Sportsfaith Podcast with Craig Bohn

Today we preview the 2022-23 Xavier Hawks Boy's Basketball team with Head Coach Matt Klarner in his 12th season.

Today's special guest is Kully Kollath the founder of Samaritan's Hand a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center in Sheboygan Wisconsin. From early on in his youth, Kully got lost in drugs & alcohol & it didn't take long for it to become a slippery slope of full blown addiction. After many trials he faced, dangerous situations & near death, Kully found sobriety, but it was just that. Plain, nothing special sobriety. He began his studies to become an AODA counselor while also sponsoring others along the way & at times even sitting with them while they detoxed. Many years later, faith was introduced to him & then the light bulb clicked on. While he knew about God, he thought his sins were too much to be forgiven. He was then told about Jesus, being saved & then he knew he was a new creation in Christ. It was then that he knew he had to tell others like him about this news. Samaritan's Hand, Inc was born & this is now his passion! Samaritan's Hand, Inc is solely based on faith & Jesus's love. We pray for those in need, we give clients bibles if needed, we teach forgiveness, love & mercy. Our hope is that we reunite families, get individuals back in the work force & make them want to be important individuals in our community! Our counselors' passion for people's healing & Jesus is unmistakable & we take being clean seriously.

Our special guest today was a wide receiver in the NFL for nine years – including six Super Bowl appearances and one championship – Beebe is widely known for his “never-say-die” grit displayed in Super Bowl XXVII when he denied Leon Lett an easy touchdown. After retiring from the NFL, Beebe founded House of Speed, in Aurora, which specializes in training athletes to perform better by enhancing speed and character. He also coached Aurora Christian High School to two state championships. Beebe grew up just down the road from Aurora University in Sugar Grove, Ill., graduating from Kaneland High School. He attended AU and played Spartan basketball for one season. While playing football at Chadron State College in western Nebraska, his speed caught the eye of NFL scouts. He was invited to NFL combine trials in Indianapolis in 1989 where he (and Deion Sanders) ran the 40-yard dash in a record-setting 4.25 seconds. Beebe was the Buffalo Bills' first pick in the draft. Beebe was the first NFL player to take the field in six Super Bowls -- four with the Buffalo Bills and two with the Green Bay Packers, one of which they won. He holds numerous records, including the Buffalo Bills record for most touchdowns in a game (four). Buffalo Bills coach Marv Levy said Beebe “showed what a fighting heart is all about. He gave everything he had all of the time.” After retiring from the NFL, Beebe founded House of Speed in Aurora with Dr. Jeff Schutt in 1998. House of Speed has trained 100,000 athletes of various levels and sports, including more than 40 professional athletes such as Dallas Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo and Michael Turner of the Atlanta Falcons. Beebe coached football at Aurora Christian High School from 2004 to 2013, leading the team to three state championship appearances and two championships. Don is currently the head football coach at Aurora University.

Today's special guest on the Sportsfaith Podcast is Nancy Kraszewski of Stephen Ministry at Pilgrim Lutheran Church in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Nancy has served in Stephen Ministry since 2009 and is currently 1 of 3 Stephen Ministry Leaders at Pilgrim Lutheran Church. We talked about the role of Stephen Ministries and how it serves people that are struggling with different life events. If you want more information on how you can get involved or if you need caregiving yourself contact Nancy at nkraszewski@new.rr.com. You can also visit www.stephenministries.org

Today's special guest was Jordan Wack of Passages Connecting Fathers and Families. Jordan gave some great perspective on the importance of fathers in today's society and how many families have fathers that are not in the picture of their child's lives. We also talked about his love of baseball and his stint as a bullpen catcher in the MLB minor leagues. Jordan has provided services for over 600 fathers in his short time with passages. Jordan resides near Columbus Ohio and is the father to a 6 month old daughter.

