Sports as Ministry (SAM)
Coaching For Character (C4C)
Parent Like a Champion Today™
Play Like a Champion Today™ High School Program
Sports
as Ministry
(SAM)
Religiously
sponsored youth sports recognize a special call
to promote spiritual as well as moral values through
sports. The Play Like A Champion Today™ Sports as Ministry program was designed specifically
for use in Catholic parishes and dioceses. It helps
coaches, parents, and athletes to appreciate the
underlying spiritual dimension of sports. Pope John Paul II, an avid sports participant
throughout his life, said:
Sports,
because of the wholesome elements it gives value
to and exalts, may become more and more a vital
instrument for the moral and spiritual elevation
of the human person...
The Church approves and encourages sports
seeing in it a form of gymnastics of the mind
and of the spirit.
Coaches
and parents have the honor and responsibility
of “initiating” children into our great sports,
their traditions, and legends.
Part of that initiation process is helping
children to discover for themselves the nobility
and grace that shines through sports experiences.
The exertion, the exhilaration of sports activity
brings an awareness of the Transcendent within,
of “the divine image” present in every person
(Catholic Catechism, 1978).
Recent
research suggests that the culture of Catholic-sponsored sports programs is no better, and in
some instances may even be worse, than non-religiously
affiliated sports programs.
The Play
Like A Champion TodayTM Sports as Ministry program aims to address this situation by providing
detailed, hands-on, instruction for those in charge
of Catholic youth sports. The series adopts a
“Sports as Ministry” approach that centers on
the notion that, in a Christian context, coaches
are not only teachers but ministers. At its most
basic level, the coach is a youth minister,
serving young people by helping them to develop
themselves as athletes and team members.
Clike here to download a Power Point Overview of our SAM Program
Click here to download our SAM Program Overiew
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COACHING FOR CHARACTER (C4C)
Click here to download our C4C Program Overview
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PARENT LIKE A CHAMPION TODAYTM
The Parent
Like A Champion TodayTM program is meant to help parents see their children's sports programs as a part of the Church's ministry to youth. After exposure to the program, parents should be able to understand the current culture of youth sport, bear witness to the spiritual nature of sport, and to carry-out new techniques of a Champion Sport Parent.
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PLAY LIKE A CHAMPION TODAY™HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM
Click here to download a Power Point introduction to our High School Program
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