In 1954 a Christian organization was founded on the basic premise of furthering the cause of Jesus Christ in the lives of athletes. The development of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) has grown rapidly over the past 56 years to the point where FCA impacts nearly 2 million people annually as the organization has grown into the largest sports ministry in the world. The idea of impacting the world for Christ is not lost on us at Erskine. While I have been involved with FCA since my days as a collegiate athlete, I was impressed 12 years ago during my first week on campus that then FCA president, Adam Hare, was one of the first people to introduce himself to me. Even then, FCA was drawing nearly 75 kids to weekly huddle meetings.

Through the past few years we have seen tremendous leadership in FCA by students like Matt Herring, Kendal Shaffer, and current leader Shawn Glover. Those three leaders also were and, in Shawn’s case, still are, inspirational leaders on their teams. They have led growth in FCA on campus by not excluding non-athletes from the organization. In fact, a large proportion of those attending FCA weekly are not student-athletes. Some would argue that FCA is for athletes and coaches only but in fact the vision of FCA is to use the influence of athletes and coaches to impact the world for Jesus Christ. I learned that lesson many years ago when I was asked during my college years to speak at a youth retreat at a church in Tennessee. Upon the invitation I asked the youth pastor what it was I supposed to talk about. I was instructed to talk about how a competitive athlete could be a practicing Christian. That seemed like a fairly tall task for a college student who had never even thought about it before. For so long I had never thought an athlete could display their Christianity through the avenue of sport. My attitude towards athletics changed because of that retreat talk. I realized that demonstrating Christian morals and values needed to be part of my athletic existence, and I could use my sport as a platform to impact other people in following Christ.

So I am in awe of Kendal, Matt, and Shawn who learned that lesson far earlier than I. Because of their actions, FCA is booming at Erskine. So much so that one night in September, 19 young people gave their lives to Christ on campus. It didn’t matter whether they played sports at Erskine or not. What mattered is that they all joined together to play on the best team of all. On God’s team, losing will never be the issue. So keep “Unleashing the Power” Erskine FCA; what a tremendous movement of God you are a part of.

Thanksgiving week is here so I’m going to join the chorus of people writing about for what they are thankful. We should do it more than just this week but this holiday reminds us to be thankful for our bountiful blessings.

I am thankful for:

The Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. We don’t deserve any of the blessings we have.

Our coaching staff…. I am extremely lucky to work with an incredible coaching staff. They all should be paid and appreciated more. Most people have no idea how much time a college coach puts into their craft. I always smile when I hear fans come to games and know exactly what the coach should do better, as if that coach hasn’t spent hours thinking about it. So thanks Erskine coaches for putting your hearts and souls into your teams and the impact you make on your student-athletes.

Flying Fleet student-athletes who spend long hours practicing and playing representing Erskine and still have to put in the hours to succeed in the classroom. You can find the true student-athlete at Erskine because I can assure you nobody cuts them any slack on our faculty.

Aramark Facilities…since Aramark took over the facilities at Erskine the Galloway Center has never looked better. Our facility is first-rate and looks great everyday.

Randy Moore…you can’t list all that Randy Moore does for Erskine Athletics, it’s absolutely incredible.

Erskine Athletic Training Staff…they have such a hard job but do it so well, everyday.

Bart Walker and Thomas Holland…we have a small support staff who are asked to do so much.

Dr. Gid Alston…the chair of our department is a great role model and mentor.

Dr. Richard Taylor, Dr. Larry Nycum, and Steve Southwell…Faithful Fleet

“The Fleeter”…still running after all these years.

Maggie, Hope, Jenkins, and Max…nobody has it better than me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

‘So you want to be a coach?’ It is a question I often jokingly ask coaches on our staff when we find ourselves dealing with crazy issues or our way too busy lives. It is 10:00 pm on a Sunday night and I just experienced a weekend that made that question come to my mind. My personal and professional lives intertwined me in a long weekend. It all got started Friday night as our men’s basketball team played East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. It was a great experience for our team, playing a Division I Conference USA opponent in front of a huge crowd on opening night. Don’t be fooled by the final score, ECU scored the final 12 points of the game in the last three minutes to make the score lopsided but they got all they wanted from the tiny Division II Fleet in the game’s first 37 minutes. The game lasted until after 10:00 pm so our team left Greenville at 10:20 pm, arriving back in Due West at 4:30 am.

I got to bed at 5:30 am and was up at 8:00 am to attend my daughter Hope’s district championship soccer game in Seneca, SC. Despite losing, I was a proud dad watching Hope play with the Abbeville All-Stars boys’ team. She wasn’t excited about the loss or the runner-up trophy with a boy on it, but it was an awesome experience. We made it back to Due West at 2:00 pm to give me time to get a 30 minute nap before heading to basketball practice. Our practiced lasted until 5:00 pm. Within an hour, Hope and I were in our car headed to Charlotte. My mom spent the last few days in the hospital and although reports were that she was fine, I had to see for myself. We drove to the wrong hospital before finally getting it right and seeing my mom at 9:30 pm. We made it to my parents’ house late in the night with plans of staying in bed for a while on Sunday morning. My body didn’t get the plan and my back started screaming at 7:00 am, probably some repercussions from being on a bus for 13 hours on Friday. Hope and I went to see my mom at the hospital on Sunday morning (as she was being released!) before departing to Banner Elk, NC to watch our women’s volleyball team play in the conference championship against Lees-McRae. Despite losing to the Bobcats, our volleyball team had an incredible season of which we are extremely proud. I know the empty feeling they had after Sunday’s loss but that will soon be washed away with great feelings about the season. Hope and I left Banner Elk just before 4:00 pm on our way back to Due West. We ran into a load of traffic on I-85 so ended up taking more back roads than usual before pulling in our driveway at 8:00 pm.

