FCA/Hume Lake Girls Team Soccer Camp

High School Girls. Coaches. Soccer. Teambuilding. Campfires. High Ropes Course. Silly Games. INTENSE competition.  Amazing Food and Scenery.

Really…what more could you ask for?  I totally got to speak for this camp.   50 coaches and athletes representing 3 HS girls’ soccer teams descended upon the beauty that is Hume Lake a couple weekends ago.  My job?  To speak both mornings after breakfast in the optional chapel time.  So a girls’ gotta earn a right to be heard, right?  So the rest of my job?  To play with them all weekend!  Ropes course it up, participate in their soccer practices, do marshmallow’s over their campfires and help the coach’s team hold the campers’ team scoreless in indoor soccer!  (click on any picture to see it larger)

 

crazy game i don’t remember the name of :)

Bumper Tubes

Deer on the soccer field!!!

One of our high schools

Climbing the wall!

The Screamer!

Me getting to speak to the girls

Get your grub on

As for the speaking, every last one of them stayed to hear me talk about the trust and team and friendship they were experiencing all weekend…and to speak about my BEST friend who has ALWAYS been deserving of my trust…Jesus.  I got to remind them of the harness they wore on the high ropes course.  If you haven’t ever done high ropes, put that on your bucket list!!  You’ll do things like climb a wall, and the harness is there as a fail-safe, just in case you fall.  But then, you perform other elements like the girls’ favorite, the ”screamer”, where the harness is intended to hold your full weight as you trust it and the Belay Guide truly with your life (well, the solidarity of your bones and joints at the very least).  And THAT is the picture when the writer of Proverbs says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart” (3:5-6). 

So that was my challenge to them and to you to…is Jesus your fail-safe just-in-case kinda Savior?  Or have you placed your entire weight on Him?  Why would you really?  I mean entirely turn over the shot-calling rights to YOUR life?  Only if that Person is Good, trustworthy, and reliable.  The best I can do by myself is SO not worth even camparing next to the best God can do with me as I entrust myself to Him.  Are you “all in”?  

Ps- It blew my mind as I had real talk with some of the girls/caoches and I told them it doesn’t promise that life will be better, definitely not easier, just that Jesus said He’d never leave you and never forsake you…and 20 of them said, I still want Him!  Kind cool.

Back to School

Ready for the past 2 weeks???

• South Bay Coaches Huddle- yeah, we had around 40 RSVP, but we had to start unloading more chairs to cram 105 people into Westgate Church’s lobby so they could hear from Tom Randall (chaplain on the Sr PGA tour).  I’ve never heard a guy with such joy speak so winsomely.  MANY coaches left inspired and shifted in their mindset.  Incredible.
• Contra Costa Minister’s Conference- Ron and Pat Regan host a monthly luncheon for ministers from all over Contra Costa County.  James Hodgins (Former San Jose State and NFL football player, and current HS coach), our friend Pedro and myself all got to speak for these people.  It’s one of those times you’re amazed that you are a 30 yr old girl who is getting to address this room…because it doesn’t make sense, I mean, who are YOU to be doing this…but then you sit down, knowing you challenged them to come out of the box, hope you did it in a winsome way, and pray they respond to God.  All three of us really felt that way.  But it was an awesome opportunity to share with a community what ridiculousness God is doing through FCA in their local schools.  (And for my Clemson/Newspring friends…I think this helped me understand what Brad or Perry mean when they talk of saying what God put on their hearts boldly)
• Coaches- it was so much fun for me…having a girl literally chase me down after church one sunday saying “I know you…but where from?” Turns out we had worked an FCA camp together in South Carolina…what were we both doing in Cali?  Well she’s finishing college and turns out she’s coaching at a local high school.  How much fun was it to sit down over lunch with her, talk life, coaching, and make a new friend?  I tell you, I LOVE MY JOB!
• Brentwood Coach’s Huddle- honestly, this monthly huddle hasn’t exactly taken off.  But last week was awesome as by the end of our small group’s time together, we had not only encouraged and challenged each other, but had begun to put movement to organizing leadership teams for 3 HighSchools where there is someone who wants to have FCA on their campus!
• High Schools- I inherited about 4-5 high schools in my two counties…since arriving in Cali, that number will seriously double in the next couple of months.  Rigo and I have gotten to do several training sessions with high school leaders for leading FCA on their campus…these students are STUDS!
• San Jose State University- 6am here we come!  Gotta love college athletics and morning practices!  Rigo and I got to meet the women’s water polo team.  He and Clay have gotten to meet several of the men’s teams.  We’re gonna get to meet all the Club sports leaders.  We had a preliminary leadership meeting.  And the first Huddle is the 14th- pray us up!

Just a few highlights to share with you.  No day is the same, that’s for sure.  Personally, just having fun exploring the beauty that is God’s creation in California…being blessed to make new friends to enjoy all that with…AND getting to still hear about all that’s going on back at Auburn and Clemson.  Polished off a couple books I’ll have to share more about later (Wild Goose Chase- Mark Batterson and Sit, Walk, Stand- Watchman Nee).  Here’s to all the adventures this next week will hold!

Speed Camp

So we did a couple speed camps as well this summer, partnering with Competitive Edge Sports .  These guys were traveling all over the West Coast doing Speed Camps and we got to tag team with them to offer an FCA camp.  One washeld at Propect HS in san Jose, the other at Liberty HS in Brentwood.  I think one of our Liberty HS coaches worded it best in an email about the camp at his school, so I leave you with his words and some pictures from both camps:

 “The camp focused on being a complete athlete through developing body mind and spirit. The athletes experienced some great training through CES (www.competitiveedgesports.com), training usually reserved for pro athletes. But more impressive was the awesome word of God. We had a total of 31 athletes attend from the ages 8-17. 25 of which signed a card saying they made a commitment to receive Christ. Thank you for taking the time to plant a seed in a child.  Clay Elliot, Joe Seeley, Jason Dillard, Guy McIntyre, Pedro Adao, and Jim Snyder were all dynamic speakers that enabled these young athletes to see God through there testimony. It was an amazing time to watch God work through sports and people.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Camp

We hosted for the 3rd year at Monterey Bay Academy.  FCA is really new to Northern California, so it has been incredible to be a part of growing it.  In an email from our camp director, it was written: 158 athletes at camp, 31 made first time commitments, 24 recommitments…1 pleased Head Coach above!

Now if you’re asking me, that’s pretty ridiculous!

It was incredible to be a part of this camp, to meet the other FCA staff in Northern California, to watch High School athletes walk in to camp with a hard attitude, and walk out with a smile on their face, a changed life, having learned something of their sport and of life!  And a personal favorite, to get to speak into the lives of our collegiate athletes as they serve all week long!  Enjoy some pics…and a couple comments from a camper :)

All the Athletes and Huddle Leaders who went to camp from the Bay Area!

The College Huddle Leaders who served all week at camp!

Me with Kylie, one of our San Jose State Volleyball players at camp

“I wanted thank FCA for a great experience….I have had one of the best experiences of my life.  When I went to FCA I was just looking forward to the sports. But I actually liked the chapel time more than the sports time.  The chapel time was really fun. But still had its messages and all of those messages made me realize that I need God in my life all the time also that I cant put him in a box anymore. Since going to camp I have not put God in a box I have been reading my bible at least every day.”