Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Connecting Spirituality within Sport: The PLC High School Athlete Retreat

Notre Dame High School in St. Louis, MO in partnership with Play Like A Champion Today(TM)is conducting retreats for their student athletes. Athletic Director, Ed Behr, and Campus Minister, Liz Miller, have united to conduct retreats at the beginning of each athletic season: fall, winter and spring. I had the pleasure to be a part of their winter retreat. Athletes took a break from studying for finals and came together to pray, to reflect upon who they are as people and as teammates and to set goals on who they want to become throughout the sport season. The athletes also heard testimony from a former collegiate soccer player on how he became more fully Christian through his sport experience, despite ever present pressures.

"Thus, I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing." 1 Cor. 9:26). The retreat served as a break from the business of a high school athlete's life filled with school work, exams, practice, games and other commitments. It offered a time and a space to reflect upon God's role in sport and how God is forming these young athletes to become disciples not only on their team, but in the world.

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