Dallas FCA

Coaches Enrichment Retreat

2009-07-20T09:40:00.001-07:00

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Growing Closer to HIM

2009-07-16T10:21:00.000-07:00

We are back from our First Annual Coaches Enrichment Retreat at The Westin Stonebriar in Frisco. It was an amazing weekend that I don't think anyone who was apart will soon forget.

While there the Coaches and spouses were able to hear some amazing speakers, and can't thank them enough for being apart of this impacting weekend, Rod Olson, Oscar Roan, Carolyn Allen, & Pat Combs. All of the speakers had challenges and had powerful messages. With this being right before training starts for the upcoming school year it seemed to come at the perfect time for many of our attendees to refocus, reconnect, and recharge.

We also had time for the Coaches & Spouse to relax and enjoy their time together without the day to day distractions. Which this turned out to be a huge blessing for most Coaches & Spouses, just to spend the free time with their spouse.

It was humbling to be apart of something like this and to hear/read the testimonies from this weekend, it was definitely a weekend where, as staffer Tommy McMahan says, God showed up and showed off!

Here are a few pictures of the weekend, for more please visit

God is doing some amazing things this summer!

2009-07-01T12:13:00.000-07:00

Students before they left for Sports Camp at Texas A&M in College Station!

We have sent our last group of students to our last summer camp of 2009, at Texas A&M for the All Sports camp! God has done some amazing things at these camps over the summer and we can't wait to see what else He has in store for those students in their upcoming school year.

Here are a few student testimonials from the Abilene Leadership Camp:

"This was the first time in 5 or 6 years anyone from our high school had been to a camp; so I didn't really know what to expect. I even thought about not coming because I was scared of what "could" happen. Now, after is is all said and done, I would have not missed this camp for the world. There was an immediate comfort level with my huddle leader and huddle that made opening up and truly fixing some problems very easy. It was obvious God was working very strongly in this camp because every message and every huddle time had so much for me to learn from. I didn't realize it at the time, but even in my free time activities I was being taught be the Lord. Definitely one of the best experiences of my life and I will, Lord willing, be returning next year." Junior, Garland High School

"I have a whole new outlook on God and His word now. I loved hearing from Garret [the camp speaker] and hearing the music. All the activities and free time was great I can't wait to go back and change my campus." 7th Grade, Clark Middle School

"Camp allowed me to make new friends that are in the same position as me struggling with the outside world. It surrounded me with people who could help me. The huddle leaders were awesome. I'm coming back next year." Junior, Plano West Senior High School

If you want to check out photos from the camps visit our shutterfly share site, http://dallasfca.shutterfly.com/!

On the office side of things we are celebrating our new Executive Director, Rick Bowles!!!

Stay Cool!
~Candice S.

Follow us on Twitter @dallasfca

2009-06-17T12:30:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it is already the middle of June? The summer is already flying by, and we have already had 2 camps come and go!

Our first camp was our Leadership & Golf Camp at Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, from June 8 - June 12. We had 36 students attend the Leadership & Golf Camp! It was a great week for all involved. The leadership camp focused on training in the fundamentals of leading FCA huddles, building confidence in students' leadership skills, and teaching practical skills for personal Christian growth. Below are some pictures of the students before leaving for camp! If you have any personal testimonies from the camp please email us at fcadallas@gmail.com, we would love to hear how the week impacted you!

During the same week as the Abilene we had the Dallas ISD/FCA Middle School Football Camp, a great partnership event that has now completed it's 2nd year. This allows middle school students a chance to work with coaches on improving their football skills. It was a great time for all involved, even though it was hot (can't escape that in Texas) it was a good 2 days!!!

Be sure to check out http://dallasfca.shutterfly.com/ for more pictures of these 2 camps, and check out more of our past events!

Stay Cool!
~Candice S.
Admin Asst.

Schools Out For Summer!

2009-06-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

Schools out for summer and it is still busy around the office. We have alot going on this summer, and we would love to see you at one of these events.

SUMMER 2009 Events:

FCA Summer Camps:

June 8-12 FCA Leadership & Golf Camp - Abilene, TX

July 1-5 FCA All Sports Camp - College Station, TX

June 15-19 FCA Leadership Camp - Belton, TX

FCA Adult Chapter Golf Tournaments

June 23 Frisco Adult Chapter Golf Tournament
8:00 AM, The Tribute, The Colony, TX

June 24 Lewisville Adult Chapter Golf Tournament
8:00 AM, Bridlewood Golf Course, Flower Mound, TX

FCA DALLAS CAMPS

June 9-10 DISD Partnership Camp - Dallas, TX

July 10-12 Coaches Enrichment Retreat
Westin Stonebriar Resort Frisco, TX

For more information on any of the events above please visit http://www.fcadallas.org/

We Would also like to announce our May Huddle of The Month is....... Royse City!

Congratulations!

I will update with some photos of the Rockwall Fun Run, Plano 5K, & DISD Partnership Camp soon!

Hope your summer is starting off awesome!!!!
~Candice
Admin Asst.

