY person who will be a guest and have that kind of witness to share -- the closest that any of us will come to hearing something like this firsthand.
Mon, August 29, 2022
Lance Mudd
From an early age, he wanted to be a cowboy. He loved working cattle with his dad and competing for ribbons and trophies in youth rodeos. In high school, he not only played football and other sports but won a national championship in the boy’s cutting horse contest. In college he competed in rodeo events for McNeese State University and, after college, as a steer wrestler at the professional level, and, he is still active in team roping today. Sports even carried over into his business, entertaining clients with hunting, golfing, fishing, and motorcycle trips.
Mon, August 22, 2022
Joe McIlvaine
He spent parts of six decades in baseball, starting with the first of five seasons that he played as a pitcher in the Detroit Tigers organization. He went on to become a scout in the Baltimore Orioles, California Angels, and Milwaukee Brewers organizations, before becoming the scouting director for the New York Mets, who eventually promoted him to assistant general manager. He would then become the general manager of the San Diego Padres before returning to New York to take that same position with the Mets. He then went on to positions as special assistant to the general manager, first with the Minnesota Twins and then the Seattle Mariners, before joining the Baltimore Orioles in a senior advisory position.
Mon, August 15, 2022
Sabby Piscitelli
He played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, and Kansas City Chiefs after having been a second-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft by Tampa Bay. He had played his college football at Oregon State, playing in 50 games for the Beavers in his four years there. Back in his high school days he not only was the Boca Raton News Defensive Player of the Year and team MVP, but he also lettered four years in baseball as an outfielder. Following his NFL career, he went on to pro wrestling, first with WWE and then with AEW.
Mon, August 08, 2022
Dan Venezia
He played three seasons in the Minnesota Twins organization and is a survivor of two near-death experiences. Back in his days as a student-athlete he led his high school to a city championship and received a college scholarship, going on to lead the nation in stolen bases in 1992 in NCAA Division II play. Later, during a seven-year span, his recreational coaching record was 85-5 with six championships along with three undefeated seasons. He is also a professional trainer and has not only published a children's book based around his being a coach, but also wrote a faith-based book on surviving Covid-19.
Mon, August 01, 2022
Mario Lopez
He is a film actor, New York Times Best-Selling author, producer, host, and two-time Emmy winner. He currently hosts NBC’s “Access Hollywood” and “Access Daily” as well as a national radio show. Plus, he even has his own sports-related podcast that is talked about on this episode. He was recently inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, recognized as the 2022 Outstanding American, having wrestled for Chula Vista High School, finishing second in the San Diego section and seventh in the California Interscholastic Federation state tournament as a senior in one-class California in 1991. He also just held a golf classic for the Providence Saint Joseph Foundation. (Listen too as he also mentions boxing and jiu-jitsu.)
Mon, July 25, 2022
Rudy Ruettiger
His story was told in a 1993 motion picture that USA Today ranked as the number one "Best Football Movie of All Time," centering on his time trying to get into Notre Dame and on their football team, and eventually into a game against Georgia Tech when he sacked the quarterback with less than 30 seconds to play in the game. He is a U.S. Navy Vietnam Veteran and has gone on to be a motivational keynote speaker, including having spoken at the White House under two presidents. He has co-authored several books and offered his message in his original production live on Broadway. He also is the co-founder of the Rudy Foundation.
Mon, July 18, 2022
Victoria Everleigh
She is a highly accomplished figure skater, including being a U.S. Figure Skating Quadruple Gold Medalist. She has been both a national and international competitor in her sport, finishing Top 10 at the 2014 US National Solo Dance Championships, one year after having been US National Champion, Senior Theatre on Ice. She was also the 2013 Nation's Cup (World Championships) Silver Medalist, Senior Theatre on Ice and the 2012 US National Bronze Medalist, Senior Theatre on Ice. She has even performed at Central Park as well as in the US Synchronized Championship Opening Ceremonies. On the faith side she is a Catholic novelist with two books out and another coming in September. Plus, she has written for multiple Catholic publications, including America magazine, among others.
Mon, July 11, 2022
Kent Lowe
The Senior Associate Sports Communications Director at Louisiana State University, serving as the primary media contact for the men's basketball team and assisting in the overall Sports Communications office in other sports as needed. He is about to celebrate 34 years as a member of the LSU Sports Communications staff and has also written an award-winning bowling column for The (Baton Rouge) Advocate for more than 25 years. In 2018 he was inducted into the Louisiana State Bowling Association Hall of Fame for his service to the sport. Prior to working at LSU, he had served as the publicity director for Louisiana Downs racetrack. He is also a past president of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.
Mon, July 04, 2022
Tyler Rowley
He serves as the president of Servants of Christ, which defends life, family, and the Holy Faith through media and activism. He is a past leader in young adult ministry in the Diocese of Providence. His first book, “Because of Our Fathers,” was published last year. His second book, which he is co-authoring with Abby Johnson, is titled “Life to the Full” and will be published early next year. On the sports side, he played college football at Brown University.
Mon, June 27, 2022
Zach Blaszak
He is the Director of Athletics and Activities at Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He has been supporting student-athletes as a member of the CCHS staff for ten years, and one year ago was promoted to his current role after having been Assistant Athletic Director and Athletic Trainer. In total he has had an 18-year career in secondary school athletics, working with hundreds of coaches and thousands of athletes. He did his undergrad in Athletic Training at Merrimack College and earned his Master’s in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation -- with a concentration in Athletic Training and Athletic Administration -- from Western Michigan University. As a student-athlete himself, he had played football in high school.
Mon, June 20, 2022
Paula Umana
She is a former professional tennis player who is now a speaker, an author, and the tennis coach at Holy Spirit Prep in Atlanta, Georgia, with an amazing story of a nervous system disorder that left her quadriplegic. She had been the Number 1 tennis player in her country of origin, Costa Rica, including having been Central American Champion for nine years and representing her country at the Central American Games. She has written a book called "40 Gifts of Hope: Encouragement in Times of Sickness and Suffering."
Mon, June 13, 2022
Anna Wilgenbusch
She was the University of Dallas' first NCAA cross country two-time All-American. She holds the five thousand meter and ten thousand meter school records at the University of Dallas for track and field and the 5K and 6K school records for cross country. She was the only female NCAA Division III cross country All-American in the state of Texas in 2019 and 2021. She is headed to the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota to study for her master’s degree in Theology, and she writes and authors Catholic children's books.
Mon, June 06, 2022
Tracy Guerrette
It’s amazing to hear what she ALMOST did, given that she is an elite marathon runner, having competed in the Boston Marathon, the U.S. Track and Field Marathon championships in California, and winning the 2017 Maine Marathon, which qualified her for the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials. She currently coaches cross country and outdoor track at a Catholic high school in Maine. She was also the head women's basketball coach at an NCAA Division III school for four years. This all followed a career as a student-athlete that culminated with her having played college basketball for four years at the University of Maine, serving as a captain in both her junior and senior seasons after the team had made the NCAA tournament in her freshman and sophomore years. In high school she had been Female Athlete of the Year and earned MVP honors in three sports.
Mon, May 30, 2022
Nicole Skoch
She has had an extensive career in volleyball. The sport has seen her in roles from head volleyball coach at Shawnee Mission East, a high school in Prairie Village, Kansas, to being a volunteer coach at the college level with the Kansas Jayhawks, and even coaching a club team, plus, having been a student-athlete at the University of Texas where she played for four years and was a member of the 2012 NCAA National Championship team. Prior to her time with the Longhorns, she played on the U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team that competed at the 2011 International Volleyball Federation Girls’ Youth World Championship. She led her high school to two Colorado 5A State Championships and was a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year.
Mon, May 23, 2022
Craig Stammen
He is a veteran Major League Baseball pitcher. He has appeared in over 540 games and pitched close to 860 innings and is in his 13th season of MLB, with 2022 being his sixth season with San Diego, making him the second-longest tenured Padre. He spent seven years with the Washington Nationals, who had selected him in the 2005 MLB Amateur Draft out of the University of Dayton, where he made 60 pitching appearances after also having pitched for his high school baseball team as well.
Mon, May 16, 2022
Fr Chase Hilgenbrinck
To serve Jesus he walked away from being a pro soccer player, having been with both the Colorado Rapids and then the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer. That followed four years of having played soccer in South America for teams in Chile. In two of his four years there he was selected the league's Most Valuable Player at the fullback position. As a student-athlete he had made the United States Under-17 National Team and was a High School All-American before going on to Clemson University. In college he was a four-year starter and helped the Tigers to an ACC Championship and four NCAA tournament berths, including two Elite Eight appearances. He is the Vocations Director for the Catholic Diocese of Peoria in Illinois. Next week will mark eight years since he was ordained to the priesthood.
Mon, May 09, 2022
Mike Flood
He is the Vice President of Community Outreach for the NFL's Seattle Seahawks, having now worked for the team for 25 years. He had served in the U.S. Coast Guard for 22 years, retiring as a Commander in 1997. He played football, basketball and baseball through his high school years and during his 22 years in the Coast Guard. He also coached basketball in military and youth leagues, and officiated basketball for 20 years. He serves on the boards of the King County Municipal League, Camp Patriot, and Empower Youth Network.
Mon, May 02, 2022
Tom McConnell
He is the head women's basketball coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, with next month marking the nine-year anniversary since he was introduced there to that position. Just over three years ago -- during his sixth season -- he became the program's all-time winningest coach. Under his guidance the Crimson Hawks have won two PSAC tournament titles, and back-to-back Atlantic Region crowns and Elite Eight national semifinal berths. He had come to IUP with more than 25 years of coaching, game management and player development knowledge learned after spending time on the coaching staffs of six colleges. At one point during his professional career, he was the Director of Youth and Campus Ministry for the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. In addition, he founded and directed The Word and the Rock Basketball Camp and was the Director of Camp Zacchaeus. As a student-athlete he had played basketball at two different colleges.