Elliot and Serena Derricks are missionaries serving in Cameroon in Bible translation and literacy. They arrived in Cameroon in March 2018 and their mission is to work alongside a local language group that doesn't have the full Bible in their language, revising their New Testament, translating the Old and increasing literacy rates community-wide. Elliot talked about his near death experience when he contracted "African Tick Bite Fever". Him and his family have experienced some great relationships with the Subula people of Cameroon. Before beginning service with LBT, the Derricks served in various fields with LCMS International from 2010 – 2016, including Slovakia, Macau, and South Korea. They welcomed their daughter, Lydia, in March of 2015 in Seoul, South Korea. Their second daughter, Josephine, joined the family in January 2017 in Dallas, Texas. Their son, Chikodi, joined the family in November 2019.

Our special guest today was former NFL player Marques Ogden on Episode #30 of the Sportsfaith Podcast. Growing up in a single parent home with a father that inspired perseverance and fairness, Marques Ogden learned how to define his values and set goals. Ogden attended Howard University from 1998-2002 where he played Division I football. He then followed his dream and his brother Jonathan's footsteps, eventually getting drafted into the NFL in 2003. Overall, he played for 5 years as an offensive lineman with the Titans, Bills, Ravens and Jaguars. Even during the off season, Ogden helped train football players in Europe, both physically and mentally.

Bill Gosse Episode 29 by Criag Bohn

Scott Knudsen our special guest on Episode #28 of the Sportsfaith Podcast. Scott is a AQHA Professional Horseman and Ambassador. Host of the Cowboy Entrepreneur show. Based in Fredericksburg, Texas, at his Lightning K Ranch, Scott is a 5th generation cowboy and rancher with a business degree. He's ridden rough stock to race horses, team roped, penned, and sorted. A powerful motivational speaker, Scott is a lighting strike survivor who relearned how to read and write after lighting struck him in the head and came out his hand. Scott is Host of the Cowboy Entrepreneur Show and a public speaker.

Today's special guest on the Sportsfaith Podcast is Jon Szalonek. We catch up with Jon after our first visit back in May of 2020. on is a graduate of Jacobs High School in the Chicagoland area and also Western Illinois University where he earned his undergrad degree before joining the Army in 2015 as an infantry officer. From 2015 to 2016 Jon completed the Infantry Officer Basic Course, Ranger School, the Stryker Leader Course , and the Airborne Course. He became the Rifle Platoon Leader and Company Executive Officer at Fort Lewis, WA which was his first assignment. In 2018 Jon was hired by Joint Special Operations Command and deployed with the 75th Ranger Regiement to Afghanistan. Upon returning from overseas Jon moved to Fort Benning GA for the Maneuver Captains Career Course. Jon has earned his Master's degree in Master organizational leadership in August of 2020. Jon now is living in Clarksville Tennessee and is the Company Commander of the 101st Airborne Divsision. On this episode Jon talks about servant leadership along with what faith looks like in the military. We talked about the importance of adapting to changing environments while training and leading his soldiers. Jon gave some thoughts on the current war and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Special Guest today on the Sportsfaith Podast Epidsode #26 is Brett Gorney of Servantee Purpose Driven Golf Brett has been a PGA Golf Professional for over 25 years. He graduated from Queensbury High School in northeast New York, then attended New Mexico State University, where he majored in Marketing and Professional Golf Management. He has a passion for people and the platform of golf is where he gets to use his gifts and talents to serve others

Today's special guest is Roman Gabriel III the President of Sold Out Youth Foundation and host of the Roman Gabriel Show Podcast. Roman Gabriel III has spent his life playing, coaching, and broadcasting, passionately telling the life-changing stories of high impact sports and entertainment personalities. The virtues of sports, and extra- curricular activities to youth, and the life lessons learned through them. A former Pro Football Quarterback (son of former LA Rams QB Roman Gabriel). A graduate of the University of New Mexico. He was a quarterback in the 1982 Senior Bowl College All Star Game. Then participated as a quarterback in the NFL and USFL. Coaching college football at Arizona Western. Since 2003, Roman is the President of the Sold Out Youth Foundation with the mission of equipping the next generation for success, sharing the Good News, and challenging youth and family to reach their God given potential ! Since 2012 Roman has operated the Student Alcohol / Drug Abstinence and Character Education Program, a ground-breaking interactive public/private school program using sports, entertainment, and education through school internet technology to deliver a 365 student alcohol / drug abstinence and character / life skills follow up initiative. Roman is a established motivational speaker to schools, corporations, civic and faith organizations, and youth and sports initiatives.