Dallas Staff Service Project

2009-05-27T13:53:00.000-07:00

Our staff has been talking alot about volunteering and what that means, so as a staff we went out and gave an afternoon to volunteer at !It was a great afternoon filled with flying shoes (not actual flying shoes, just shoes that had been "lightly tossed") and great staff fellowship! This is a great organization that shows you the journey of a shoe, and the impact ONE pair of shoes can make! Here are the pictures from the afternoon:

Lucy Jacobs, Jeff Jacobs daughter, was the hardest worker of the day!

Chauncey Franks - Working hard to get those shoes!

~Candice S.
Admin. Asst.

Weekend of Champions

2009-03-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

Well we are back and fully recovered from our middle school retreat Weekend of Champions in Waxachachie at the Lakeview Conference Center. It was a great weekend, with an amazing impact! Everyone that was there had a chance to experience just how amazing God is. We had 281 first time commitments to Christ, 36 Recommitments to Christ and 454 students signed the One Way 2 Play Pledge.

We had 68 Coaches who had a chance to enjoy a weekend of fellowship and fun, and enjoy a break from their very hectic day to day activities. They did everything from play paintball to "hit" the course on the Wii golf!

With 522 students, it was a very active weekend. The students enjoyed 4 amazing "Quarters" with Destination Known and Oscar Roan, where each student was able to hear the gospel and share with their piers the love of Christ. They also had some great competition times, even in the 40 degree weather!!

Our 125 huddle leaders really did an amazing job sharing with the students and bringing their huddles together for the purpose of Christ and getting to know Him better.

It was truly an unforgettable weekend for those who attended, here is some amazing feedback from the weekend:

"Thank you, everything & everyone was awesome. When I first got on the bus to come here I was regretting (it), like why did I do thus but now I know why I came. I cam to find God, and now I have, thanks to you. "
Love,
Kaitlyn W.

"I loved being close to God. I want to come back as long as I can. This always helps me keep on the right path and not go down where others are just going. All of the stories were encouraging. If I needed help there was people there for me."
Lexy

If you would like to see the pictures from Weekend of Champions you can go to our website
http://www.fcadallas.org/PhotoGallery.lsp and look at ALL of the photos.

Update.....

2009-02-11T12:12:00.000-08:00

It has been awhile since I have let you know what is all going on in the office and around Dallas! I am sorry very busy I am working my schedule to make sure I have time to blog :).

Update:
Weekend of Champions Registration closes today, so if you have any students wanting to go please get it in by the end of the day!

Duncanville Team Partnership Event went excellent this morning, it was an early morning but it was for a good purpose. We had Coach Dicus and student Keana Mosely share what FCA was to them, and they did an excellent job! Mike Flynt spoke as well about being a 59 year old linebacker finishing is elegibilty from when he was in college.

Keana Mosely Speaking:

Coach Dicus Speaking:

We also celebrated a birthday (early) for our Executive Director Fred Hoster, and we had fun with the celebration:

Thats all for now, I am going to go hide under my desk and take a nap ;)

Candice S.
Admin Asst.

2009-01-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Allen High School FCA for being selected as the KCBI 90.9/ Greater Dallas FCA Huddle of the Month for January.

They will be highlighted on KCBI 90.9 radio today (Friday) afternoon at 2:25pm. Be sure to tune in!

Take Time For Kindness

2009-01-23T10:08:00.001-08:00

I heard this on the way to work this morning and thought that I should share, its a great story, enjoy!

I'd like to give you another story that shows a different side. This story is real. It was written by the talented Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated and it inspires me every time I read it:

High school football is big in America, but I suppose there is no place where it is bigger than in Texas. Friday nights there are legend.
The fans scream; the stands are packed; cheerleaders with pom-poms jump and sway to the beat of the school bandand everybody joins in the chants and stomps their feet on the metal stands until you are sure they will collapse.
This is the frenzy of Texas high school football.
But there is one football team in Texas that is a little different. When they play on Friday night, their stands are empty, no band, no cheerleaders, no mass of parents or townsfolk wearing the school colors and waving banners and flags. They take the field without anyone cheering them on. When they score a touchdown, which rarely happens, there is no wild celebration behind them… All of it seems hollow and muffled in contrast to the tidal wave of roars and drums and chants that come from the opposing side.
They are the Tornadoes of the Gainesville State School, a fenced, maximum-security facility. The young men who go to Gainesville State are there because they have made some major mistakes in their lives. But the players who are on the team are there because they have worked hard and have earned enough good behavior points that gives them the privilege to leave the facility and play football on Friday nights—always an away game for them—always a home game for their opponents—and almost always a loss. They don’t have a weight program or training equipment or high-paid coaches and assistants. They don’t have a large pool of players to draw from. The school has 275 boys, but many are too old or too young or can’t or don’t meet the “criteria” to play. And they don’t have the support of a town and a mass of parents and family and reporters and bands and cheerleaders.
That is, until November 7th. Something changed. They played Grapevine Faith Christian School.
A few days before the game, the Gainesville coach, Mark Williams received a call from Faith Christian coach, Kris Hogan, asking him if it would be okay if Faith formed a “spirit” line for his team when they ran on the field. Mark said, “Sure, that would be a real encouragement to the kids.” He thought that the line would consist of a couple of the JV cheerleaders, but when they took the field, there were a hundred people in it and it stretched to the 40-yard line, filled with Faith Christian parents, fans and varsity cheerleaders, complete with a banner at the end for them to burst through that read “Go Tornadoes!”. And then, those parents and fans sat in the stands behind the Gainesville players and when the Tornadoes broke the huddle and went up to the line they could hear people cheering for them, by name. When they got a first down, “their” fans erupted.
You see, coach Hogan had sent an email out to the Faith Christian parents and students asking them to consider doing something kind for these young men, many who didn’t know what it meant to have a mom and dad who cared, many who felt the world was against them, not for them. Hogan asked that they simply send a message that these boys were “just as valuable as any other person on earth.”
So half of the Faith Christian fans were now sitting on the visitor’s side of the field, cheering for the Gainesville team, and in some cases, against their own sons. –Cheering for a team decked out in mismatched old uniforms and helmets. –Cheering for boys who wouldn’t go home that night and have a smiling dad slap him on the back and feel his mom put her arms around him and say “I’m so proud of you son!” –Cheering for the underdog.
This was a Friday night like no other for the Tornadoes. In the locker room, the players were confused. “Why are they cheerin’ for us, coach?” “Because, men, they want to encourage you. They want you to know that they care about you…that you have value.”
 Coach Williams said the boys were stunned. For many of these kids, it may have been the first time that anyone had shown them, so visibly, unconditional love.
They were down 33 to nothing at the half. Williams encouraged his team to set a goal for the second half: to score a touchdown against this vastly superior team. And when the boys from the State School took the field again, with their fans cheering them on, everything started to click. And they did score. Not once but twice.
And the fans went wild.
Coach Williams was asked what the bus ride was like on the way home and he laughed and said that they were all asleep—their bellies were full. That’s becuz after the game, the parents brought a whole bunch of food over to the guys: hamburgers, fries, candy, sodas…and included in the meal sack was a Bible and a personal letter of encouragement from a Faith Christian player. But then, he said, they formed a line for us out to the bus. And the parents patted them on the back and said, “Nice game” and “Look forward to seeing you guys next time.”
As they left the field that night, Coach Williams grabbed Coach Hogan and said to him: “You’ll never know what your people did for these kids tonight. You’ll never, ever know.”

Hope you enjoyed it,

Candice S.
Admin Asst.

Team Partnership Events

2009-01-16T09:10:00.000-08:00

Team Partnership Events

Highland Park
Monday, January 26th
7:00 PM - 8:15 PM
Highland Park High School
Highlander Stadium - Varsity Meeting Room
Free Dessert Reception
RSVP Required email fcadallas@gmail.com
or by calling 214-739-8003 by January 21st.

Rockwall
Tuesday, January 27th
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Rockwall High School - Cafeteria Annex
901 Yellow Jacket Ln.
Rockwall, TX
Free Dinner provided by Texas Land & Cattle
RSVP Required email fcadallas@gmail.com
or by calling 214-739-8003 by January 21st.

Duncanville
Wednesday, January 28th
7:00AM - 8:30 AM
First Baptist Church of Duncanville
232 W. Wheatland Rd.
Duncanville, TX
Free Breakfast
RSVP Required email fcadallas@gmail.com
or by calling 214-739-8003 by January 21st.

All Team Partnership Events will have guest speaker Mike Flynt who will share how it is never too late to tackle your dreams! hear Mike share about his amazing year as a 59-year old college linebacker.

Back on the saddle

2009-01-07T12:12:00.001-08:00

Well our Holiday vacation is over and its back to daily grind. We all seemed to have a very enjoyable holiday and we hope that you and you family had a wonderful Christmas and that your New Year is starting off great. We are getting ready for Weekend of Champions, it's coming up pretty fast only 50 days away :). We are getting really excited about the event. We hope to see you there!

Because I am absent minded at times here is the link for our pictures from the Christmas Party on our Facebook Group page, if you are not a group member be sure to become one while you are checking the pictures out!

Excited about 2009,
Candice Snyder
Admin Asst.

Greater Dallas FCA Facebook Group Photos

Christmas

2008-12-23T11:45:00.000-08:00

After our amazing Staff Christmas party it was time to wrap up and get ready to enjoy our time with families and friends this holiday season! I will post some of the photos from our fun Staff later tomorrow and a link to see all of them from facebook, so keep an eye out!

We hope you have an amazing and blessed Christmas and an excellent New Year! Our office will be closed December 24th - January 2, we will reopen January 5.