Mon, April 25, 2022
Denis Villeneuve
He has been running for almost 49 years and has run over 72,000 miles, which means he has averaged running four miles a day for almost 49 years. Three years ago, he won the State of Washington 6K Cross Country Championship and the Regional Championship. Back in his college days he started at the University of Oregon and participated in multiple intramural sports and ran on his own, including running his first marathon, before transferring to Oregon College for his junior year, running cross country and track there. He had been a wrestler in high school, although did end up doing cross country as well. He has also coached extensively, including getting a job in the fall of 1984 at Redmond High School, where he coached cross country and track and didn't retire until June of last year.
Mon, April 18, 2022
Harry Perretta
He served for 42 years at Villanova University as the head women's basketball coach, tied for the most seasons at one school at all divisions in the history of NCAA women's college basketball. A private, Catholic school, Villanova saw their women's basketball team record 783 wins during his time as coach, which started when he was just 22 years old -- the youngest coach to ever head a women's varsity program at Villanova. He played his college basketball at Lycoming and went on to become a student assistant coach and coach of the junior varsity team before starting his four-plus decades career with the Wildcats. He also has a strong spiritual connection with someone considered to be arguably the greatest player he coached and whose faith story came to be told nationally.
Mon, April 11, 2022
Mark Wahlberg
He is an award-winning actor whose newest film comes out this Wednesday, April 13th, and is called, "Father Stu," based on a true story. He is a devout Catholic and the youngest of nine children in his family. On the sports side he is very well known for his passion for fitness, having appeared on the cover of countless magazines such as Muscle & Fitness, Men's Health, and Men's Fitness, among others. He has also had numerous roles in films connected to sports. (A video version of this episode is available on the Catholic Sports Radio official YouTube channel.)
Mon, April 04, 2022
Amy Brooks
She was inducted last year into the Athletic Hall of Fame at DeSales University, a Catholic school where she was a standout runner on the women’s cross country and track & field teams. During her time at DeSales she was a part of three Cross Country PAC Championship teams, earning PAC Runner of the Year and All-PAC First Team honors twice each in 1994 and 1996. She was named to the PAC/CSAC 25th Anniversary Cross Country Team and was a member of the 4x800 meter relay team that continues to hold the indoor school record. Before DeSales she had been All-Catholic for the Philadelphia Catholic League every year of high school – in cross country as well as indoor and outdoor track. She had been awarded MVP in her junior and senior year, the latter also seeing her win Female Athlete of the Year, which encompassed all sports at Cardinal Dougherty High School. She has also coached at a high school.
Mon, March 28, 2022
Mario Andretti
He is a racing icon, considered by many to be the greatest race car driver in the history of the sport. He had an illustrious career that saw him win in every discipline he entered – midgets, sprint cars, dirt track cars, stock cars, IndyCars, Formula One, Formula 5000 and sports cars. He won the Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500 and ultimately the Formula One World Championship, an unprecedented trifecta in that no other race car driver has ever won all three titles. He took the checkered flag 111 times during a career that stretched five decades and across six continents. The Associated Press named him Driver of the Century.
Mon, March 21, 2022
Dan O'Leary
He was a tight end and long snapper who was drafted by the NFL's Buffalo Bills and went on to play for them, the New York Giants, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had played his college football at Notre Dame, where he was captain in his senior year, when the Fighting Irish played in the BCS Fiesta Bowl Game. After college he played in the Hula Bowl, all of which followed a high school football career that saw him play on three state championship teams, two of which were national championships. As a senior he was rated the #1 tight end in the country.
Mon, March 14, 2022
Dr Mark Webber
He is a world champion power lifter. Since 2018 he has broken nine state records in dead lift and bench press, along the way taking first place at the World Championships last year for the World Association of Benchers and Deadlifters for 220-pound 50–54-year-olds. In college he had been a middle linebacker on the football team at the University of San Diego, a Catholic college where he also ran track for them, setting the school shot put and discus records. For approximately 25 years now he has been running a chiropractic sports clinic in the Pacific northwest where for years he has served numerous sports teams and events in roles such as medical director, team doctor, head drug tester, and team chiropractor.
Mon, March 07, 2022
John Chick
He played two years for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars and also spent time in the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts organizations. In addition, he played many years in the Canadian Football League and was a two-time Grey Cup champion as a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who won the league title game in both 2007 and 2013. In 2009 he earned the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award and in 2013 he led the league in sacks. He would also play in the CFL for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Edmonton Eskimos. As a student-athlete he had played college football at Utah State. Nowadays he is all about helping men become on fire, fit, and free.
Mon, February 28, 2022
Ed Valaitis
He is what you might call a late bloomer with an amazing story of being far more active in sports now than he was at traditional youth, student, and post graduate ages, due to his upbringing. An adventure traveler, present day he participates in running, biking, hiking, and skiing. His devotion to his Catholic faith can be seen in that two months ago he put out a book that is designed to help business owners determine both when to sell and how to sell their companies, YET, by sharing his *personal* story, he achieved #1 Amazon New Release status in the Catholic Self Help category. (NOTE: This episode contains sensitive and emotional subject matter.)
Mon, February 21, 2022
Fr Craig Vasek
He is the Chaplain for athletics at the University of Mary, a Catholic institution in Bismarck, North Dakota, where he works full-time with 19 athletic teams and around 450 scholar-athletes. Ordained as a priest in 2010 in Minnesota, he is a graduate of the Pontifical North American College in Vatican City. Raised around sports, he began to letter in ninth grade as a multi-sport athlete in football, basketball and track & field, including having been a two-way starter for his high school football team which advanced to a state championship, AND earning a trip to the state track & field championships his senior year. He also hosts various radio shows and has even done a podcast of his own.
Mon, February 14, 2022
Mike McQuaid
He has been involved in various sports-related capacities. Most recently is his foray into the sport of triathlon, which has seen him compete in over 20 long-course, Olympic, and Sprint triathlons, including reaching the podium six times in the past two seasons. On April 2nd he will compete in the Ironman Oceanside 70.3 in San Diego, and in preparation for that he will complete a training ride next week in which he will tackle the 10,068-foot, 35-mile climb to the summit of Maui’s Haleakala Volcano dubbed as the “World’s longest paved climb.” He had been an All-Pac 10 and national champion rower in his 20s. As a competitive sailor, he was a member of the winning crew at the 1998 Swiftsure International Yacht Race. Plus, he has held administrative roles in sports with the Seattle Goodwill Games, the Washington State Olympic Committee, the Seattle Sports Commission, USA Canoe/Kayak, and even US Lacrosse, among many others.
Mon, February 07, 2022
Tom Fox
He will be inducted this year into the St. Ignatius Athletics Hall of Fame. For 20 years he has run a basketball camp in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and has coached both basketball and track at two different high schools, plus he also coached AAU basketball. As a student-athlete he had played basketball on a full athletic scholarship at St. Francis College of Pennsylvania, which followed a high school career during which he was a four-year letterman in track and three-year letterman in basketball. Prior to his senior season of basketball, he was selected as one of the top players in Ohio by USA Today. Last year he published a book called, "A Penny's Thoughts: Sometimes All You Need is a Change of Perspective."
Mon, January 31, 2022
Joey Crawford
He is a current candidate for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2022. He is the Referee Development Performance Director for NBA Referee Operations, following a career as an NBA official from 1977 to 2016, officiating more than 2,500 regular season games and a record 344 playoff games. Fifty of those playoff games were in the Finals. In the all-time NBA referee rankings, he is first in playoff games, Finals Game 7s, and total games, plus he is tied for first in total seasons officiated. Along the way he also officiated three All-Star Games and even worked the McDonald's Championship in Germany in 1993. He is also in three Halls of Fame.
Mon, January 24, 2022
Lauren Sajewich
She has been playing soccer professionally, including with last year's Danish League Champions as well as with the Chicago Red Stars Reserves, who reached the 2019 national quarterfinals and the 2016 national semifinals after having been 2015 WPSL national champions. This all followed a collegiate career that saw her at Texas Christian University where she was a four-year starter, senior captain, two-time Team MVP, and her team reaching one Big 12 Championship Final.
Mon, January 17, 2022
Linda Cimino
She is in her fourth season as the head women's basketball coach at NCAA Division I St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights, New York, a Franciscan and Catholic college. She had previously spent four seasons as head coach at Binghamton University. Prior to that she'd spent eight years as the head coach at a Catholic-Dominican school, Caldwell University, where she was also the Associate Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator. She has also held roles as assistant coach at Adelphi University, head girls’ varsity basketball coach at Calhoun High School, and head coach at Queensborough Community College. From 2016 to 2020 she served a four-year term on the NCAA Women’s Basketball Rules Committee. In 2019, she was inducted into the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Hall of Fame. As a student-athlete her name continues to appear in the record books in numerous categories for the Adelphi University women's basketball program. In high school she had been All-State in both basketball and softball.
Mon, January 10, 2022
Anna Cummins
She was an Olympic silver and gold medalist at the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olympics and a three-time world rowing champion. She had won four NCAA national titles while rowing at the University of Washington and was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame as well as the National Rowing Hall of Fame. The highlight of her career came at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where she was the only American woman to race in two events. In one of those, she and her teammates won gold, which was USA's first in that discipline since 1984 and the first time ever with a race distance of two thousand meters.
Mon, January 03, 2022
Joe Vaszily
He has been an NCAA women's basketball referee since 2004 and has been officiating since working intramural games in 1994 at the University of Scranton. Along the way he has officiated in a number of conferences and in 2018 worked his first national championship. He has also been a part of eight consecutive Final Fours. As a student-athlete he played basketball, and then in his 20s he ran three marathons.