Today's guest on Episode #24 of the Sportsfaith Podcast is Rick Curti the CEO and Founder of the Charlotte Bats. Rick started a grass roots effort back in 2015 to bring Major League Baseball to Charlotte NC. He talked about the process and how MLB has Charlotte on the short list for league expansion. Rick tells a great story of how the name Bats came into play and the reason the team will be known by that name. Rick has a great knowledge of the history of baseball and his dream is coming very close to reality. Check out the Bats website at www.charlottebats.com to find out more information and also to sign the petition to help Rick reach his goals.

We talk with Head Coach Cory Haese of the Wrightstown Tigers Boy's Basketball team to discuss the upcoming 2021-22 season

A 2021-22 season preview of Xavier Hawks basketball with Head Coach Matt Klarner.

Our special guest on the Sportsfaith Podcast #23 was Marie Sumnicht an educator and entrepreneur. In this podcast Marie talks about the tragic death of her daughter Julia on March 15th, 2010 in Miami Beach, Florida. Julia died from a drug overdose which was not self induced. She talks about the fact that there wasn't a thorough investigation into Julia's death and the suspects still being at large to this day. In 2018 Marie wrote a book called "Beyond Broken" to tell the story of Julia's death. Currently there is a movie potentially in the making illustrating the story of Julia and her story. Marie graduated from Appleton East High School in Appleton, WI and later attended Valparaiso University in Indiana. Marie became an accomplished marathon runner at the age of 41 and even ran in the Boston Marathon. She broke the 3 hour mark in her first 3 years of running marathons. If you want to learn more about this story and purchase the book you can visit www.beyondbroken.net. There are two Facebook pages you can visit as well. Justice for Julia and Beyond Broken Book pages.

Our special guest on Episode #22 of the Sportsfaith Podcast is Dr Patrick Flynn of The Wellness Way. Dr. Flynn is Chiropractor and the founder of The Wellness Way. As a young child, he was labeled ‘troubled' because he had a difficult time learning, focusing, and existing within the school system. Years later, as a teenager, he went through a series of events that led him to discover he had immune issues which contributed to his neurological setbacks. This discovery inspired Dr. Flynn to begin his journey defining his purpose and initiating his pursuit of education. He has attended numerous colleges and took countless courses from learning institutions including the University of Wisconsin Green Bay and Marinette, Scott College, Northwestern Health Sciences, National Health Sciences, Palmer College of Chiropractic, and Harvard Medical School— HMX Fundamentals Online Certificate Program- Immunology. His education contributes to his expertise in immunology and hormones. Within his 21 years of practice, he trained thousands of doctors on a different approach to healthcare and continues to do so today. There are currently 80 practicing clinics across the world. Dr. Flynn is also the author of an international bestselling book— I Disagree: How These Two Words Are the Secret to Thinking Differently and Taking Control of Your Health. He makes an impact by hosting seminars for the public called The Hormone Connection. Despite his numerous accomplishments, he states he is a small-town country boy that came up with an idea to help people.

In this week's podcast we welcome Travis Daugherty, a coach, teacher, speaker, and author of Hidden Talent: Uncovering What Really Makes a Champion a Champion.We discuss how sports should bring families together, the importance of knowing your “why” as a coach, Travis's first book,The LENS: Raising a Champion Athlete and Man in Today's Myopic World (2017), focuses on developing champion athletes and people through sports. Travis served as a high school basketball coach in the state of Indiana for 14 years, where his teams won nearly 200 games. He was honored as the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2008. Travis also serves as the Assistant Director and Leadership Development Speaker for Higher Level Father-Son Basketball Camps. He and his wife Jessica have three kids: Aden, Owen, and Leah.