*Stay safe and be merry*

See ya'll in 2009!
Candice Admin Assistant
:)

FCA Gives Back

2008-12-17T12:03:00.001-08:00

News from the feild:

Allen HS hosted a Christmas Movie Night and showed “A Christmas Story”, served pizza/cookies/drinks. The students cleaned out their closets at home and brought gently used winter clothes to be donated to Allen Community Outreach. Over 100 kids came to the Christmas party and together we donated 10 trash bags FULL of winter clothes!

Coach Clements ~ Allen High School

!0 days and counting...

2008-12-15T11:32:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone is finishing up their shopping and getting ready for the joyous holiday that is fast approaching! Remember the reason for the season thru the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Here at the office we are busy getting things wrapped up for the year and preparing for the Staff Christmas Party, I will post pictures up on Friday so you can see us all being festive and eating some good food!

Time to make the centerpieces!
Candice Snyder
Admin Assistant
:)

Auction Time

2008-12-10T12:58:00.000-08:00

Hey guys - Get all of your Christmas shopping done by going one place. We are doing an on-line auction and you can get things from trips to Hawaii to Autographed footballs to Josh Hamilton autographs and tickets to the Cowboys vs. Giants game.

So check it out and bid on something.All the money raised goes right back in to helping us do more for you and your coaches and your camps in the Dallas area. So it's a WIN for everyone.http://www.fcaauction.org/cgi-bin/auction.cgi?action=ProductList&Mode=Browse&CategoryID=1000000000327078

Thanks for your support!

FCA Gives Back

2008-12-03T12:43:00.000-08:00

Here are some stories from the field on FCA Gives Back:

Operation Christmas Child official results are in. We have collected 135 Boxes that will be going out to some very special kids somewhere in the world! I want to thank all of the teachers, secretaries and students that gave so generously to these little ones. While it may seem a small thing to us to get such a gift, it is a really big thing to these kids that have almost nothing. One teacher at RHS reported to me that on her trip to Zambia one June, she saw kids still carrying around their boxes which they received in December ! Good Morning America last week carried a story about a woman who, as a little girl in Russia received a box and how impacting it was to her life. Her parents were both alcoholics and when she got the present, it was a life changing thing for her! The boxes are on the way to their destinations and soon, in a month, there are going to be some very happy kids!! Richardson High School FCA

"We had a huge success last night for our scavenger hunt. We had over 50 kids and 9 groups go out and try to collect 20 different items from the community and they came back with bags full!! It was an awesome response. I'm sure we had close to 200 cans of assorted things from veggies to meats, milk, fruit, lots of flour, sugar, and other necessities needed to cook a great Thanksgiving meal. We even had one group bring in a frozen turkey!! The kids gathered enough food to feed 10 - 15 families for Thanksgiving. It was an awesome display of caring hearts!"Allen High School FCA

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

2008-11-25T12:10:00.000-08:00

We would like to wish every one a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

During the Thanksgiving holiday be sure to give thanks to Lord for all that he has provided to you over the years, and what amazing things you have yet to see from His glory.

Let those you love know you love them and how thankful you are to have them in your life.

"Praise the LORD! Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? Who can declare all His praise?" Psalm 106:1-2

"I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving." Psalm 69:30

Be Safe and Have a Glorious Thanksgiving Holiday!

Celebrations

2008-11-20T08:41:00.000-08:00

Around the office we have several celebrations, including birthdays and anniversaries.We had the anniversaries to start it all off, Rick Bowles celebrated his 1 year and Danny Noah had his 3 year. Our newest staffer, Bethany Carlson celebrated her birthday Sunday November 16 so we had office celebration Monday the 17, and Shana Lurix celebrated her birthday on Wednesday November 19. Happy Birthday and Congrats to all.

With all the birthdays in the office we had some fun, decorating for the occasions.

Bethany had her office decorated in TV shows and Twilight:

Shana had a Breakfast at Tiffanys Theme:

Its always entertaining around the dallas FCA office stay posted for more fun news!

Later it's lunch time :)

Candice Snyder

Admin Assistant

FCA Southwest Classic - Cedar Hill vs. Duncanville

2008-11-03T11:26:00.000-08:00

The night was full of anticipation as one of the biggest rivalries of the seasons took the field with packed stands on both sides. But for this years event there was something more at stake. In addition to players on the football field, the FCA leaders for both side were playing a game of their own. You see this year the game was presented by FCA and each school was raising funds throughout the game which would goes towards various events throughout the year for their chapter. The totals for each team were announced during the game and at the end of each quarter and both Cedar Hill and Duncanville wanted to dominate the scoreboard for both scores. There were FCA tables out by the concessions booths and the groups were passing buckets in the stands.

At the end of the first quarter it looked like it was going to be a sad night for Cedar Hill as Duncanville was on top with both the football score and the donations tally by quite a bit. Cedar Hill's FCA and parents rallied in the next half to be neck and neck on the donations to be within a couple cents of Duncanville. The Cedar Hill football team started to take things to the next level and regained the ground it had lost in the first quarter and made touchdown after touchdown entering the fourth quarter poised for victory.