Mon, December 27, 2021
Bruce Scifres
The executive director of CYO for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis where he oversees 24 thousand youth and seven thousand adult volunteers. He spent 27 years as the head football coach of the ten-time state champion Royals at Roncalli High School, a co-ed Catholic high school in Indianapolis. He led the program to seven Indiana football state championships and was named Coach of the Year twelve times. He has been inducted into three Halls of Fame and in 2017 was the recipient of the prestigious National Football Foundation "Distinguished American Award." After a successful football career at Butler University, he attended training camp with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Mon, December 20, 2021
Art Hill
He was an International Softball Federation-certified fastpitch umpire, working seven World Cup events and the World University Games. He continues to work Division I, II, and III college softball games, including having worked the NCAA Division III World Series. Additionally, he assigned and worked in the National Pro Fastpitch League for 12 years. He currently assigns softball for seven college conferences & Independent. He had even assigned umpires for the Rebel Spring Games, which is the longest-running spring collegiate program in the nation. He also played men’s fastpitch softball and coached summer softball teams.
Mon, December 13, 2021
Pat Fraher
He is in his 21st season as an NBA referee, having officiated more than 1,100 regular season and over 50 playoff games. He also worked the 2015 NBA All-Star Game in New York. Before joining the NBA, he officiated for seven years in the CBA, where he worked the Finals and All-Star Game. In addition, he spent four years in the WNBA. He also has two years of college officiating experience and ten years of experience as a high school official. Back in his days as a student-athlete in high school he played basketball, football, and golf.
Mon, December 06, 2021
Chris Strykowski
The Director of Football Operations and Special Teams Coordinator for the ten-time state champion Royals at Roncalli High School, a co-ed Catholic high school in Indianapolis. He is in his 22nd year at the school and has had seven kickers go on to play collegiately at notable schools, and, players under his direction hold ten team records. Next month he will be presenting at a Football Coaches Clinic for the seventh time. As a student-athlete himself he had participated in numerous sports, including his college years when he competed at Ball State University in intramural sports.
Mon, November 29, 2021
Curt Tomasevicz
He competed for the U.S. National Bobsled Team from 2004 to 2014, qualifying for three Olympics (2006, 2010, 2014). On the four-man team, he earned two Olympic medals (gold in 2010 and silver in 2014) and nine World Championship medals. During his years as a student-athlete he played football for the University of Nebraska as both a running back and linebacker, earning Academic All-Conference honors along the way. Present day he is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and this past May was appointed as Director of Sports Performance at USA Bobsled and Skeleton.
Mon, November 22, 2021
Erinn Black
She was on the Division I George Mason women's soccer team and then served in a Student Assistant Coaching/Manager role with the team. Earlier on as a student-athlete she had competed in three sports in high school: field hockey, track, and soccer. Now doing missionary work on a college campus, she was an all-state field hockey player and captain of her travel/high school soccer team. Injuries in her athletic career played a key role in the growth of her faith life, as she talks about here.
Mon, November 15, 2021
Carley Whitney
The Assistant Athletic Director, Head Girls Basketball Coach, and Summer Camps Director at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. She is also the founder of IAmHer Basketball and had attended Kent State, where she played club soccer for four years, having been captain/manager for three. During that same time, she was driving back and forth every day to coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary, where she had been a three-sport athlete, earning eleven letters (four in soccer, four in softball, and three in basketball). She was an All-Ohio soccer player during her high school years as well.
Mon, November 08, 2021
Linda Randazzo
The Assistant Track & Field Coach and Recruitment Coordinator at Belmont Abbey College, also studying (through Divine Mercy University) to become a licensed sports psychologist. Previously she was on staff with the track coaches at Immaculata-La Salle High School in Miami. As a student-athlete she competed in the 200m and javelin at Belmont Abbey College, having also competed in track and field in high school. There was also some very notable sports involvement in her family, which she talks about in this episode.
Mon, November 01, 2021
Kristen Phillips
She played professional basketball in the WNBA, FIBA, and European Super League, being named the latter's Player of the Year in 2009. After her playing career she spent seven years as the Associate Head Women's Basketball Coach at Seattle University, a Division I level school. During that time, she also earned her master’s degree in Sport Business Leadership. As a student-athlete she had been a four-year starter and three-year captain and Defensive Player of the Year at the University of Washington, following a high school career during which she was an All-American and Gatorade Basketball State Player of the Year.
Mon, October 25, 2021
Brittany Bock
She was a two-time All-American at Notre Dame, reaching the Final Four three times in four years. She went on to excel as a professional soccer player for seven years and was part of championship teams and earned the opportunity to train at the highest level with the US Women's National Team. Listen in the second half of the show for her powerful story, overcoming eleven surgeries, broken ribs, and concussions, all while moving to seven different states. In addition to being a former pro athlete, she is a mentor, coach, speaker, and massage therapist. There is also an amazing story in the second half of the show about her trip to the Holy Land last year.
Mon, October 18, 2021
Bobby Allison
A NASCAR Hall of Famer who was the 1983 champion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and had three Daytona 500 victories, among numerous other titles and championships. He won on 27 different tracks and had at least three wins in every NASCAR major. He ended his career with 85 victories and was named one of NASCAR's "50 Greatest Drivers." He was also a seven-time Most Popular Driver Award-winner.
Mon, October 11, 2021
Kerri Gallagher
The Director of Cross Country, Track and Field at Manhattan College in New York. In July 2016 she had been named head coach of Manhattan's men's and women's cross country, mid-distance and distance programs. An elite-level professional runner, she represented the United States in the 1500 meters at the 2015 IAAF World Championships. She had finished third in the 1500 at the USATF Outdoor Championships to qualify for the World Championships in Beijing, China, among other international competition. In her days as a student-athlete she set six school records and won four Atlantic 10 titles competing for Fordham University and was named to their Hall of Fame Class of 2017.
Mon, October 04, 2021
Samantha Kelley
The founder and president of FIERCE Athlete Inc. She played Division I soccer at UConn and is involved in competitive rowing. Her sports participation background also includes ice hockey as well as track and field. She has worked for Catholic non-profits and has a Master's in Catholic Psychology and has been pursuing certification in strength and conditioning AND theology of the body.
Mon, September 27, 2021
Fr Patrick Kelly
A Jesuit priest and an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Detroit Mercy, having previously taught in the Theology and Religious Studies department at Seattle University for 13 years. He is also the author of a book called, "Catholic Perspectives on Sports: From Medieval to Modern Times," and the editor of a book on sports and Catholic youth that was just listed as one of the top ten books on sports and Catholicism in the last decade. He was also on the Papal Commission at the Vatican for Sport & Spirituality. And, not only has he coached sports at the high school and college levels, but, he was a captain of his college football team and an All Conference free safety.
Mon, September 20, 2021
Lou Holtz
He coached 132 games in eleven seasons at Notre Dame, leading the Fighting Irish to the 1988 national championship. After Notre Dame he coached at South Carolina. Prior to Notre Dame he coached at Minnesota, Arkansas, North Carolina State, and William & Mary. Along the way he also spent one season as the head coach of the NFL's New York Jets. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008 and has been seen for many years on television as an analyst on ESPN. This all followed his days playing football at Kent State.
Mon, September 13, 2021
Jake Perez
He has been coaching at a tennis academy and after school program in southern California for over five years. He has had tennis coaching related jobs over the years and had been a successful high school tennis player. His college degree is in psychology, and he has combined that with his passion for sports in launching a website where he publishes weekly posts about sport psychology, for athletic success and mental health. He is also getting ready to launch a website called The Catholic Path, where he intends to publish weekly book reviews and blog posts.
Mon, September 06, 2021
Scott Greve
The Director of Athletics AND the Head Men's and Women's Tennis Coach at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, where he has led those two teams to a combined seven conference championships and been named the Coach of the Year five times since taking over as head coach for the 2016-17 season. He had previously worked at a Catholic high school and is currently pursuing a Master's of theology.
Mon, August 30, 2021
Molly Bent
She played college basketball under the famous coach Geno Auriemma at the University of Connecticut after a high school career as a student-athlete that saw her set records in basketball, plus she competed in soccer as well. Presently she is a missionary at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia as part of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students and a part of Varsity Catholic.
Mon, August 23, 2021
Beth Torina
She has been the head coach of the women's softball team at LSU for ten years, following a stint leading a National Pro Fastpitch team, having previously been in the same position at Florida International University. Prior to that she had been the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Houston. She had started into coaching as an assistant coach at Stetson University in 2000. As a student-athlete she had been a pitcher at the University of Florida. In her current role she has established an active community service function within the softball program as the LSU players regularly visit hospitals and schools in the Baton Rouge area.
Mon, August 16, 2021
Tyler Rosser
For more than four years now he has been the head women's soccer coach at Ave Maria University, where last November he was named the Sun Conference Coach of the Year after guiding the team to the best season in the history of the program. He also last year became the winningest coach in conference play in program history. Before taking the job at Ave Maria he was the head coach of the Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School girls’ team for three years. He is licensed by the United States Soccer Federation and is an alumnus of his current employer.
Mon, August 09, 2021
Leo Lopoz
The Vice President for Athletics at De La Salle High School, a private Catholic school for boys in California. He started there as Assistant Athletic Director in 1999 before taking over in 2006 as Athletic Director. He is an alumnus of the school and has also coached boys golf as well as basketball there. He is also both the founder of the Catholic National Athletic Association AND the commissioner of the East Bay Athletic League.
Mon, August 02, 2021
John Smith
His name is synonymous with wrestling success. He won six consecutive world championships as a competitor from 1987-92, including gold medals at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul and at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. Additionally, he owns five national championships as head coach of Oklahoma State's men's wrestling program, a role that he has held for 30 years. During that time, he has coached 33 NCAA individual champions and five Olympians. He was recognized as the National Wrestling Coaches Association coach of the year in 1994 and 2003 and is a 15-time selection as his conference’s coach of the year. Most recently, he led his squad to its ninth consecutive Big 12 tournament title, with three of his student-athletes claiming individual Big 12 Conference titles in 2021. He has an .863 winning percentage for his career dual match record as a head coach.
