In conversations with Thom Sigel, I became aware of the FCA Coach's Huddle that he is a part of. Earlier, I did an interview with Thom where he discussed the group- how it worked, who was involved, and the impact the group had on him.
The conversation with Thom got me thinking about how religion and faith can impact individual coaches. In this blog, I have had an opportunity to see how five coaches feel their faith has impacted their coaching. Their thoughtfulness and caring for their student-athletes is inspiring.
Jason Marquis- Bureau Valley, Head Boys Basketball Coach. He has been coaching at BV for 16 years, and been their head coach for 12 years.
David Terronez- Bettendorf, Head Boys Cross Country and Track Coach. He has been in this position for the last 10 years. He also was Head Cross Country and Track Coach at Rock Island for 12 years, and has been involved coaching basketball during this time.
Ryan Kelley- Geneseo, Junior High Boys Basketball Coach and HS Golf Coach. Ryan has coached for 30 years as a HS boys and girls basketball coach.
Thom Sigel- Retired- Thom was Head Boys Basketball Coach at Rock Falls and Rock Island. (If he ever comes back, it would seem the only "Rock" left would be Rockridge.)
Andrew Hofer- He was formerly the Head Football Coach at Mercer County. Today he is director of Three Rivers FCA.
Massey- How has your faith impacted you both personally and professionally? How do you hope that your faith has influenced your coaching?
Ryan Kelley- My faith personally has affected my entire family, the way we strive to live each day and the choices we make. We are intentional about prayer, devotionals, spending time in the Bible and helping others in the community. I have been involved with an FCA Coaches Study over 20 years. I am involved with a TEC (Teens Encounter Christ) faith retreat program in the Quad Cities. I have coached at FCA Camp the past 3 summers. Our family helped introduce Dance Marathon to Geneseo High School. Our community and students have raised over $80,000 in 3 years for the Iowa City Children’s Hospital.
David Terronez- Faith - I have ups and downs like everyone else but I believe my Faith knowing that God has a plan for my life and it's for good - that doesn't mean the hard times are easier b/c I have to work at being positive, putting myself in situations where God can show me his plan. In athletics it has helped me to continue to coach b/c I know it's NOT about me - it's about the team and even the individuals on the team - help them to see God's plan in there life and it's not just HS athletics - they are just at the beginning ...
Andrew Hofer- My faith has been such an important part of my life. I have diligently tried to keep it at the forefront of everything that I do, both personally and professionally. Personally, my faith has impacted me tremendously. It's shaped how I interact with others, how I think, and how I try to carry myself on a daily basis. It's been the foundation of my marriage and now we're trying to help our 3 children in their faith so that they can have a Biblical foundation to build their lives upon. In life, there are so many challenges that arise at different points in life. Having a firm foundation in Christ, has allowed me to be able to lean into Him during times of trouble, struggles, and the many difficulties that life throws at us. My faith gives me hope, endurance, and an excitement to disciple those that I come into contact with.
Jason Marquis- Hebrews 11:1—Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Practically, I believe that faith takes some of the 'sting' out of a 'bad day' here on earth. It provides a perspective that is different from my instinctual response; what I see as disappointment may be exactly what I need through God's perfect plan.
Massey- Is there a Bible verse or verses which you have leaned on as a coach?
Ryan Kelley- “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” - Jeremiah 29:11
David Terronez- Bible verses I am working at - I like that running is used many times - Run to win the race but not the race you think but the one God has planned. The song I recite and it might be a verse - "I may not know what the day may bring but I know who brings the day" - I also like the verse - "know who is God and you are NOT"
Andrew Hofer- My favorite passage in the Bible is the entirety of Psalm 23.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Jason Marquis- Hebrews 11:6 is my favorite verse:
Again - that reward usually is not a win over our rival; it's more likely to be a young man who becomes an outstanding husband, father, community member, and follower of Christ.
With that said, the verse I repeat most to my young men is 'iron sharpens iron and one man sharpens another' or 'bad company corrupts good character'.
Thom Sigel- I believe two verses that have stuck with me the most are Jeremiah 29:11 - “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” This first stuck with me when a member at our church in Rock Falls shared this verse with me as I was contemplating making the move to Rock Island. It has been a reminder that even if the plan I would set for myself doesn’t go as planned, I can have confidence that God has a plan for me that is far greater.
Massey-I am a Christian in my faith, but too often I fail to be a Christian in my behavior. What are/were the situations in sports that have been challenges for you, and where you perhaps feel you came up short of what you want to be as a Christian?
Ryan Kelley- Early in my career, I know I was much more of a yeller from the bench. I also was way too hard on officials and did not give them their due respect. I tended to not offer enough GRACE to officials, my players or myself. I am not proud of how that looked or felt at the time. I do believe God humbles us continuously throughout our lives. I am humbled looking back at those times and know that I am a much better Christian example in competition now! I have a different calm with the entire environment. Athletics is now about working hard, learning, setting life priorities, offering grace and offering the encouragement to be a better player, a better coach and most importantly, a better overall person.
