Dallas Steward’s path to the Sioux Falls Stampede bench began as a player chasing his NHL dreams. After a successful career in college and in the minors, the Chippewa Falls, Wis., native decided to hang up the skates and pick up a whistle. Transitioning from player to coach has been a learning experience, but the same passion with which he played is now being translated to his players through his Christ-like modeling of dedication and determination.

One win from a storybook finish to his collegiate career at Cal Poly, Chase Pami lost the 157-pound NCAA title match in 2010. That loss—and his subsequent wrestling with the Lord over it—eventually spurred the Las Vegas native to new depths in his faith. Now training with Team USA to compete in the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Pami is teaming with FCA Wrestling to share Christ from his new platform.

“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 (NIV)

MidAmerica Nazarene University volleyball coach Kristin Steele’s favorite verse from Scripture is Jeremiah 29:11, in which the Lord declares, “For I know the plans I have for you…” She’s living proof, as she followed His guiding, not her own, from standout collegiate volleyball player to collegiate volleyball coach years ago. Now in her third season at MNU, Steele is pushing her Pioneers to new levels of success on the court and deeper relationships with the Lord away from it.

Chosen Topic: Teamwork

Dictionary definition: “The cooperative or effort of a group of persons acting in the interests of a common cause.”

My definition: “Putting the team’s goals and needs above my own. It goes hand in hand with selflessness and can be seen in every player and coach on successful teams.”

The late John Wooden believed success was contingent on timing;every play required precision. Wooden drilled his players in practice, repeating schemes step-by-step until everyone was in sync, every movement a flawless execution.

WNBA guard Monica Wright knows about timing, too.

For the three Witten brothers, family life was once enjoyable. Growing up in Vienna, Va., a bustling suburb of Washington, D.C., their childhoods were filled with rambunctiousness and athletics. Their father, Ed, was a huge sports fan, so he signed up Ryan, Shawn and Jason for two football leagues — a city league in Vienna and a Fairfax County league. He put them in two basketball leagues, too. He taught the boys to run, throw, catch and dribble. It was a warm slice of Americana. But, over time, the Hallmark moments were less and less frequent. Ed and his wife, Kim, hit financial straits. Alcohol and drugs added to a charged atmosphere.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” – Ephesians 6:10 (NIV)

This season hasn’t exactly turned out the way Iowa State volleyball player Rachel Hockaday planned. As a junior outside hitter, Hockaday was set to be a key component in the Cyclones’ success but suffered a season-ending knee injury just 12 points into the first match of the year. As STV’s November “Heart of an Athlete,” Hockaday had fielded our interview before the season, but, after the circumstances changed, she was kind enough to give us a few more minutes on the phone and tell us how the Lord has worked through this new challenge.

On a recent Monday evening, 5’9” University of Maine guard Amanda Tewksbury stood before the school’s entire men’s hockey team and shared her faith in Jesus Christ. Her powerful stance belied her diminutive frame as she boldly shared about FCA, about God and about how He has worked in her life.

“Maybe not physically, but spiritually, Amanda Tewksbury is as tough as any football player out there,” Maine FCA Area Representative Bob McClure said. “She’s not afraid of sharing her faith. As she approaches other athletes and coaches on campus, she’s not afraid to show who she is.”

Failure threatened to expose Coach Scott Glabb. He slumped against the door frame of the Santa Ana High School wrestling room and watched the last of his wrestlers exit the school after practice. But could he even call it a practice? He’d wasted the first 15 minutes searching for the keys to his office after his athletes had locked him out … again. And when he’d finally gotten to the wrestling room, he’d found that half of his team was missing. Of the few who had shown up, two were set to exchange blows over allegedly stolen wrestling shoes, and one appeared to be intoxicated.

Rigo Lopez sounded tired, but satisfied. It was a crisp November evening in Palo Alto, Calif., and Lopez, an upbeat Bay Area FCA area representative, had just concluded two long days of camps. Coordinating a four-hour baseball clinic at Santa Clara University that featured major leaguers, minor leaguers and college players as instructors would have been plenty of work by itself. But the next day, Lopez and the local FCA saff hosted a similar four-hour softball camp 30 minutes away at Stanford University.

Have you ever fallen into the pit of despair, landing in a pool of your toxic mistakes and filthy sin? There in the depths you gaze in doubt at the slippery walls of consequence that rise 20 feet above you on all sides. “I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold,” describes the psalmist in 69:2 (NIV).

We’ve all been down there—we’ve all experienced deep anguish. But, if you read further, you find that the psalmist escapes. “Praise the Lord, O my soul,” he shouts, “who redeems your life from the pit!” (103:2-4, NIV).

The story told in the Psalms is familiar to Mississippi State senior Alexandria Hagler.