Mon, July 26, 2021
John Scott
He played close to 300 games over eight seasons with seven different National Hockey League teams and he was the MVP of the 2016 NHL All-Star Game. He had played college hockey for four years at Michigan Tech and has an autobiography called, "A Guy Like Me: Fighting to Make the Cut." He also has his own podcast, called, "Dropping the Gloves."
Mon, July 19, 2021
Brad Berry
He played over 250 regular season and playoff games combined in the National Hockey League with two different franchises in addition to playing overseas in the Swedish Elite League. He went on to be a scout for the Vancouver Canucks and later joined his fourth NHL franchise, the Columbus Blue Jackets, as an assistant coach. He also was an assistant coach in the American Hockey League and nowadays has been the head coach of the University of North Dakota men's hockey team since just over six years ago. In 2016 he became the first rookie head coach in NCAA men's ice hockey history to win a national championship.
Mon, July 12, 2021
Tony Hunter
He was a tight end in the National Football League, having been the twelfth overall pick in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills, with whom he played for two years before going on to play two more seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, all following a collegiate career as a four-year starter for the University of Notre Dame where he led the Fighting Irish in receiving each of his last three seasons and was first-team All-American as a senior. During his time with the Bills, he made the NFL's All-Rookie team. Plus, during his NFL career he won a division title and got within a game of the Super Bowl, and along the way he played alongside future Hall of Famers.
Mon, July 05, 2021
Vince Guider
The North Lawndale Kinship Initiative Director for Old St. Patrick's Church in downtown Chicago, directing a ministry of community development. In that role he has set up a neighborhood sports collaborative called the North Lawndale Athletic & Recreation Association. Many people know him as coordinator for youth and young adult parish ministry, which he started doing 35 years ago and to some degree still goes on now. As a student he was the football manager for the team at his Catholic high school where he was able to learn the skills and the science of coaching, which he used when his parish started and needed a coach for a CYO football team, and that led to a whole career of coaching youth athletics across a variety of sports.
Mon, June 28, 2021
Tim Neary
The author of "Crossing Parish Boundaries: Race, Sports, and Catholic Youth in Chicago, 1914-1954," a book which reveals the history of CYO. He is a professor of history at Salve Regina University, a private, Catholic, coed school founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1934 in Newport, Rhode Island, where he teaches a course on U.S. sports history. As a student-athlete himself he had played baseball, basketball, football, and tennis, including club basketball in college in Ireland.
Mon, June 21, 2021
Mike Nealy
The CEO / Executive Director of Arizona Sports Foundation, Valley of the Sun Bowl Foundation and Fiesta Events, Inc., community-based organizations that operate the Fiesta Bowl, Guaranteed Rate Bowl, and numerous charitable and community events throughout the state. Prior to heading the Fiesta Bowl, he spent eight years with the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes and Jobing.com Arena, most recently as President and Chief Operating Officer. Before joining the Phoenix Coyotes in January 2006, he spent four seasons with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. He has also been both a football coach and a basketball referee.
Mon, June 14, 2021
Steve Javie
He spent 25 years as a referee in the NBA, officiating over 1,400 regular season games, 240 playoff games, 23 NBA Finals games, and two All-Star Games. He has also been a rules analyst for ESPN/ABC. Earlier in his career he was a referee in the CBA, which followed time that he had spent as a minor league baseball umpire, himself having played in the Baltimore Orioles organization at the minor league level after pitching for Temple University. In high school he had achieved All-Catholic honors in both baseball and basketball in his Junior and Senior years. Four years ago he was inducted to the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame, and last month he was the recipient of Sports Faith International's Father Smyth Award. In 2019 he was ordained a Deacon in the Catholic Church and just celebrated the two-year anniversary.
Mon, June 07, 2021
Johnny Sauter
A professional stock car racing driver who competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 13 Toyota Tundra for ThorSport Racing. He began his racing career in 1996 and by 2001 was the American Speed Association Champion and Rookie of the Year. In 2009 he was NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year. He also builds and races his own late model cars. And, he and his father and two brothers became only the second family in NASCAR history to have four members compete in a national series race.
Mon, May 31, 2021
Richie Adubato
He spent six decades in basketball, coaching high school, college, NBA, WNBA, and internationally. In the NBA he was the head coach of the Detroit Pistons, Dallas Mavericks, and Orlando Magic, and was an assistant coach with those three franchises as well as the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers. He also served as a consultant with the Boston Celtics. He is enshrined in the hall of fame at William Paterson University for TWO sports. Late last year he put out a book called, "Havin' a Ball: My Improbable Basketball Journey."
Mon, May 24, 2021
Kimberly Trichel
Faith-wise, she tells a story here of having a reversion to the faith with her husband after a significant life event. Sports-wise, she worked for college football's Fiesta Bowl for two years, the National Hockey League's Arizona Coyotes for eight years, and at the Central Hockey league for seven years. As a student-athlete she had played both softball and volleyball, and, present day, she still participates in a couple sports recreationally. She is the Executive Director of the Arizona chapter of HopeKids, which provides ongoing events, activities and a powerful, unique support community for families who have a child with cancer or some other life-threatening medical condition.
Mon, May 17, 2021
Dr Dobie Moser
This interview includes the guest sharing from his personal life about having gone through something that no parent ever wants to experience. On the vocation side, he has worked in youth and young adult ministry and CYO athletics for 37 years, including five years in the Diocese of Columbus. He has worked for Catholic Charities in Cleveland for 26 years. On the sports side, he played high school and college tennis, coached high school girls’ volleyball and coached Special Olympics teams in Pennsylvania and Texas. He is a tennis teaching pro and has coached boys and girls’ varsity high school. Plus, he was a Head Tennis Pro at a camp and resort north of Toronto, Ontario, for five summers and in the North Shore area of Chicago at a private club. He also even served on the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Mon, May 10, 2021
Deacon Harold Burke Sivers
He was a wrestler for Saint Benedict's Prep School - ranking #2 in his senior year, when he was undefeated in dual meets - and then went on to become the coach of their freshmen and JV wrestling teams. Earlier on he had played baseball and basketball. Presently he is a deacon in the Catholic church and travels across the U.S. and around the world speaking at conferences, workshops, retreats, parish missions, high schools, and young adult events. He has a Master of Theological Studies Degree and, among other works, is the author of the best-selling book, Behold the Man: A Catholic Vision of Male Spirituality.
Mon, May 03, 2021
Trent Klatt
Currently the Director of Amateur Scouting for the NHL's New York Islanders. As a player he had a long career in the National Hockey League, having originally been chosen by the Washington Capitals in the 1989 NHL Draft and going on to appear in close to 800 regular season games over almost 13 seasons, plus an additional 74 playoff games, competing throughout his career with four different franchises, including making a Stanley Cup Finals appearance with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1997. He has also done some coaching in hockey as well. Listen near the end for his emotional report on his oldest daughter's calling!
Mon, April 26, 2021
Chase Morlock
He was a running back for four years at North Dakota State University, capped off by a senior season in which he was named All-Missouri Valley Football Conference first team as a fullback. In high school he had been an all-state running back and was even named to the 2012 Minnesota Vikings all-state team and Associated Press all-state second team. In addition, he was an outstanding wrestler in high school, winning the 2012 state championship. Along the way he, unfortunately, went through a major event in his family. Nowadays he is the co-founder of and head trainer at Rise Training & Fitness in Minnesota.
Mon, April 19, 2021
Kerry Fraser
An amazing conversion story filled with a series of mystical events - not to mention a serious medical diagnosis - from a man who officiated over 1,900 regular season games, the most in NHL history, plus an additional 261 Stanley Cup playoff games and even two NHL All-Star Games and one Winter Olympics. "Referee" magazine selected him as one of the top ten officials of the century in any sport. Following his retirement, he stayed involved in the game by participating in a blog for TSN called, "C'mon Ref!" and by serving as an analyst on TSN's hockey highlight show.
Mon, April 12, 2021
Barry Dean
The President and Executive Director of the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association for more than 20 years, AND he is the President of the Association of Catholic Coaches and Athletes, which he formed ten years ago. He played, coached, and umpired baseball at the collegiate level and at one point even traveled to England, Germany, Brazil, and Nicaragua as a Major League Baseball International Envoy (Diplomat) Coach to teach and promote baseball. During this interview he also mentions having a brother who is a priest.
Mon, April 05, 2021
Bishop Thomas John Paprocki
The Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. He has run 24 marathons in 17 cities, three of those in Europe. He is nicknamed "the holy goalie" for -- to this day -- continuing to play that position in hockey. In 2013 he was inducted into the Sports Faith International Hall of Fame. He has just put out a brand-new book called, "Running for a Higher Purpose: 8 Steps to Spiritual and Physical Fitness," which follows a book he had previously written called, "Holy Goals for Body & Soul: 8 Steps to Connect Sports with God and Faith."
Mon, March 29, 2021
Stacie Tovar
An eight-time CrossFit Games competitor. In college she had been a volleyball player at the University of Nebraska Omaha, following a high school career that saw her compete in both volleyball and track. Today she is the owner of both CrossFit Omaha and Go Far Fitness.
Mon, March 22, 2021
Patrick Doerr
He grew up playing basketball but is known for tennis, having been a two-time regional champion, two-time all-state selection, and a state semi-finalist all in just his junior year of high school alone before going on to play at Spring Arbor University where he competed in both the singles and doubles lineups, finishing his college career with a 62-32 combined record. Today he is on the officiating circuit of local and national junior tournaments as well as college tennis matches, the latter to include officiating mostly for Big Ten and ACC teams, including numerous top 25 teams.