Today's guest on the Sportsfaith Podcast is Todd James former high school basketball coach and church missionary. He left high school coaching in 1980 and headed overseas where he started two churches in Dublin, Ireland where he still resides today 41 years later. We talked quite a bit about his mentor and coaching hero John Wooden the former UCLA coach. Todd wrote a piece called Meet My Head Coach which is available in 47 different languages and versions. Coach Wooden took this and made his own version that can be read today. Enjoy the podcast!!

Today's guest on Epidsode #19 of the Sportsfaith Podcast was Dakota Zinser a 2014 graduate of Green Bay NEW Lutheran High School in Green Bay Wisconsin where he played basketball for WBCA Basketball Hall of Fame coach Mark Meerstein. Dakota went on to play at DII Palm Beach Atlantic University in South Florida where he played for Coach Dave Balza. Currently Dakota is playing for the BBC Les Sangliers Woolts Basetball Club in Luxembourg after playing 1 year in the Premier League in Australia. We talked about his two High School State Championship losses in 2013 & 2014 and the disappointment that came with that. If you want to follow Dakota you can on Facebook and also Instagram at kodakwhite25

Today's guest on Episode #18 of the Sportsfaith Podcast was Sebastian Torres our new intern at Sportsfaith. Sebastian is in his Senior year at Judson University studying Sports Management with a minor in Business. He is planning on getting his masters degree in Sports Chaplaincy from Liberty University this summer. Sebastian has worked 3 seasons for the Chicago Cubs. His end goal is to be a Sports Chaplain or something Community outreach related.

Today's guest on episode #17 of the Sportsfaith Podcast was Jason Lauren of ScoutU. Jason has been scouting high school athletes since 2008 and has helped over 250 of those move on to play college athletics. Jason is a native of Ishpeming, Michigan and a graduate of Northern Michigan University. Jason talked about all the ins and outs of the college recruiting game and what athletes and families need to focus on to increase their chances of being recruited. We hit on some of the myths of college recruiting including if you are good enough the colleges will find you. Jason currently resides in Greendale, WI with his wife Laurie, 7 year old daughter Maisey and their yellow-Lab mix Dorsey.

Today's Sportsfaith Podcast guest was Trent Clark CEO of Leadershipity and Founder of Courage Coach, LLC. Trent lettered in both tennis and baseball and played in the 1989 and 1990 NJCAA National Tennis Championships. We talked about a wide array of things including his 3 World Series rings as he spent 12 years in Major League Baseball as a strength and conditioning coach with the Tigers, Indians and the LA Angels. Since 2011 Trent has launched two separate startup firms that rose to revenues exceeding 1 Million within the 1st 15 months of existence.

Today's Sportsfaith Podcast Guest #15 was Pepper Burruss longtime NFL Athletic Trainer. Pepper spent 42 total years in the NFL with 16 being with the NY Jets and 26 with the Green Bay Packers. Pepper was part of two Super Bowl winning teams in Green Bay (1997 & 2011). In 2011 Pepper was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame and n 2013 he was awarded the NFL Physicians Society's "Outstanding NFL Athelete Trainer at the annual NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. Pepper and his wife Nancy live in De Pere, Wisconsin and have two grown children Shane, 31 of California and Christina, 26, of Seattle Washington.

Our Epidsode #14 guest of the Sportsfaith Podcast is Chester Marcol former NFL kicker with the Green Bay Packers and Houston Oilers. Chester was inducted into the Packer Hall of Fame in 1987. Chester talked about his early childhood in Communist Poland and his fathers suicide when he was just 14. His family immigrated the United States and settled in Inlay, Michigan where Chester discovered football and went on to play at Hillsdale College. He was drafted in the 2nd round(34th overall) by the Green Bay Packers. He won offensive rookie of the year in 1972 and led the NFL in scoring 2 of his first 3 years in the league. In 1980 Chester was involved in one of the all time great plays in Packer history when he ran in his own blocked FG vs. the Chicago Bears on Sept 7th, 1980 in the home opener. Later that year the Packers cut Chester during a time where he abused alcohol and prescription pain killers. He had a short stint with Houston before retiring. His abuse of drugs and alcohol continued and resulted in an attempted suicide in 1986. Chester is currently living in Luxemburg, Wisconsin and is a drug and alcohol counselor in Appleton, Wisconsin. He has been sober for 13 years and enjoys the outdoors where he fishes and hunts.