Duncanville did all they could in the fourth quarter both on the field and in the stands but in the end Cedar Hill emerged as the victors in both donations and in the game. Final score Cedar Hill 42, Duncaville 17. Both FCA Chapters raised a combined $1200 which wil help send a lot of coachs and kids to camps, help with chapter events and a lot more.

What a great event for the community and for the kids. Congratulations to both teams and we look forward to next year!

Even a late loss won't eliminate Texas from BCS chase

2008-11-03T10:51:00.000-08:00

By Brad Edwards

Updated: November 3, 2008, 10:50 AM ET

An old college football adage says it's always better to lose early in the season than late.

But thanks to the BCS, that line of thinking has become as outdated as leather helmets.

Now this doesn't mean losses in November are suddenly a good thing. But ever since computers entered the process of determining the participants in college football's national championship game, the quality of a loss has become just as significant as the timing of a loss.

And the Texas Longhorns are hoping this holds true in 2008.

Even fresh off its first defeat of the season, Texas is still well-positioned for a run to the BCS Championship Game. Although the Horns trail the undefeated major-conference teams in this week's BCS standings, they have the best loss of all the once-beaten teams, and they also have a head-to-head advantage on two other teams in that group (Oklahoma and Oklahoma State).

And if you take a good look at the remaining schedules, Texas could still be considered the favorite to win the Big 12. Unless Texas Tech can beat Oklahoma State this week (ABC, 8 p.m. ET) and also win at Oklahoma later in the month, the Longhorns are likely to end up in some sort of tiebreaker scenario between once-beaten teams in the Big 12 South. And UT will have the edge in most of those scenarios.

Only a two-way tie between the Longhorns and Red Raiders would definitely be bad news for Texas. But if the Horns can win their next three games (Baylor, at Kansas, Texas A&M), they should capture the division if either Oklahoma (at A&M, Tech, at OSU) or Oklahoma State (at Tech, at Colorado, OU) can also win out.

The biggest threat to Texas among the once-beaten teams is probably Florida, which is gaining momentum with four straight SEC wins by 30 or more points, including an impressive 49-10 beating of Georgia on Saturday. If the Gators can complete their regular-season run with victories at Florida State and against Alabama in the SEC championship game, they could have enough quality wins to make that home loss to Ole Miss a distant memory to voters ... and perhaps challenge Texas for a spot in the BCS Championship Game.

The Unbeatens

[+] Enlarge

AP Photo/LM Otero

Things are pointing up for Texas Tech, provided the Red Raiders keep winning.

Although Penn State leads Texas Tech in both the coaches' and Harris polls, the computer boost from the win over Texas lifted the Red Raiders to the No. 2 spot in this week's BCS standings. Last week, Tech was tied for 10th in the computers. This week, they are tied for first, even with two of their nine wins coming against FCS (I-AA) teams. That's how powerful the Longhorns were (and still are) within the computer element.

And if the Raiders are able to beat Oklahoma State and Oklahoma in the coming weeks, the gap between them and Penn State will only increase. That's not exactly breaking news, of course. We've known for more than a month that no undefeated team from the Big 12 or SEC would take a backseat to any team from the Big Ten.

What should be more concerning to Penn State fans is that Texas, even with a loss, is ranked ahead of the Nittany Lions in the computers. And if Florida wins out, there's a good chance the Gators will be, too.

So if either Alabama or Texas Tech loses before Dec. 7, and the other stays unbeaten, Penn State isn't necessarily a lock to finish No. 2 in the BCS. This week is proof that a narrow lead in both polls isn't always enough to hold off a team that's superior in the computers.

Let History Show ...

The top two teams in the BCS standings went a combined 3-7 in November and December of last season, and they are off to another rocky start this November after the loss by No. 1 Texas.

More potential trouble lies ahead for the top teams this Saturday, when all three of the major-conference unbeatens face one of their most challenging remaining hurdles. Alabama (at LSU) and Penn State (at Iowa) are playing their final road games of the season, while Texas Tech must regroup after its emotional win and host another top-10 team (Oklahoma State).

These three games might determine whether the final weeks of this season could be as chaotic as they were a year ago, or whether BCS drama might be at a minimum until Championship Saturday in December.

Party Crashers

Thursday's game between TCU and Utah should clearly identify which Mountain West team will join Boise State in the race for the non-BCS conferences' potential automatic bid. The higher-ranked team at the end of the season will gain that spot, provided that team finishes in the top 12 of the standings. But there seems to be an increasing chance that the other one (or undefeated Ball State) could also get into the BCS.

There are five BCS games and, therefore, spots for 10 teams to play in those games. Six of the bids go to the champions of the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-10 and SEC, and we'll assume another bid will go to a non-BCS-conference champion that finishes in the top 12. That leaves three at-large spots available.

At this time, it's logical to assume the Big 12 and SEC will each get a second team into the BCS as an at-large selection, and that would leave only one spot available. But there's a rule that no conference can get more than two teams into the BCS, so all those other highly ranked Big 12 and SEC teams won't be eligible.