Mon, March 15, 2021
Glenn Otto
A pitcher currently in training camp with the New York Yankees, having been a fifth-round pick of theirs in the 2017 draft. In college he pitched at Rice University in Houston, leading the staff in earned run average three years in a row. Prior to that he played at Concordia Lutheran High School, which is also in Texas.
Mon, March 08, 2021
Paul Westhead
The only coach to win a championship in the NBA and the WNBA. Over a career that spanned more than 40 years, he was the head coach of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, and Denver Nuggets, plus he went on to be an assistant coach with Golden State, Orlando, Seattle, and Oklahoma City. His WNBA Championship came with the Phoenix Mercury. Plus, he coached men and women's basketball collegiately, at LaSalle, Loyola, George Mason, and Oregon. He even coached in Puerto Rico and in a pro basketball league in Japan. And, last November he put out a book called, "The Speed Game: My Fast Times in Basketball."
Mon, March 01, 2021
Gabby Otto
She played college basketball at Rice University, where her team won the Women’s Basketball Invitational Championship four years ago this month. One year later they made it to the second round of the NIT before losing to New Mexico. Growing up, in addition to basketball, she had also played soccer and boys baseball, and she ran track and field. Faith-wise she shares testimony regarding dealing with major sports injuries, plus, a powerful and emotional story from within her immediate family.
Mon, February 22, 2021
Sister Mary Jo Sobieck
She drew national attention just under two years ago when she was nominated for an ESPY for "Best Viral Sports Moment" for when she threw out a ceremonial first pitch before a Chicago White Sox game. She has been a nun for more than 25 years and is part of the Dominican Sisters of Springfield. In her days as a student-athlete she played softball, volleyball, and basketball. You'll also hear mention in this interview about her having trained for a half marathon. Last year she concluded 13 years at a Catholic high school in Chicago, including teaching theology there.
Mon, February 15, 2021
Peter Belisle
He is in his 15th season as the head men's ice hockey coach at UMass Boston, where he is the winningest coach in program history. Along the way he has earned National Coach of the Year honors and has guided his team to the NCAA Frozen Four. Prior to his current role he spent nine years with Division I University of Connecticut as an assistant coach. As a student-athlete he had been a four-year letter winner with UConn.
Mon, February 08, 2021
Trevor Williams
A pitcher getting ready for spring training with the Chicago Cubs. He had been with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization from 2016-2020, having initially been drafted into Major League Baseball as a second round pick by the Miami Marlins. As a student-athlete he had played his college baseball at Arizona State University. He is also co-founder of an organization called Project Thirty Four. He's a very dedicated member of the Knights of Columbus too.
Mon, February 01, 2021
Two Year Anniversary
Catholic Sports Radio hits its two-year anniversary -- to the exact day -- and, ironically, this episode takes a turn that is a first in the show's 100-plus episode history. Listen for that as well as some data about the listenership that the show has enjoyed.
Mon, January 25, 2021
Jay Stricherz
A PAC-12 Conference Football supervisor, having previously been a PAC-10 and PAC-12 Conference football referee for 34 years, including having officiated over 20 bowl games, which saw him do two Cotton Bowls, two Sugar Bowls, and two Fiesta Bowls. In addition, he spent nine years as a softball coach at a Catholic high school in Tacoma, Washington.
Mon, January 18, 2021
Dr Rosemary Buckle
An orthopedic surgeon who sees a lot of athletes, she is an avid runner, not only having ran track in high school and college but she has done three IronMan races and approximately 20 marathons. In her college days she was also a student athletic trainer at Notre Dame. (Have tissues handy for her story about halfway through the interview.)
Mon, January 11, 2021
Paul Jarzynka
The new head men's tennis coach at Eastern Illinois University after having been assistant men's and women's tennis coach at Belmont Abbey College. Previously he had been a volunteer assistant coach at Wright State University while also teaching professionally at a tennis club. He also taught professionally at the Michigan State Indoor Tennis Center, was an assistant varsity tennis coach at Lansing Catholic School, and was an instructor at Michigan State Nike Tennis Camps, all after having played collegiate tennis at Franciscan University of Steubenville.
Mon, January 04, 2021
Kathy Litzau
The Senior Associate Athletics Director at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, including serving as the sport administrator for men's soccer, women's basketball, and men's & women's swimming and diving, among other responsibilities. Previously she spent 14 years as the head women's volleyball coach at Milwaukee, where her teams compiled a remarkable 118-14 record in Horizon League play over her last ten seasons. In 2017 she was inducted into the Milwaukee Athletics Hall of Fame. Earlier in her career she was an assistant coach at three different universities, after having been a standout volleyball player at the University of Notre Dame.
Mon, December 28, 2020
Randy Awrey
The Head Football Coach at Perquimans County High School in North Carolina. He was a successful NCAA head football coach for 21 years, being named conference coach of the year seven times and being inducted into the Hall of Fame at four different universities. As a student-athlete he was the MVP of the Northern Michigan University national championship team, which was the first team in any sport to ever go from a zero and ten won-lost record to national champions the next year.
Mon, December 21, 2020
Niko Palazeti
The Assistant Director of Strength and Conditioning for football at Ohio State University. He previously worked in similar positions at the University of Maryland and at Mississippi State University. As a student-athlete he was a three-year member of the Michigan State football team after having been an all-state football player for Detroit Catholic Central High School. Listen for the extremely powerful testimony that he shares about suffering a career-ending injury!
Mon, December 14, 2020
Fr Dale Grubba
He has run 63 marathons and hand cycled an additional twenty. He had coached Cross Country at Holy Name Seminary in Madison, Wisconsin, for ten years, including winning a state championship. He was also head coach of the Holy Name Seminary track team for eight years, also winning a state championship. In 2000 he was inducted into the Wisconsin Cross Country Association's Hall of Fame. He has also been an auto racing photographer and journalist, and has written seven books. He has been a parish priest since 1966, including St. John's in Princeton, Wisconsin, where he has been for 35 years, and St. James in Neshkoro, Wisconsin, where he has been for 20 years.
Mon, December 07, 2020
Jesse Romero
He was a three-time World Police Olympics boxing champion and is a former USA middleweight kickboxing champion and he is a member of the Sports Faith International Hall of Fame. He has a Master’s Degree in Catholic Theology and is an author, radio host, and evangelist. He is also a retired veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Mon, November 30, 2020
Humpy Wheeler
The former president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway, having served in that role for 35 years. He has long been known as one of the foremost promoters of NASCAR auto racing and was inducted into 14 halls of fame. Back in his days as a student athlete he played college football at the University of South Carolina. His athletic career also included time as an outstanding boxer, posting a 40-2 won-lost record. He co-authored a book called, "Growing Up NASCAR: Racing's Most Outrageous Promoter Tells All."
Mon, November 23, 2020
Colleen Day
The Associate Head Coach for the women's basketball team at the University of Akron. She previously was an assistant coach at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, after having spent ten seasons as an assistant coach at Miami (Ohio) University, where she had competed as a student-athlete, being a four-time letter winner there and three-time team captain. She has since been inducted into the Miami University Hall of Fame for her success on the court.
Mon, November 16, 2020
Evvere Anthony
Originally from Antigua, and now living in Arizona, as a young child her dream was to be a Catholic nun. She is a Benedictine Oblate and has also made her Cursillo weekend. She also served in the U.S. military for 12 years. The list of sports she has competed in is quite lengthy, and she even won a Presidential Award for Athletics. Nowadays she is a coach with the North Phoenix Christian Soccer Club and also hopes to one day compete in wheelchair basketball as part of the Paralympics.
Mon, November 09, 2020
Sam Harris
Currently an offensive lineman at Minnesota State University Moorhead. Prior to that he was a two-time all-state and two-time all-conference selection with St. Mary's Central High School in Bismarck, North Dakota, a private, Roman Catholic co-ed school where he also competed in boys’ varsity wrestling.
Mon, November 02, 2020
Steve Steele
He grew up playing hockey and football, including competing in the latter sport for four years at William Penn University in Iowa, where he helped his team win a conference championship and broke the NAIA national rushing record. He went on to coach the offensive line at Dakota State University before going on to his current position as head football coach of Pierre TF Riggs High School. PLUS he is Head Coach of the Oahe Capitals High School Hockey team.
Mon, October 26, 2020
Andy Sonnier
He recently directed a Catholic men's conference in Texas and is currently studying for candidacy for a Permanent Diaconate program in his Diocese. On the sports side, he spent many years in athletic training, both with college teams as well as the then NFL Houston Oilers.
Mon, October 19, 2020
Jason Jones
He fought (Kyokushinkai) (Japanese karate) in the Tokyo Dome in Japan in 1995, representing USA, and continues to compete to this day. He had also played football in high school. He is a movie producer and -- among numerous other projects he has done -- was the Executive Producer of a TV documentary called, "Mother Marianne: Portrait of a Saint." He is also the founder of Movie To Movement, which promotes the incomparable dignity and beauty of the human person through the power of film. They just released a documentary that longtime NFL tight end Benjamin Watson is the executive producer of.
Mon, October 12, 2020
Joe Reich
He is in his 20th season as the head football coach at Wingate University, where he is the program's all-time winningest coach. Previously he was an assistant coach at the University of Buffalo, and before that he was an assistant coach at Gettysburg College and a graduate assistant coach at Georgia Tech. As a student-athlete, he had played offensive line at Gettysburg College after having played football (and two other sports) in high school as well.
Mon, October 05, 2020
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.
Mon, September 28, 2020
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.
Mon, September 21, 2020
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.
Mon, September 14, 2020
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.
Mon, September 07, 2020
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.
Mon, August 31, 2020
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.
Mon, August 24, 2020
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.
Mon, August 17, 2020
Toby Cook
He is in his 14th full season with Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals, serving as the team's Vice President of Publicity after having previously been their Vice President of Community Affairs & Publicity. It is baseball that he credits with leading him to the Catholic church, which he officially became a part of twelve years ago. He shares that story - and more - during this conversation.