Today's Sportsfaith Podcast guest is former NFL coach Les Steckel. From being an NFL head coach to becoming the President of the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes). Les was also is a former Marine where he was in the infantry and fought in Vietnam. Les was released or fired from 8 differ ent coaching positions and he talks about how is faith help carry him through. Coach Steckel listened with ears of faith past the loud rumblings of defeat and loss. Through the power of belief and prayer Les was transformed by God's grace. Les became the head coach of the MInnesota Vikings in 1984 as he was handpicked by legendary coach Bud Grant. The season ended with a 3-13 record and Les was fired after that one season. Les moved on and had great successes with the Patriots(lost to Chicago in 1986 SB) and the Tennessee Titans where he was the Offensive Coordinator. In Super Bowl XXXIV vs the St Louis Rams the Titans literally fell one yard short of tying the game with just seconds remaining and this became the title of his 2005 book "One Yard Short" Turning your defeats into victory. After retiring from coaching in 2003 God had a plan to have Les become the 7th President of the FCA in 2005 where he served until his retirement in 2017. Les currently resides in Nashville Tennessee with his wife Chris. They have 3 children Christian, Luke & Lesley.

Today's Sportsfaith Podcast guest is former MLB pitcher Dave Dravecky. Dave's story is one of finding hope, courage and perseverance in the midst of dark and overwhelming uncertainty. In 1988, Dave was at the top of his game and his life. Dave's opening day victory over the Dodgers was overshadowed later that fall by the discovery of cancer and the removal of half of the deltoid muscle in his pitching arm. After battling cancer in his pitching arm, Dave came back a year later to defy the odds and pitch once again in the Major Leagues. Despite being told by the doctors, “Short of a miracle, you'll never pitch again,” Dave pitched a 4-3 win for the San Francisco Giants that day. Sadly, the comeback was short-lived. Five days later, he threw “…the pitch that could be heard round the world vs the Montreal Expos.” Dave's arm had split in two!! After my comeback and fall from the mound, the cancer returned, yet again. The arm refused to get better so Dave decided to retire from his dream, the game of baseball, in November of 1989. Finally, the arm along with Dave's shoulder blade and the left side of his collarbone had to be amputated for fear the cancer would spread and take his life. Little did Dave know that the loss of his childhood dream would become a platform to share hope with the suffering around the world.

Our guest today on the Sportsfaith Podcast is Jon Szalonek, an Army Ranger and Servant Leader. Jon is a graduate of Jacobs High School in the Chicagoland area and also Western Illinois University where he earned his undergrad degree before joining the Army in 2015 as an infantry officer. From 2015 to 2016 Jon completed the Infantry Officer Basic Course, Ranger School, the Stryker Leader Course , and the Airborne Course. He became the Rifle Platton Leader and Company Executive Officer at Fort Lewis, WA which was his first assignment. In 2018 Jon was hired by Joint Special Operations Command and deployed with the 75th Ranger Regiement to Afghanistan. Upon returning from overseas Jon moved to Fort Benning GA for the Maneuver Captains Career Course. He is currently working on getting his Master's degree in organizational leadership which will be completed in August of 2020. On this episode Jon talks about servant leadership along with what faith looks like in the military. Jon talked about how important physical fitness in the military is and how that holds quite a few potential candidates from ever making it through. Jon said the biggest reason he has made it through to such high levels in the military is his faith and how he falls back on faith every time he encounters rough times in his military career.