At-large selections must come from the top 14 of the final standings, so the question becomes, "Will the ACC, Big East, Big Ten or Pac-10 have a team other than its champion ranked in the final top 14?"

Right now, only the Big Ten seems to be in good position to have a second team ranked that high, but that could change if Ohio State loses again, and the Buckeyes still have to play at Illinois.

This is merely a sidebar to what could be another dramatic November near the top of the BCS standings, but the chance for more than one team to crash the BCS party is certainly worth keeping an eye on.

Brad Edwards is a college football researcher at ESPN. His Road to the BCS appears weekly during the season.

A Father's Love

2008-10-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

A Father’s Love
By Michael Dean Chadwick,
as told to Susie Magill

If you had told me that the shaky figure I was staring down on my front steps was my future son-in-law, I would have called you crazy.

It was 2 a.m. when Josh Hamilton rang our doorbell in September 2003. I had no earthly clue who he was, but I sure knew what he was. As a recovered drug addict myself, I could recognize all the signs.

I had never previously met the kid, and I knew nothing of his professional baseball career or the success he’d had down the street at Raleigh’s Athens Drive High School. All I knew was that he was in trouble and needed help.

I figured he’d probably heard the testimony I’d shared throughout the area regarding my own drug problem and thought he’d give me a shot. But I also knew that God had sent him to me. I was supposed to do something. And my philosophy is that until you know what that something is, you can always be available.

I welcomed him in, and we sat on the back porch until daybreak just talking, trying to figure out where he was in life and how to get out. I knew there was only one way to get Josh back, and that was to love him back. Eight rehabs pretty much told me that rehab wasn’t going to kick it. Josh needed more.

I began to share my own life story about growing up on the streets, losing my dad at age 12, getting into drugs, and then finding freedom through Jesus. I told him we had to take it one step at a time. He had to make it through the morning, and then we would focus on the afternoon.

Hamilton and Chadwick

After our initial meeting, we maintained our friendship. While he battled his addiction, he continued to seek me out and even attended speaking engagements with me as he searched for the same freedom I had found.

He began sobering up and going to AA meetings. I gave him a job in my construction business and, soon after, he and my daughter, Katie, started dating. Four months later, in what seemed like a blur, they were married.

Then that demon reared his ugly head once again, and it was bigger than Josh could handle. He had no idea how to fight it; he didn’t have the right equipment. It was still Josh trying to conquer it through Josh’s strength. His stints of sobriety were short-lived because he wasn’t seeking real help—help from the only One who could fully deliver him.

You see, prior to his drug addiction, Josh had never really experienced failure. This was a kid who hit over .500 in high school. Baseball was what he knew, and he was good at it. But after his car accident, he felt lost and alone. So, he found something new to be good at. Unfortunately, it was getting drunk and high.

There were times he and Katie would have explosive arguments, and he would leave for several days. Then he would show back up at our house in the early morning totally clean, asking my wife to fix him some eggs as if nothing had happened.

There were two Joshes: one during his straight periods and another when he was trashed out of his mind. But we chose to love them both. And that is the advice I gave to Katie: that if she didn’t love him back, she wasn’t going to get him back. That didn’t mean she didn’t set parameters to protect herself and the girls, but, if her love was tough enough, it would survive this storm.

“There were two Joshes: one during his straight periods and another when he was trashed out of his mind. But we chose to love them both.”

The ironic thing was that seeing Josh’s struggle was like me holding up a mirror to myself 20 years prior. I knew that if God could deliver me, He could deliver Josh. I always believed that with all my heart. Even when times were tough and we wondered if Josh was going to self-destruct, I never really doubted that God was going to turn him around.

When he finally hit rock bottom, it was the best place for him. He was broke, didn’t have a place to live and on the verge of losing his family. He finally realized that the price he was paying for doing drugs was costing him more than he wanted to give up. It was going to cost him his wife, his girls, his baseball career and possibly his life. And just like the story of the prodigal son, God was right there waiting for Josh with arms outstretched, welcoming him home. Josh didn’t have to chase Him or even wonder where He was; He hadn’t moved an inch.

Today’s success hasn’t come overnight for Josh. He has had to work to surrender his addiction to Christ every day. It is a continuous fight, but, by using the right spiritual weapons, Josh has been victorious. What the devil meant for bad, God turned into His good and glory.

The story of Josh Hamilton is a miraculous one. It has provided so much hope for so many people. I see it everywhere I go, from the fan mail to the phone calls. This guy has given many people a new lease on life and has restored their faith that God can heal their family just as He healed ours.

Even with the distractions Josh faces in Major League Baseball, his faith has not faded once. He is the kind of guy who is all-or- nothing, and he is all-in with his relationship with Christ. He is staying focused with his faith and his family and remaining humble throughout his success on the field. Even after all the attention he received following the 2008 All-Star Game’s Home Run Derby, he is still both humbled and thrilled to be used by God.