Mon, August 10, 2020
Fr Michael Lightner
He is an administrator of three churches in northeast Wisconsin. In his college days he was an offensive lineman, playing football at the University of Eastern Michigan, where he had earned a scholarship after having played football in high school. He was invited to try out with the NFL's Cleveland Browns and later would be inducted into the Sports Faith International Hall of Fame.
Mon, August 03, 2020
John Jakubik
A strength and conditioning specialist who played four years of college football at Michigan State after having played football and baseball at Kalamazoo College. After Michigan State he went on to be a graduate assistant/wide receivers coach at Missouri Western State University and later was an Ohio State University Strength and Conditioning intern. In his teen years he attended Detroit Catholic Central High School, where he played football, baseball, and basketball. Currently he also hosts the Coach Kub podcast.
Mon, July 27, 2020
Bill Bommarito
A longtime coach, having done so in football, baseball, soccer, and softball. He is the founder of Coaching Coaches and has had over 70 thousand volunteer coaches and parents participate in his coaching programs and parent programs. He currently has programs with several Archdioceses and several secular athletic programs. He is also the play-by-play announcer for women's volleyball at two universities in the St. Louis area.
Mon, July 20, 2020
Frank Allocco
The Executive Sr. Associate Athletics Director for External Relations at the University of San Francisco (a Catholic school). He won 17 league championships and two Division I state championships in 18 years at De La Salle High School in Concord, California, and has coached and/or been a speaker at basketball camps from China to Belgium to Canada. As a college athlete he played football and basketball at Notre Dame. He is also an inductee to the Sports Faith International Hall of Fame.
Mon, July 13, 2020
Anne Stricherz
The varsity girls golf coach at St. Francis High School in the San Jose, California, area, where she is also the Assistant Athletic Director for Mission and Engagement. She previously was the junior varsity girls golf coach at St. Ignatius Prep in San Francisco. In her college days she attended the University of Notre Dame, where she competed in rowing for four years. She is also the author of a book called, "Pray and Practice with Purpose: A Playbook for the Spiritual Development of Athletes," and she has completed three marathons.
Mon, July 06, 2020
Kevin OBrien
He played professional football in the mid-1990s, including the NFL (Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots), the CFL, and the World League (which became NFL Europe). He had played college football at Bowling Green State University. He is the Co-Founder of Virtue Baseball and the Co-Founder of the Catholic Men's Leadership Alliance.
Mon, June 29, 2020
Ryan Vermillion
The Head Athletic Trainer for the NFL's Washington Redskins, having started in that role in January. He had spent the previous 18 seasons as the Head Athletic Trainer for the Carolina Panthers. Before that he had been the Redskins' Director of Rehabilitation for one year after having started his NFL career with the Miami Dolphins for nine seasons.
Mon, June 22, 2020
Phil Cuzzi
He has been a Major League Baseball umpire for more than 20 years, including having worked a World Series and multiple National League Championship Series, plus even two All-Star Games. Off the field he is very active in his community and with charitable efforts. Have one or more tissues close by as this lifelong Catholic shares some emotional witness!
Mon, June 15, 2020
Kramer Soderberg
An assistant coach for the men's basketball team at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. Previously he had been in the same role at NCAA Division II Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri. He played basketball collegiately at both the University of Miami-Ohio and at Lindenwood and at the latter he has been inducted into their Athletics Hall of Fame. Two months ago his book came out, titled, "Fill Your Cup for Christ: A Spiritual Journey Sown & Grown Through Sports."
Mon, June 08, 2020
Don Dziagwa
The Athletic Director and basketball coach at Tampa Catholic High School, where he has been for over 30 years and was a 2015 inductee to their Hall of Fame. Back in HIS high school days he played four years of basketball and baseball, plus one year of football. A lifelong Catholic, he also had coaching stops in West Virginia as well as five years at another high school in the Tampa Bay area. He's also a member of the Knights of Columbus.
Mon, June 01, 2020
Kate Ziegler
A two-time Olympian (London 2012 & Beijing 2008), four-time World Champion and a world record setter. In total she won 15 medals in international competition. She retired from swimming in 2016 and has since earned her MBA and helped launch two companies. She is a holistic high-performance coach and a national speaker. As youngster she had also played softball and basketball.
Mon, May 25, 2020
Jaime Barta
A junior at Syracuse University where she plays on the softball team after having played at a different school each of the previous two years. In high school she had been a four-time all-state selection and set six school records. Her faith walk includes work that she did for a refugee family, which she mentions in this interview. Her father is a longtime baseball coach and her mother played college softball.
Mon, May 18, 2020
Doug Lipinski
The Deputy Athletic Director for External Relations at Grand Valley State University in Michigan where he and his staff have been honored with 70 national awards. As a student athlete at the school he was a four-year member of the varsity baseball team, followed by four years as an assistant coach. While growing up he had played five different sports.
Mon, May 11, 2020
Andrew Whitaker
The Vice President of Operations as well as a founding board member of the National Catholic Coaches Association. He was a student manager for Michigan State's football team, coached football for two seasons at Alfred State College and one season at the University of St. Thomas. Plus, he coached two seasons of varsity tennis at Lumen Christi, a private Roman Catholic high school in Jackson, Michigan, where he had played five sports when he was a student-athlete. He also volunteered as a soccer coach and English teacher for refugee children in Africa.
Mon, May 04, 2020
Nikki Breske
She just graduated from Florida State University where she was a pole vaulter, ranking among the Seminoles Top Ten all-time both outdoors and indoors. Born and raised Catholic, in high school she competed for Winter Park High in central Florida and was undefeated during her senior season there. She is committed to and outspoken about abstinence and chastity. Listen for the phone call she received her first week away at college and how she responded.
Mon, April 27, 2020
Fr Stephen Gadberry
The pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Batesville, Arkansas, AND St. Cecilia's Catholic Church in Newport, Arkansas. He was on Season 10 of "American Ninja Warrior" on NBC in 2018 and also enjoys archery and is an avid hunter, plus he coaches CrossFit. He served in the U.S. Air Force in Texas, Germany, and central Iraq.
Mon, April 20, 2020
Porter Moser
The head men's basketball coach at Loyola University Chicago since 2011, has been an NCAA Division I men's basketball coach for 30 years. His 2018 team went to the Final Four. As a player he competed on the Creighton University Bluejays and in 2017 was named to the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame for his accomplishments as a player. He has also been inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame. Plus he is the author of a new book called, "All In: Driven by Passion, Energy, and Purpose."
Mon, April 13, 2020
Sherri Retif
She has been the head coach of the varsity girls basketball team at Germantown Academy for more than 20 years. Her teams have captured the Inter-Academic Athletic League Championship 19 times, including a streak of 14 consecutive titles and 109 straight Inter-Ac victories. She had previously coached in New Orleans, where her teams captured back-to-back City Championships. She played basketball for the Tulane Green Wave and was inducted into the Tulane University Hall of Fame. In later years she was inducted into the Montgomery County Coaches Hall of Fame. In "Perspective on Youth Sport and Spirituality," published by Notre Dame Press in 2015, she contributed a chapter on best practices. And, she co-authored a handbook called, "More Than a Game, Stories, Prayers and Reflections for the Student Athlete."
Mon, April 06, 2020
Chris Godfrey
He played guard in the NFL for the New York Jets, New York Giants, and Seattle Seahawks, including winning a world championship with the Giants in Super Bowl XXI. He also played on three University of Michigan Rose Bowl teams. He is the President and Founder of Life Athletes and nowadays is an attorney in Indiana. He even talks here about a conversion experience as well as having met (Saint) Mother Teresa!
Mon, March 30, 2020
Rich Garcia
A former Major League Baseball umpire, having worked in the American League for 25 years and been involved in four World Series. He went on to be a MLB Supervisor for eight years. He was raised Catholic and is also a veteran, having spent four years in the U.S. Marine Corps. In high school he played baseball and did some boxing, getting two baseball scholarship offers for college. He also coached high school baseball. Wait for his big revelation near the end of the interview!
Mon, March 23, 2020
Zach Eckert
A former lacrosse player who is an avid surfer and serves as the Director of Campus & Sports Ministry at JSerra Catholic High School in Orange County, California. He is also a 3rd degree Knight. He attended Creighton University (a private, Jesuit university) and Franciscan University of Steubenville where he majored in Theology. Be sure to stick around for his emotional story about the "Jersey Ceremony" as well as why May 18th is so significant.
Mon, March 16, 2020
Kelly Larson
An Assistant Girls Track Coach at City High School in Iowa City, Iowa, where the team has won four state championships in her 18 years there. She competed in track & field as well as in basketball at Loras College, a Catholic institution in Dubuque, Iowa. She is also the vice president and a board member of the National Catholic Coaches Association. And she is a religious education teacher.
Mon, March 09, 2020
Elliot Panicco
A goalkeeper for NashvilleSC of Major League Soccer, having been selected in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft in January. He had attended UNC Charlotte, where he earned All-Southeast Region honors three times, including his senior year when he was also Conference USA Goalkeeper of the Year, Golden Glove Award winner, and first team all-conference.
Mon, March 02, 2020
Steven Didik
A triathlete who also had a successful college soccer career. He is a Zone 3 ambassador, which is the world's highest rated triathlon brand. He also has many triathlons lined up to qualify for a national championship spot. He also mentors local youth athletes who are trying to go to the NCAA to play college sports. He also talks about being involved with both a non-profit called Faces of Courage AND multiple efforts to raise money to combat cancer, due to a personal attachment.
