Chris Nikic is the first person with Down Syndrome to complete an Ironman Triathlon. Today, Chris and his dad Nik share their inspirational story and why they want to help others achieve their dreams and overcome mental hurdles.
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Johnny Shelton is in his 9th season as the team chaplain of the Baltimore Ravens. He joins us today to talk about pastoring with the Ravens, what discipleship looks like within the organization and the gratification that comes from seeing a player begin a journey with Jesus.
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Lee De Leon is the Deputy Athletic Director with Middle Tennessee State. He's also the President and Co-Founder of ADs4Christ, a non-profit organization that develops current and future collegiate athletic directors through spiritual growth and fellowship.
Lee has had previous stops at Louisiana-Lafayette, Abilene Christian, Purdue, New Mexico, Arizona and LSU.
Today on the podcast, we talk to Lee about his role with ADs4Christ and why he felt compelled to start this ministry for people in the role that he's been in.
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Sydney McLaughlin is a two-time Olympic Gold Medal track and field athlete. In the summer of 2021, Sydney set a world record time of 51:46 seconds in the 400 m hurdles in winning gold. She also was a member of the 4x4000 m relay team that captured gold. In 2016, she qualified for the Rio Olympics before her senior year of high school and became the youngest athlete to make the American Olympic track and field team since 1980.
At the age of 17, Sydney was on the cover of Sports Illustrated and was deemed as "one of the most dominant high school athletes ever." She was named the Gatorade National Female Athlete of the Year in 2015-16 and 2016-17. Her father Willie was a semi-finalist in the 400 m in the 1984 Olympic Trials and her mom was also a high school runner.
On this episode of the podcast, we talked to Sydney about winning Olympic Gold, getting engaged to her fiancé Andre, how her journey of faith has evolved and why she wants to live only for the approval of Christ.
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Quarterback Drew Stanton is our guest today to talk about winning a Super Bowl ring with the Buccaneers in 2020, keeping the door open if a team called in 2021, and his work with Water Mission, a Christian engineering company that provides access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene solutions in developing countries and disaster areas.
You can learn more and donate to Water Mission's cause at their website: WaterMission.org.
Today on this Football Friday podcast, Jade McCarthy talks to Arizona Cardinals Ring of Honor inductee Carson Palmer about his retirement from football, watching NFL games with his kids, how his faith guided him in his career and his role with Compassion International's Fill the Stadium campaign.
We are presented today by Compassion International. Check out http://FillTheStadium.com to learn how you can help a child in need
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Stan Johnson is the mens basketball coach at Loyola Marymount University in California. Born in Liberia, West Africa, Stan played his college basketball at Southern Utah and Bemidji State before embarking on a coaching career that would take him to such schools as Cal State Northridge, Utah, Drake, Arizona State and Marquette.
On March 20, 2020, he was named Loyola Marymount's head basketball coach, his first head coaching job. In his first season, he led his team to a 13-9 record and the Lions finished in the top three of the West Coast Conference standings for the first time since 2005-06 and posted a winning record in the WCC for the first time since 2011-12.
Today on the podcast, we talk to coach Stan Johnson about his faith in Christ, how it guides him as a coach, what leadership looks like to him and staying the course on the journey.
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Scott Drew is the men's head basketball coach at Baylor University. In 2020-21, he led the Baylor Bears to college basketball's national championship.
Today on the podcast, Scott Drew shares what the last few months as national champions have been like, what it means to have a culture of J.O.Y and why God has brought him and kept him as Baylor's coach.
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Greg Stier is the founder of Dare 2 Share Ministries and the author of the new book UNLIKELY FIGHTER: The story of how a fatherless street kid overcame violence, chaos and confusion to become a radical Christ follower. The book releases Nov. 9, 2021
Today on the podcast, we talk to Greg about his new book, his incredible story of overcoming violence and becoming a follower of Christ and how his desire now to share Jesus with everyone he comes in contact, led him to write his new book and to begin his ministry Dare2Share.
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Today on the podcast, Brock Huard talks to his former teammate Matthew Hasselbeck about being inducted into the Seahawks Ring of Honor, the 2021 NFL season, how the Lord guided his career and the spiritual journey he's been on.