There just isn’t a lot of pretension when it comes to Josh. It’s pretty simple: He’s just a kid out there, playing for his Father. And when Josh says, “It’s a God thing,” you’d better believe it. That’s not a sound bite he feeds to the media; it’s words flowing directly from the lips of his heart.

2008-10-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

Prior to the 1999 Major League Draft, Josh Hamilton was considered a prospect with all the tools. A 6’4” southpaw who could both stun hitters from the mound with his 96-mph fastball and shame pitchers from the plate with his bat speed of 110 mph, Hamilton had incalculable potential in the game. He held the world of baseball at his fingertips.

Recognizing the 18-year-old gold mine, the then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays selected him as the No. 1-overall draft pick out of Athens Drive High School in Raleigh, N.C. When one reporter asked his thoughts on his gleaming baseball career, Hamilton replied, “I want to play for at least 20 years so that, when I retire, I won’t have to wait to be in the Hall of Fame; I will just be inducted.”

This season, as Hamilton’s name has made sports-page headlines on a regular basis, the public has learned that his ostentatious high school plans took a major detour. In fact, during the few years after he entered professional baseball, Hamilton, now 27, battled an intense drug addiction that led him to blow almost his entire $4 million signing bonus, get suspended from baseball and become estranged from his family.

While his original plans were ambitious, it might have been just as lofty for him to say, “I will just be happy being alive and playing ball.” Because it is only by the grace of God that he is still able to do both.

*****

To fully understand Hamilton’s story of redemption, you have to start at the beginning.

Joshua Holt Hamilton grew up in Raleigh, N.C., and, like most families in the South, his attended church. But by the age of 12, his focus had shifted: more sports and less God. Being a successful AAU player, he spent weekends traveling to compete and only recalls a handful of times he darkened the door of a church as a teen.

On June 2, 1999 (his father’s birthday), he took a major step in his desired direction. He was selected by the Devil Rays as the first pick in the MLB Draft—a “dream come true” for the high school phenom, whose average had reached as high as .636. But according to the Devil Rays’ scout, it was Hamilton’s character that sealed the deal. “You read so many bad things about professional athletes these days,” he told the press, “but I don’t think you ever will about Josh.”

Despite his golden arm and prosperous future Hamilton still realized that something was missing, and a mid-game vision during his rookie season with the Princeton Devil Rays (W.Va.) caused him to evaluate his spiritual condition. No longer a pitcher, Hamilton was standing in the outfield one day and looked into the sky. He saw what appeared to be a demon’s face jumping out of the clouds. For him, it was a spiritual sign, and the experience moved him so much that he prayed to receive Christ after the season was over.

But like seeds sown in the absence of sunlight and water, Hamilton’s faith failed to thrive. “I didn’t realize how to go about growing in my spiritual life,” Hamilton said. “I didn’t know how to get into Bible studies or the Word or even how to pray.”

Hamilton’s lack of spiritual depth soon opened him up to spiritual attack.

During spring training in 2001, he was in Florida with the Devil Rays organization. After practice one February afternoon, Hamilton and his parents, who had moved to the St. Petersburg area from N.C. to chaperone their son, were driving home from the park when a dump truck ran a red light and t-boned the left side of their car.

The family survived the crash, but Hamilton’s parents were severely injured and had to return to N.C. for physical rehab. Hamilton’s own injuries forced him into the dugout for most of the season.

“The two things I knew in my life were my parents and baseball and they were both taken away at the same time,” Hamilton said. “I was left in Florida by myself, and that was the beginning of my downward spiral.”

His forced time away from the game left him with idle hands and money to burn. One day, out of sheer boredom, he found his way into a local tattoo parlor. He soon became a repeat customer.

“Before I took my first drink or drug, tattoos were my emotional outlet,” Hamilton said. “I would sit in a tattoo chair for eight to nine hours straight. Some days I would get three tattoos.”

Hamilton inked all 26 tattoos on his body before taking a single sip of alcohol. The body art he accumulated clearly reflected his spiritual battle. Some were of demons and devils, while others were the images of Christ and crosses.

Soon, out of one addiction, another was born.

One night, while hanging out with the tattoo-shop crowd, Hamilton took his first drink of alcohol, which was shortly followed by his first line of cocaine. It wasn’t long before drugs replaced baseball as his consuming desire. Hamilton was obsessed with one thing: lining up his next hit.

*****

The next season, Hamilton returned to the field, but, for the first time in his life, baseball was a challenge. He had trouble connecting at the plate, and he was plagued with injuries. Over the course of his three minor-league seasons, he missed more than 230 games.

Frequent trips to the disabled list meant trouble for Hamilton, as his time was absorbed by parties and drugs. Eight times he went to drug rehab, and eight times he came back intending to stay clean. Not once was he successful.

In the summer of 2003, Hamilton returned to his team from a rehab assignment and planned a fresh start. But that very night, he was invited to hang out with a group of teammates, and, not wanting to be alone, Hamilton accepted. Before the night was over, he was using again, even though he knew he had a drug test scheduled for the next day.