Mon, February 24, 2020
Bill Thierfelder
Currently in his 16th year as president of Belmont Abbey College, which is a Catholic, Benedictine liberal arts college, he has been involved in sports in a variety of roles. He was the president of the York Barbell Company, was principal and co-founder of the Joyner Sports Medicine Institute, has served as Executive Director of the Player Management Group - which was a sports representation company providing services to professional athletes - plus he is a former member of the U.S. Olympic Committee's Sport Psychology Registry. He was an Olympian himself and a national champion and two-time All-American in high jump. He also authored the book, Less Than a Minute to Go: The Secret to World-Class Performance in Sport, Business and Everyday Life. He is a member of the Sport Faith International Hall of Fame.
Mon, February 17, 2020
Tim Triplett
The co-founder and president of the National Catholic Coaches Association, he has 14 years of coaching experience at the collegiate and high school levels. He is currently the head football coach and assistant activities director at Holy Family Catholic in Victoria, Minnesota, and played college football. He also has been a member of the Knights of Columbus for eleven years
Mon, February 10, 2020
David Belisle
A lifelong coach, he was an assistant coach for high school hockey for 39 years and also gained national attention as the manager of the Cumberland Americans Little League team, including being seen on ESPN in a post-game, on-field speech - a video that went viral to the tune of more than a quarter million views. He was nominated by Sports Illustrated for the 2014 Sportsman of the Year and has also been honored with the Musial Award and the Hope Award. He also talks here about having played college hockey. You'll want to have a tissue handy for the second half of the interview.
Mon, February 03, 2020
Matt Yoches
The Director of Football Operations at Miami University in Ohio, where he is also the team chaplain. Among the many tasks he handles is being the liaison for NFL scouts. He had played football collegiately (winning two national championships) and went on to serve on the coaching staff of his alma mater (Grand Valley State). He was born and raised Catholic and is married and the father of two. LISTEN FOR HIS BIG REVEAL AT THE END OF THE INTERVIEW!
Mon, January 27, 2020
Dr Kelly Morrow
In the lead-up to Super Bowl Sunday, we talk about domestic violence. Plus, in the wake of cheating being a hot topic in MLB news lately, we cover that as well. In addition, there's a discussion on "participation trophies" and playing time. Plus, there's practical advice for listeners to take away. All this and more from a professional and spiritual perspective via the Clinical Psychologist at Saint Paul VI Institute in Omaha, Nebraska, where part of her work includes meeting with priests, religious, and lay men & women who are seeking faith-based counseling. With a sports background herself, she also works with seminarians attending the Institute for Priestly Formation and conducts psychological evaluations for individuals interested in entering seminary, the deaconate, or religious communities. She is a member of both the Catholic Psychotherapy Association and the Catholic Medical Association.
Mon, January 20, 2020
John Keating
The head coach of the men's soccer team at Belmont Abbey, a Catholic college in North Carolina. He played pro soccer in South Africa and captained West Virginia University men's soccer. He is going into his tenth year at Belmont Abbey and had successful coaching stops at a couple other schools along the way. He is a Benedictine oblate and at one point he even headed up the Catholic Defense League of Nebraska.
Mon, January 13, 2020
Rachael Popcak
A competitive figure skater from the time she was eight years old through college. She is the founder/director of the Saint Sebastian Center for Performance Excellence. She is a licensed therapist with advanced training in Sports and Performance Psychology and has developed programming for the likes of Robert Morris University Basketball, the Pens Elite Hockey Team, and Franciscan University Athletics, among others. Through Trinity Sports Medicine she is also the referral source for athletes seeking mental health services.
Mon, January 06, 2020
Erika Maurer
A cradle Catholic, she played soccer all throughout high school and college, attending Catholic schools and even getting her degree in Theology. She is the creator of the Sportsmanship and Spirit Ministry for Seton High School, an all-girls, Catholic, college-preparatory school in Cincinnati, Ohio. She also talks during this interview about a group she is active with in her parish and also gives news about her family.
Mon, December 30, 2019
Louise Dussault
The Director of Catholic Youth Ministry for the Diocese of Providence, up in Rhode Island. She played softball, volleyball, and basketball, and in her current role is hands-on with the Catholic Athletic League, including the creation of Cooperative Parish Teams. She is a strong supporter of the intersection of faith and sports, as heard during this interview.
Mon, December 23, 2019
Bob Bauman
The head coach of the boys’ varsity soccer team at Cristo Rey, a Catholic high school in Tampa. Last year the Tampa Bay Times ranked him 20th on a list of the top 50 coaches in Tampa Bay sports history. In 26 seasons at Jesuit High School, his teams had won 24 district titles, reached 15 final fours and won five state championships. His last title team also finished first in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll. All told, he posted a 571-124-69 record at Jesuit — a staggering .747 win percentage. As an athlete himself, he had played college soccer and was offered a tryout by a pro soccer team.
Mon, December 16, 2019
Peter Mulry
One of the winningest coaches in high school baseball, having coached for ten years at Tampa Catholic High School where he posted an amazing won-lost record of 329-39. His teams won four state championships and a national championship. He went on to coach at the University of Tampa and also scouted for Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals. Last year he was No. 26 on a list of the top 50 coaches in Tampa Bay sports history and he has been inducted into four Halls of Fame. He has his own foundation, which is dedicated to teaching young children life skills through sports. And just over a year ago he launched a series of what is now six books to bring life skills to young athletes through a diverse set of characters representing each baseball position on the field.
Mon, December 09, 2019
Tony Saladino
Every year since 1981 a tournament has taken place to promote high school baseball in Hillsborough County (Tampa, Florida area). It was first established as a memorial for Tony Saladino, Sr. and has grown from eleven public schools to now a 32-team event, with 38 players that have participated in the tournament having gone on to play in the Major Leagues, 12 of which were first round draft picks. The guest on this episode of CSR has been at the heart of all of this for all those years and is a lifelong Catholic.
Mon, December 02, 2019
Takeaways from 2nd Global Congress on Sport and Christianity
To borrow a football term, an audible is called at the last-minute when the scheduled guest doesn't show up, utilizing this episode instead to share some insights brought back from the 2nd Global Congress on Sport and Christianity. The conference took place in late October in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and this installment of CSR cites content from that event that underscore the longstanding relationship between sports and faith.
Mon, November 25, 2019
Mark Blaise
Since June 2017 he has been the program's second head men's lacrosse coach at Benedictine College, a Catholic institution in Kansas, where he graduated from in 2013. As an undergrad he was a co-founder of the Men's Lacrosse Club team there. He also has been an assistant coach at Rockhurst University AND was the head coach for the boys lacrosse team at St. Thomas Aquinas, a Catholic high school in Overland Park, Kansas. This past April he was named the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
Mon, November 18, 2019
Haley Scott DeMaria
In college she was left paralyzed with a broken back after a bus accident involving her swim team from the University of Notre Dame, with two teammates having been killed instantly. After five back operations and being told she wouldn't walk, not to mention swim again, miraculously, she returned to competitive swimming for Notre Dame 21 months after the bus accident and her injury. Her 2008 book, What Though The Odds, details what she went through and her "journey of faith and triumph." She later became Assistant Swim Coach at Xavier College Prep, the all-girls Catholic high school in Phoenix that she had attended. She also talks here about two pilgrimages this and two years ago that she says reignited her faith and commitment to service.
Mon, November 11, 2019
Jacob Flores
He was with the NFL's Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills and, more recently, the Atlanta Legends of the Alliance of American Football. He had played college football at Dartmouth, and has now transitioned into the corporate world and life off the playing field. He also talks about what he's doing at his parish as well as in the community.
Mon, November 04, 2019
Clay Dimick
A current member of the Charlotte Independence, which plays in the USL Championship, the largest pro soccer league in North America. He had played collegiately at Belmont Abbey, a Catholic school in North Carolina. He loves the game of soccer, but he is on fire for his faith, having become Catholic approximately 15 months ago.
Mon, October 28, 2019
Fr John Perdue - The Flying Fathers
The Flying Fathers were a hockey team of Catholic priests originally started back in the early 1960s. There is optimism of-late for the team's resurrection, according to Father John Perdue, Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Peterborough in Ontario, Canada. He not only is playing for the team but leading their return. He talks about it during this conversation that was recorded while he was in Rome for the canonization of the five newest saints.
Mon, October 21, 2019
Bear Woznick
He is a champion of numerous surfing events. He is also a licensed scuba diver and licensed private pilot. Plus, he is a skydiver and has rappelled off mountains. He has even been a mentor on the adventure reality show "Clean Break" on the FOX network, as well as been a guest star and stuntman on "Hawaii 5-0." He also has been seen on EWTN television and heard on EWTN Radio and has led pilgrimages to places such as Greece and Israel. Plus, he wrote two books, including one called, "Deep Adventure: The Way of Heroic Virtue." He also is a Benedictine Oblate to the Mary Spouse of the Holy Spirit Monastery in Hawaii. He is also an inductee in the Sports Faith Hall of Fame.
Mon, October 14, 2019
Luke Vercollone
He played 15 years of pro soccer, having retired last year from the United Soccer League after having initially been drafted into Major League Soccer. He had played the sport collegiately at Seton Hall University (a Roman Catholic university). Although he founded a program that teaches basic soccer skills to kids, he is now working for a pro-life organization. He is also in the Knights of Columbus and has started a men's ministry. He also has a faith-based line of apparel.
Mon, October 07, 2019
Tanner Kalina
In college he played Division I baseball and was being scouted by the New York Mets, going on to play at another college before eventually made his way out of the sport. He remains an avid surfer and has also found success in comedy and films, including a movie released earlier this year that he says is, "Littered with Catholicism." He and a friend are also going around college campuses giving talks, which was spawned from his having participated in FOCUS.
Mon, September 30, 2019
Matt Biondi
He has been a sports TV anchor and sports reporter in Seattle and many other markets, and he has been a sports radio host. He even still does some work for media outlets that need him for the visiting teams that come in to play the Seattle Seahawks. He has two daughters, one of which just finished a four-year scholarship in golf at a Catholic college in southern California. Matt himself played football in high school.