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Brad Soucie is the Associate head basketball coach at Liberty University. He began his coaching career in 1995 and has the distinction of serving as an assistant under current Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay every day of his head coaching career. The partnership began in 1995 when the two helped resurrect the program at Portland State, which had been dormant for 15 years. He followed McKay to Colorado State, Oregon State, and New Mexico, before joining him in his first stint with the Flames (2007-09). Soucie also served with Virginia and returned with McKay in 2015.
He has helped Liberty to three straight NCAA Tournament berths and been an integral part in helping the Flames stay atop the Atlantic Sun conference.
In August of 2020, Soucie's wife Kendra passed away after being diagnosed with breast cancer a few years earlier in 2018.
Today we talk to Brad Soucie about his journey from playing to coaching basketball, the lessons learned from Ritchie McKay, learning of his wife's cancer diagnosis and the process of grief that he has walked through in trusting Jesus to guide him.
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Bubba Watson is a PGA Tour Pro who has 14 Tour wins including the 2012 and 2014 Masters. His new book Up and Down: Victories and Struggles in the Course of Life releases November 2, 2021.
Today on the podcast, we talk to Bubba about his new book and why he wanted to share his pain with the world. We talk faith and Bubba shares his testimony. We talk mental health and why it was important for him to bring Christ into his battle. Finally we talk adoption and why he and his wife decided to make adoption an option.
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Jonathan Tjarks is a staff writer with The Ringer. In April of 2021, he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer (sarcoma, a rare kind of tumor usually found in children and teens).
Today, Jonathan Tjarks shares his story of coming to faith and how his walk with Christ has helped him push forward during his battle with cancer.
You can read the piece he wrote for The Ringer back in May of 2021, "The Long Night of the Soul” here.
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Today on the podcast, we talk to Westlake (TX) high school QB and 5-star Clemson recruit Cade Klubnik about his 2021 season, recovering from injury, being recruited by Clemson, winning the state championship and the importance of playing for an audience of one, Jesus.
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Keith Madison served for 25 years as the head baseball coach with the University of Kentucky. Hired at the age of 26 in 1979, he was the youngest head baseball coach in NCAA Division One at the time.
He is the winningest coach in Kentucky Wildcasts history with 737 career victories and was inducted into the Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the University of Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame.
For many years after coaching, Keith served with SCORE international, a Christian Mission Organization leading players and coaches on short term baseball mission trips to the Dominican Republic.
Today on the podcast, Keith shares about his coaching journey, growing up in the 60's, signing a pro baseball contract at 17 years old, walking with God during his wife's breast cancer battle and finding his identity in something other than baseball.
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David Klingler played seven seasons in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals, Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers. He was selected 6th overall in the 1992 NFL Draft by the Bengals after a stellar college career at the University of Houston that saw him set multiple records and finish as a Heisman Finalist in 1990.
Among the records Klingler set at Houston include him throwing for 11 touchdown passes in one game on November 17, 1990 against Eastern Washington. In December 1990, he set the NCAA D-1 record for most yards gained a single game with 716 (since surpassed in 2014).
After his playing career, David obtained his Masters in Theology in 2004 and a PhD in Old Testament Studies in 2010 from Dallas Theological Seminary, where is currently an Associate Professor of Bible Exposition.
Today on the podcast, we talk to David Klingler about his incredible college football career, getting drafted 6th overall in 1992 by the Bengals and his desire to teach people how to read and understand God's word.
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Morgan Burns is a former cornerback and kick returner for the Kansas State Wildcats. His senior year, he returned four kickoffs for touchdowns and earned Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year from the league's coaches.
After going undrafted in 2016, he signed with the Tennessee Titans but just a few weeks later, he walked away from pro football to pursue ministry where he spent time as a youth pastor at City Church in Wichita, Kansas.
He is currently the lead pastor of a church plant in Wichita (Redeemer Church).
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Jade McCarthy talks to Louisiana football coach Billy Napier about growing up in a faith-based family, the impact his dad had on him as a leader, lessons learned from Dabo Swinney and Nick Saban and the gift of opportunity.