Today on Episode #10 we visited with Danielle Ripley-Burgess the editor of the FCA Magazine. Danielle is a 20 year cancer survivor and was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer when she was just 17 years old. Danielle is coming out with a new book talking about her cancer story called Blush: How I barely survived 17. Danielle talked about the 3 week adoption process of her daughter and how becoming a Mother changed her life. We talked about how Covid-19 has affected her family and she drew some parallels between today's quarantine and what she endured when she battled cancer not once, but twice. You can go to daneileripleyburgess.com to read more about this great story and also subscribe to her blog called the Monday Morning Survival Guide. You can pre order her new book at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble

Today's guest on Episode #9 of the Sportsfaith Podcast is former UCLA Women's basketball player Chrissy Baird. Chrissy is a 2014 graduate of Wheaton High School in Wheaton Illinois. She played at UCLA from 2014-2019 and now works for FCA in Santa Barbara California as a college representative. Chrissy Earned four varsity letters at Wheaton North High School (Wheaton, Ill.) from 2011-14. She became the school's all-time leading scorer (1,076 points) and rebounder (828 rebounds). She was a three-time unanimous all-DuPage Valley Conference performer (2012-14), she was a Miss Illinois Basketball finalist as a senior and was named to the second team All-USA Today Illinois Girl's Basketball Team.

Today's guest on the Sportsfaith Podcast was Ryan Borowicz the owner of "The Driveway" a basketball training facility in Green Bay, WI. Ryan was a 3 sport athlete at Ashwaubenon High School and went on to play basketball at UW Green Bay. He was one of the top 3 point shooters in UW Green Bay history making 49% of his 3 point attempts his senior year. He made a total of 174 career 3 point shots and finished 3rd all time at UW Green Bay. He went on to play professionally in Australia for two years where he made the league's All Star team! We talked about his playing career and quite a bit about his summer basketball camps, shooting clinics and his daily work at "The Driveway" since June of 2016. Also Ryan talked about Covid-19 and how that has affected his business and personal life at home. Ryan along with is wife Melissa reside in West De Pere, WI along with their 3 sons Bryce (13), Cooper (11), Griffin (9)

Our guest today on Episode #7 of the Sportsfaith Podcast is Brian Hendricks 2nd year Head Coach of the Divine Savior Holy Angels High School Girls Basketball team. Brian talked about the disappointment of not being able to play in the State Basketball Tournament in Green Bay after the Covid-19 Pandemic cancelled the rest of the season. He talked about the beliefs and standards at the all girls school and how the school with an enrollment of 694 students is considered a Division I school. He talked about his early job experience in sales and how he disliked that and was looking for something more fulfilling in his work life before landing at DSHA as a College Advisor.

Today's Sportsfaith Podcast guest was Chris Walls a former Pro basketball player that was part of the original Rim Rockers for the MIlwaukee Bucks and who also had tryouts with the Harlem Globetrotters and the MIlwaukee Bucks. Chris talks about his faith and his younger years growing up in Cleveland, OH and how his mother inspired him to be the best basketball player and person possible.

Today's Sportsfaith Podcast Guest is North Central FCA DirectorJeff Tarras

Dave Mader the former Wisconsin Badger is our Sportsfaith Podcast guest Episode #4. Dave talked about his Badger career and playing for the legendary coach Dick Bennett. Also we spent some time talking about all the players Dave played with including Mike Kelley, Alando Tucker and Devin Harris. Hope your enjoy it everyone!!

David Cooks was our guest on the Sportsfaith Podcast. David is a speaker and an author of the book "Getting Undressed"- From Paralysis to Purpose. David became paralyzed at the age of 15 from a spinal aneurysm. David's story is one of faith and perserverance!!

I had the opportunity to interview Jeff Middlestead NE Wisconsin Director of FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes). He has been the Director since April of 2017. If you would like to get involved in FCA give Jeff a call at 920-209-3505 or email him at jmiddlestead@fca.org

Episode #1 Sportsfaith founder Matt Kowalczyk