Mon, September 23, 2019
Megan Landry
Finished her softball career at Nicholls State University (in Louisiana) as the program's all-time leader in victories, following a career at Central Catholic High School in which she played three sports, which included (as a pitcher in softball) over 1,000 strikeouts and multiple no-hitters. In high school she was a leader of Sisters in Christ and Retreat Team Leader. And, in college she was leading a Bible study as early as her sophomore year. Since graduating from Nicholls State University, she has become an on-campus missionary elsewhere. In this interview Megan also talks about how tearing her ACL became a wake-up call for her as well as the challenges she faces in where she is and what she's doing now.
Mon, September 16, 2019
Dr Kelly Morrow
Fans taking sports too seriously. Parents being WAY too involved in their son or daughter's sports. Superstitions that fans carry out. Sports betting. Hear about these and other issues from a professional and spiritual perspective via the Clinical Psychologist at Saint Paul VI Institute in Omaha, Nebraska, where part of her work includes meeting with priests, religious, and lay men & women who are seeking faith-based counseling. With a sports background herself, she also works with seminarians attending the Institute for Priestly Formation and conducts psychological evaluations for individuals interested in entering seminary, the deaconate, or religious communities. She is a member of both the Catholic Psychotherapy Association and the Catholic Medical Association.
Mon, September 09, 2019
Sue Medley
Fifteen years ago she was told by doctors that she had six months left to live! She was the Head Volleyball Coach at Saint Mary's College in Indiana, then moved on to be the Assistant Volleyball Coach at Kansas State University, and then was the Head Coach at Cornell University before moving on to the University of Maine where she established the first NCAA Division I volleyball program in the school's history. She is also the founder of the Maine Volleyball Coaches Association, and in USA Volleyball's Iroquois-Empire Volleyball Association Region she serves as Director and Head Coach of the High Performance Volleyball Program there.
Mon, September 02, 2019
Bill Hogan
Currently at St. Joseph's College in Indiana, his alma mater, he previously was the Director of Athletics for ten years at Seattle University after having held the same position for 15 years at the University of San Francisco, both of which are Jesuit schools. Before all that he was the Athletic Director (and was even the basketball coach) at St. Joseph's, where he had played basketball during his college days. Active with the Knights of Columbus, he also served on the Executive Board in Seattle for the Special Olympics and was part of the decision to host the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games there.
Mon, August 26, 2019
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.
Mon, August 19, 2019
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.
Mon, August 12, 2019
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.
Mon, August 05, 2019
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.
Mon, July 29, 2019
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.
Mon, July 22, 2019
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.
Mon, July 15, 2019
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!
Mon, July 08, 2019
Tom Lynn
An attorney who is now an agent certified by the National Hockey League Players Association and has a long career in hockey as a front office executive, including as the Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Administration and Legal Affairs of the NHL's Minnesota Wild (2000 to 2009). He wrote the book, “How to Build an NHL Franchise from Scratch: The First Era of the Minnesota Wild.” He talks here about overcoming the stigma - the labels that people put - on being an agent, plus he gives insight on steering young athletes toward charitable considerations, and even how he has to practice what he preaches to his clients in similar decisions that he has to make with his own (six) children.
Mon, July 01, 2019
Chris Gomez
He played college hockey and now coaches in that sport, while serving as the Board President for Catholic Sports Camps. (His father had run a hockey camp in the 1980s with the Chicago Blackhawks.) All that despite having also attended (for graduate school) the largest Catholic university in the United States, because, he talks here of being called back to the church after falling away after he left his parents' house, having been raised a cradle Catholic.
Mon, June 24, 2019
Mike Gutelius
The head football coach at The Catholic University of America, which is located in our nation’s capital, although he has – in his words – experienced the differences of being a practicing Catholic in seven states and the District of Columbia. He is a lector in his current parish and did so – along with being the Chair of the Finance Council – at his previous parish as well. He begins his third season at Catholic University of America in 2019. In his first season the team tied a program record with three d3football.com all-region players, the most for Catholic University of America in nine years.
Mon, June 17, 2019
Bob Fisher
A 25-time Guinness World Record holder for free throw shooting, he began coaching basketball in 1982. He had played high school basketball and went on to play in recreational leagues until he was 44. Born and raised Catholic, he is a member of the Knights of Columbus and joined Teams of Our Lady with his wife a couple years ago. Listen to hear how he connects with the Bible story about the five talents. Bob's accomplishments have taken him to "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," a TV program in Beijing, China, an appearance at NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, and more that are told during this interview.
Mon, June 10, 2019
Mark Van Guilder
He played for the National Hockey League's Nashville Predators as well as many years with the American Hockey League's Milwaukee Admirals, plus he has been playing pro hockey overseas in Europe (Italy, Norway, Switzerland). A cradle Catholic, he played his college hockey at Notre Dame and never missed a game (163 consecutive games).
Mon, June 03, 2019
Megan Aaron
Having just finished her collegiate career, she was a Division I soccer player for Troy University in Alabama. Prior to that she played her senior season at Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School and served as the team's captain after having played three seasons at Whitney High School in Rocklin, California. Among other insights, she talks about marriage prep and her experience going on a mission trip this spring.
Mon, May 27, 2019
Bailey Landry
She has played softball for Team USA as well as professionally, plus she enjoyed a college career at LSU that consisted of three Women's College World Series appearances and her being named an All American two times. She is a relative newlywed and a cradle Catholic. Among other great reflections, she talks about the Catholic church in Thailand that she and her husband found on their honeymoon and why it was unique in terms of imagery.
Mon, May 20, 2019
Fr Chuck Dornquast
The team priest for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he also played football himself in high school. He was just ordained four years ago and is currently at St. Lawrence in Tampa, Florida. He talks about what his role with the team entails as well as how he juggles that with his responsibilities to his parish. Plus he tells the story of his favorite moment from being on the sidelines.
Mon, May 13, 2019
Dr Joe Estwanik
An orthopedic surgeon who is in the Carolina Boxing Hall of Fame. He is a past president of the Association of Ringside Physicians and was a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee Sports Medicine Society. Born and raised Catholic, he was a weightlifter back in his college days and has gone on to be involved with sports internationally, serving as a ringside doctor for boxing and MMA to the tune of over ten thousand bouts that he has been present for in his career as a ringside doctor. Some years ago he authored a book called, "Sports Medicine for the Combat Arts," and now, this month, he contributed a full chapter to a new worldwide textbook called, "The Sports Medicine Physician." He now has his sights on creating a website centered around physicians against abortion.
Mon, May 06, 2019
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.
Mon, April 29, 2019
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.
Mon, April 22, 2019
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.
Mon, April 15, 2019
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.
Mon, April 08, 2019
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.
Mon, April 01, 2019
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.
Mon, March 25, 2019
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.
Mon, March 18, 2019
Jimmy Osting
He's a cradle Catholic, having attended Catholic grammar and high schools, his kids are altar servers, and oh, he just happens to have pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres (drafted by the Atlanta Braves) and recently was a guest instructor at San Francisco Giants spring training. Listen to how he is teaching more than just baseball techniques to kids at his academy.
Mon, March 11, 2019
Jim Sweeney
Featured in an ESPN "30 for 30" called "Playing for the Mob," he stood strong during the Boston College (basketball) point-shaving scandal, sticking to his moral roots and not taking a bribe. He is still involved with the sport today as the Head of USA on the international board for FIMBA - the worldwide governing body for Masters basketball (with federations in 47 countries). Within the past two years he has not only recruited American senior players and organized USA teams, but, he has also played in FIMBA tournaments in Brazil, Costa Rica, Italy, Japan, and Serbia.
Mon, March 04, 2019
Joe DeLamielleure
A Pro Football Hall of Famer (Buffalo Bills, 1973-79, 1985 and Cleveland Browns, 1980-84) who is also being inducted into a Catholic hall of fame. He also is on the Board for an orphanage in Mexico, for which he helped raise funding by riding his bike there all the way from Michigan! He also obtains Super Bowl tickets every year to help in raising money, along with a NFL Legends Golf Outing, for that orphanage.
Mon, February 25, 2019
Mike Candrea
Coached Team USA to the Olympic gold medal in 2004 in Athens and the silver medal in 2008 in Beijing in women's softball, but, ten days before the 2004 Games he lost his wife unexpectedly to a brain aneurysm. Now entering his 34th season as the head softball coach (women's softball) at the University of Arizona, he is also the Division I wins leader in NCAA softball history and has been inducted into numerous Halls of Fame. He talks about his faith journey, including his involvement with the Knights of Columbus, his priority on getting to Mass despite softball games and tournaments being scheduled on the weekend, and more.
Mon, February 18, 2019
Rebecca Dussault
She skied in the Winter Olympics in 2006 in Torino (Italy) and is a world champion, being a multi-sport athlete. Among other topics, she discusses peer pressure she had to stay away from in her late teens relative to partying, the deeper she moved into her skiing pursuits and faith commitment. She is also a mother of five children with her sixth on the way. She mentions having recently moved to Idaho and a 55-acre site where they hope to host Catholic families to be renewed in recreation and faith ("learn to pray and play again").
Mon, February 11, 2019
Kyle Schmidt
Playing with some teammates who are now in the NHL, he scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Michigan in the 2011 NCAA Championship game in front of 19,000 fans at the Xcel Energy Center and went on to play pro hockey in Germany and Norway. You'll be surprised at the amazing perspective he gives on where that ranks on his "best days of my life" list. He also has great advice on making Mass the priority despite the demands of a tournament and/or sports-related travel.
Fri, February 01, 2019
Introducing Catholic Sports Radio
To launch the show, the host talks about Catholic Sports Radio's mission and what listeners can expect to hear (and how they can help) plus he talks about what qualifies him to lead this project in the first place (his Catholic life and his sports and broadcasting/podcasting background). He also cites examples and quotes from saints who are closely connected to sports, and there is a sportsman prayer that he prays at the end.
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