David Terronez- In the past 4 years at Bettendorf we are on our third student that has passed away - so this will be our third sticker on our uniforms as we just had a senior and a classmate of the seniors pass away two weeks ago - I use this time to show them nothing is promised and to focus on getting to do this sport/activity - as opposed to have to ...
Andrew Hofer- As coaches, we all go through many different ups and downs. There are many things that can cause this rollercoaster in our coaching careers. The largest issue I've had is identifying with results. Win, and I couldn't wait to go out in town. To interact with the people who were in the stands on Friday was fun after the wins. We relished in it. It felt good. Winning should feel good. It's the product of a completed process that takes months to prepare for. It takes a serious amount of energy and hard work. Winning should not be my identity. When it all comes to be said and done, I don't want to be known as the coach who just "won" on the field.
Jason Marquis- I have a terrible habit of saying 'Jesus Christ' when frustrated. I set out in 2023-2024 to eliminate that response when I was frustrated. In January, I slipped up at halftime of a game in frustration. Hours after the game, my assistant coach had the courage and confidence in our friendship to bring my shortcomings up to me. I had to come back the following day with my 7-year-old son (who was in the locker room at halftime) and my team and apologize for the poor example of letting my frustration take control of my words. As one of my players reminded me in that meeting, 'Thank goodness for God's grace.'
Massey- As coaches, we can have a powerful influence on young people. How do you or did you, walk the line in a public school of wanting to be an example of your faith to your athletes but not infringing on their freedom to believe what they want to believe?
Ryan Kelley- I have been in several different public schools and my faith in coaching/teaching has looked a little different at each stop. I have hosted an FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) for our program at a couple schools, inviting players to join if desired. Some groups would be small, some would start small and grow through players' discipleship. At other schools, the community or school FCA would be extremely involved and present to our athletes and I was able to insert myself as a piece to that great environment. I have invited players to attend church with my family. I have offered prayer to players and their family in tough situations. I continue to reach out to players long after they have left the program to offer support, encouragement and prayer.
I am not apologetic for being Christian and I try to be Christian in my actions, words, how I treat people and how I handle intense situations. A quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, “Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words”, speaks to what I try to do daily.
David Terronez- My walk in public as I get older my circle is smaller and I want to continue to improve so I surround myself with like minded people and positive situations.
Andrew Hofer- This can be a pretty touchy subject depending on what school you're working at. I think, in general, the best thing we can do as believers is to be loving and try show the Christ-like qualities that Jesus exemplified in the Gospel. As coaches who are believers, we should stand out. We should be different. I'm not saying that we are a show, but people should, at the very least, be able to tell there's something different about a coach who is a believers versus someone who doesn't have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Jason Marquis- My school has been amazing in allowing me to be genuinely who I am with my team. John 13:35 - "By this, all people will know you are my disciples if you have a love for one another." Every school should want their coaches to 'love' their student-athletes well, put their needs ahead of our own, care about them, discipline them, and offer them perspective on how the lessons learned within a team and within a sport will prepare them for the challenges and joys that lie ahead in school, in parenting, in the workforce, and in marriages. I believe our administration realizes that faith provides a strong base for being a 3-dimensional coach.
Thom Sigel- It can be a fine line in the public school setting with how much we can share our faith. I believe trying to live a life that honors Christ through our coaching is something that players will likely notice. I know the players would see the negatives as well, but I hope they were aware of my Christianity. There would be times I would touch on it without imposing my views, so they would hear it as well. As a young coach, I was aware about how prayer can make waves in the public school setting, so we would always have a moment of silence in the locker room before each game. I am sure our players saw it as a short personal prayer time (whether they chose to use it individually or not), but I never heard a word from administration about it.
Massey- A popular thing in sports is to use just single words to be reminders of team culture. Examples for a basketball team might be “defense”, “pressure”, “team”, “composure”, “toughness.” My question for you- (Not using Jesus) Are there 2-3 words you would hope were at the center of your team’s culture which express both your faith and team’s culture?
Ryan Kelley- Integrity/The Right Way, Discipline/Commitment, Hope/Encouragement
David Terronez- I use a word of the year 2024 - Trust. 2023 - Faith -2022 Hope and 2021 - Love just to name a few
Andrew Hofer- A word that would really define what I liked to see in our team's culture and would be at the center of my own personal faith culture is grit. Just like in sports, we face so many different challenges on a daily basis. It can be tough to handle what's going on in our lives, let alone the lives of many teenagers that we are leading. Grit is a pretty common word into today's culture. When I think of that word though, I think of the word overcomer. Jesus overcame sin and death to give us new life through Him. In coaching we have to overcome mental hurdles on the court/field, challenges our student-athletes are facing, varying skill levels, opponents, and thousands of other variables that may come up among our team. When coaching, you wanted your team to have grit. To be able to overcome adversity. To move onto the next play because the last one was over. To have a short memory. To learn from our mistakes. To work relentlessly towards the goal.
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