Student athletes get in the spirit
Two football players who participated in the FCA football camp preceding the 2009-2010 school year practice drills after school.
December 14, 2009 • written by Lauren Haley
Filed under Sports
The stereotypical jock cares about nothing but the sport. He or she stays late after school for practice, travels all over for games and tournaments, and works hard to build a better body. Athletes who care about their spiritual well-being as much as their physical well-being are rare.
Not so much at Bartlett High School.
At Bartlett, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes boasts 93 members who serve the community. This year, they collected money for turkeys for needy families on Thanksgiving.
“We raised $1400 and fed 25 families for Thanksgiving,” said Coach Amye Patterson, the FCA sponsor.
In addition to performing community service, athletes in FCA seek to enhance their spiritual lives.
Last summer, Bartlett United Methodist Church hosted an FCA Team Camp for the Bartlett High School Football team. They worked out and went to chapel, and in the end the majority agreed that it helped the team.
“It was a great experience, we had well over half the team convert on that trip, and it was just fun being with the team all weekend,” said sophomore Matthew Webb.
FCA has started a website similar to Myspace for FCA members called FCAlife.com. To begin FCAlife.com, FCA partnered up with Tangle.com, an online community for Christians, and created a place where coaches and athletes can interact safely with one another.
Also, FCA has introduced OneWay2Play (OW2P), a campaign which encourages student athletes to stay drug and alcohol free. OW2P attempts to confront drug and alcohol use by instilling values such as faith, accountability, commitment, and positive peer pressure so that athletes can perform to the best of their ability.
Patterson said she enjoys heading this club because she likes to see the impact it has on the student’s lives.
“I like watching how young men and ladies have an impact for Christ and show His light on campus,” Patterson said.
At Bartlett, FCA meetings are held every Wednesday morning with Patterson. Speakers come and talk to students while they enjoy breakfast.
“It’s a good way to learn without being in a church setting,” said Webb
FCA offers its support for athletes who want to fortify their faith as well as their muscles.
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