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Tyler Zombro is a pitcher with the Tampa Bay Rays organization. He pitched in college with George Mason University and then signed with the Rays in 2017. After going a few years through the minor league system, Zombro reached as high as AAA in 2019 and in 2021, was back in AAA pitching with the Durham Bulls.
On June 3, 2021, Tyler was facing Brent Cumberland of the Norfolk Tides when a pitch was hit back up the middle at over 100 mph and hit Zombro in the right side of the head just above the ear knocking him unconscious. After being taken to the hospital, neurosurgeons at Duke University Hospital installed 16 plates and 36 screws during 2 1/2 hours of emergency surgery to stabilize Zombro’s skull
Today on the podcast, we talk to Tyler about his journey of baseball, wisdom from his grandfather Wimpy, that scary day in June 2021, his desire to possibly pitch again, the prayer he prays on the mound, and how his faith in God has shown him that he's here for a bigger purpose than baseball.
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Monty Williams is entering his third season as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns. In 2020-21, he led the Suns to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1993 and finished second behind Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau for the NBA's Coach of the Year award.
Prior to his time in Phoenix, Williams had coaching stops in New Orleans, Portland and Oklahoma City. The former player was a No. 1 draft pick by the New York Knicks back in 1994. He played for 10 seasons with the Knicks, Spurs, Nuggets, Magic and 76ers before retiring after the 2003 season.
Today on the podcast, we talk to Monty Williams about success, humility, the 2021 NBA Finals experience, serving others and the legacy he wants to leave.
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Jon Seidl is the author of "Finding Rest: A Survivor's Guide to Navigating the Valleys of Anxiety, Faith and Life." He is also a huge Green Bay Packers fan and has worked with popular organizations like I Am Second and TheCourage and some of the media's biggest names including Glenn Beck, Kirk Cameron and Chip and Joanna Gaines.
Today on the podcast, Jon shares about his experience attending the Packers Super Bowl parade in 2011, his love for Milwaukee sports, experiencing tragedy and how God has helped him find rest in overcoming the losses of those closest to him.
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This week's show is a story of trusting in God's plan and following a new direction with former NFL wide receiver Chansi Stuckey.
Chansi discusses his new coaching role with Baylor, the 5-1 start for the Bears, how God took him through uncertainty and brought him into coaching and what he learned from playing with Brett Favre during his time with the Jets.
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Jeff Allen has been the Director of Sports Medicine with the University of Alabama since 2007. During his time at Alabama as their head Athletic Trainer, he's been a part of six national championships and is considered one of the most respected athletic trainers in the country.
Prior to this time with the Crimson Tide, Allen served as the head athletic trainer at Tennessee-Chattanooga and Central Florida.
Today on the podcast, we talk to Jeff about his journey to Alabama, why Nick Saban believed in him, how playing football helped guide him to becoming an athletic trainer and why his faith is crucial to the way he does his job and lives his life.
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Johnathan Franklin is a former NFL running back. He was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. In college at UCLA, Franklin had a standout career rushing for a school record 4,403 yards and 31 touchdowns.
In his senior year of 2012, he led UCLA to a Pac-12 South Division championship rushing for 1,734 yards and 13 touchdowns. Expectations were high for the Los Angeles native and when he arrived at Green Bay, he immediately made an impact, rushing for 103 yards in Week 3 against Cincinnati. But in week 12 against the Vikings, Franklin suffered a neck injury that would end his football playing career at the age of 24.
Today on the podcast, we talk to Johnathan Franklin about his career-ending injury, what he learned from God during that dark time, how he was able to push forward and find new purpose and why he's excited to be in his front office role with the Los Angeles Rams.
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Caleb Kaltenbach is the executive director of the Messy Grace Group and the author of God of Tomorrow and Messy Grace, the story of being raised by three activist gay parents, accepting Jesus, and seeing his parents trust Jesus.
Today on the podcast, Jason and Caleb share their mutual love for football, Star Wars, Karate Kid, Marvel movies and whether Patrick Mahomes is the greatest KC Chiefs player ever. Then halfway through the podcast, we hear Caleb's incredibly powerful story and talk about his books Messy Grace and Messy Truth.
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