So here I am, over 1500 miles in a bus and car, 3 very tough sports losses, a recovering mom, numerous hours of quality time with my daughter, way too much fast food, and legs that can’t get anymore stiff. I ask “so you want to be a coach/administrator?” Other than being away from my wife and boys for the weekend I would have to say a resounding “yes.” I got to witness three competitive athletic events that didn’t turn out the way I wanted but nonetheless all the travels were well worth it. I am tired from thinking about this weekend but this way of life is truly what I signed up for. Maybe I can do it all again next weekend. First though I think I will take two aspirin and try to get some sleep.

We have not seen our shortage of successes this fall. Friday was cross country’s turn to get in on the action. This has been a culture-changing season for our men’s and women’s cross country teams. Coaches Rick and Mary Wilson brought a new attitude to the program so Friday was a measuring stick to see if that change of attitude was making a difference on the course. The Wilson regime had already paid dividends this fall way before Friday. The men’s and women’s teams have quickly become a part of the Erskine athletics family. They have shown up at athletic events donning their cross country apparel as they supported other teams. They have run in mass through the streets of Due West (which of course landed us in hot water with the local police force). You could see a pride developing amongst the team this fall which was not readily apparent in the past. So Friday was not a tell-all for what kind of season it has been but it certainly would benchmark progression. It was a pretty good benchmark.

Erskine cross country records fell by the wayside at McAlpine Park in Charlotte on late Friday afternoon. Liz Loftis broke Jessica Martin’s school record 5k with a 20:02. Liz didn’t even run cross country at Erskine as a freshman but her improvement this year has been dramatic. Only seven seconds behind her was Katie Henderson at 20:09 and only 11 seconds behind her was Katie Moore. With the females running in the low 20 minutes, they have all three knocked huge times off their career best this season. The men’s 8k record fell as well on Friday as junior Chaz Culbertson broke Adam Groblewski’s record. Chas’s all-conference performance knocked 1:20 off his personal best this year but that was small compared to Robert McCarthy and Matt Diaz who shaved 2 minutes off their personal best. The signal from the cross country championships was clear; Erskine cross country will soon be a force to be reckoned with inside the league.

Runners are definitely a different breed. The sport they love is often used as a punishment by coaches for other sports. I don’t know much about running. I have for the past 25 years been a jogger, but running and racing is something foreign to me. I can go out and jog 10 miles without much problem, but ask me to run any of those 10 miles under a certain pace or try to catch someone going up hill, and you will not find me too interested. I have a comfort zone in jogging, which is a far cry from being a runner. Because of that I have enormous respect for cross country runners. What they do to test their limits is incredible. Regardless of the weather or how they might be feeling that day, they push on. There is no comfort and little fanfare. I applaud our cross country program this season! I think we may have a new nickname for you guys, the "Flying Feet".

Every Sunday morning on our family’s way to church just before 9:00 am we pass a cemetery. Many times sitting in that cemetery is a man seated in a lawn chair. I have never met the man and I don’t even know his name but in my mind I know a little bit about him. I know he has lost someone he loves; so he comes each Sunday to sit, talk, and reminisce. It could be a wife, a friend, or a family member but I always deal with two feelings on those Sundays. The first is that I am really sad for him. The second is that I hope I have such a wonderful relationship with someone in my life that they will take time out of their living world to sit with me and remember the great times. As former N.C. State coach Jim Valvano once said, “spend most of your time with the people who will cry at your funeral.” Relationships are what life is all about. Athletics allows for players and coaches to have numerous opportunities to form relationships with people. Like all of life, some times those relationships are strained but sometimes they are special, and sometimes…. they are both.

This week is the final time our Fall student-athlete seniors will play for the Erskine Flying Fleet. They might be “Flying Fleet Forever” but the reality is their relationships with their teammates and coaches will change. As a coach I have been a part of many senior night festivities. I had a difficult time last February when I watched 7 very special young men to me play their final home games in Due West. So it is from a different perspective that I watch soccer and volleyball teams go through their senior nights. Women’s soccer coach Gary Winchester saw two seniors, Amanda Tinker and Si’Ara Washington, play their final games at Huggins Field last Tuesday night. Amanda is injured but Coach Winchester started her and allowed her to play the opening seconds of the game. Her face as she left the field said enough about how much she appreciated the gesture. Amanda and Si’Ara were both a part of Coach Winchester’s first team at Erskine so they will always have a special place in his heart. The men’s soccer team had a ceremony of their own on Tuesday. Andy Castano has played two years after transferring from Spartanburg Methodist and has been a key player in Erskine’s rise to second place in the league this year. But the other senior on the men’s team was even more special. Nik Papapierus played for Coach Warren Turner in 2003 at Greenville High School. Nik ends a player-coach relationship that has seen the pair win a state high school championship and miss winning a Conference Carolinas regular season championship by one goal on Saturday. Nik will no doubt always be one of Coach Turner’s favorite players. Much the same feelings will be felt by Volleyball Coach Heather Vahjen in regards to her senior Alison Albers. Alison will be the first volleyball player at Erskine to graduate since re-starting the program two years ago. Alison has been a key part of the quick rise of volleyball to 2nd place in Conference Carolinas in only their second year.

All five of these seniors will be missed for their abilities but it will be much deeper than that for their coaches and teammates. Those relationships will change. Hopefully they will keep in contact with their coaches and a few teammates but it will still be different. There time as collegian athletes will never be replicated in their lives. But maybe one day the relationships they have formed will be strong enough to warrant sitting in a lawn chair and reminiscing.