"I remember taking off my uniform for what I thought might have been the very last time. Then I got in my car, after telling them what I had had done, and I drove home."

“I basically sabotaged myself,” he said. “I remember being at the field the next day and starting to cry because I knew what I had done. I looked at the pitcher and realized that it might be the last time I ever stepped foot on the field. I remember taking off my uniform for what I thought might have been the very last time. Then I got in my car after telling them what I had done and drove home.”

While Hamilton had only assumed his suspension when he left, he eventually received the official news. Several months after he returned home, he was sitting on his couch watching ESPN when he heard the report: “Josh Hamilton has been suspended for violation of Major League Baseball’s drug-abuse policy.”

Without his baseball dream to fight for, Hamilton fell deeper into his pursuit of drugs: “I pretty much went after it after that.”

*****

While back home in North Carolina, Hamilton continued seeking help.

In the fall of 2003, after his official suspension, he paid a 2 a.m. visit to the house of Michael Dean Chadwick. He had attended high school with and dated Chadwick’s daughter, and he also knew that Chadwick was a recovered drug addict himself. He reasoned that someone who had been in his shoes could provide answers he hadn’t found in rehab.

“I remember Big Daddy just being awesome,” Hamilton said, referring to Chadwick by his better-known nickname. “I heard a little bit about his story and what he had been through, and they were the same things I had gone through. Looking back, I know God drew me to his house that night.”

Chadwick, a man with a strong faith in Christ who also currently serves as a local FCA board member, was the key Hamilton had been looking for. During the months that followed, Chadwick provided him the encouragement to start attending AA meetings and doing community service. He also gave Hamilton a steady job at his construction site.

Not long after, Hamilton ran into his former girlfriend (and current boss’ daughter), Katie. It had been more than a year since the two had dated, but the relationship soon rekindled. In November 2004, just four months later, they were married.

“It was that fast, but when you know, you know,” Katie said. “In three weeks I went from thinking I had no feelings for him to wanting to marry him.”

*****

Hamilton was starting the new year of 2005 as a new man. He had been clean for more than six months, had found and married his bride, and the two were now expecting a child. Both he and Katie thought his life with drugs was over.

“I was very naive about drug addiction,” Katie said. “I thought it was more of a choice you could make. I didn’t know the ins and outs of it.”

She was soon brought to reality. Hamilton had a minor 24-hour relapse—a brief moment of weakness—but it was all it took to shatter their would-be fairytale, as it was soon followed by his return to alcohol four months later at a company party.

“That night didn’t turn out too well,” Hamilton said. “[I realize now that] anything that alters your mood is a drug, and I don’t do well with an altered mood.”

That night, after punching out the windshields in two cars, breaking a bat across his leg and standing in the middle of his yard yelling at his wife and her father, Hamilton was arrested and taken to jail.

"Anything that alters your mood is a drug, and I don’t do well with an altered mood.”

Instead of allowing the incident to be a wake-up call, Hamilton turned in the opposite direction and dove head-first back into his addiction.

He started back on cocaine and then moved to harder drugs. There were moments of sobriety, but they all were short-lived.

Hamilton cleaned up long enough to see the birth of his daughter, Sierra, in August 2005, but even that occasion led to a slip. On his way to get a prescription filled for Katie, he stopped in at a local bar, and, within hours, he was at it again.

“As an athlete, it is such a rush on the field making a good play, doing things that most people can’t,” Hamilton said. “It felt like the drugs did that for me when I didn’t have baseball. It made me get that rush and feel like I was on top of the world. But it always ended badly; it would always come down, and I would get depressed.”

This time, Katie was fed up.

“He wasn’t helping himself,” she said. “I didn’t see any change or effort.”

As a result, Katie kicked her husband out of the house—a move to which he responded by going on a four-day crack binge. No sleep, no food, just drugs.

Unable to return home, Hamilton turned to his grandmother. He showed up on her doorstep weighing only 180 pounds, a skeleton of the man he used to be.

“She had always told me I could come there for anything, anytime, for any reason,” Hamilton said. “I didn’t’ have anywhere else to go, so I stayed there that first week, and I used a couple of times there.”

Hamilton’s grandmother knew something was different and confronted her grandson.

“I had heard it so many times before,” he said. “People I loved had said they couldn’t take it anymore—they hated seeing me kill myself—but it had never sunk in. And then, for some reason, God opened my heart, and my grandmother told me all those things again. She cried, and for some reason, He allowed me to feel those feelings [that she was sharing with me].”

That night, Hamilton awakened to the monster he’d become and realized how far he had run from the God he had called upon early in his career. He was relieved to find that like the father of the prodigal son, God was pleased to welcome him back.

“I am so happy that God gives you more than one chance,” Hamilton said. “I tried to stop so many times. I went to rehabs and meetings. And, yes, all that stuff helps, but when I decided to surrender my life to Christ, that is when it changed. I was able to stop using. God’s mercy and grace is astonishing to me.”

That day, October 5, 2005, marked the beginning of a new life for Josh Hamilton—a life without drugs or alcohol; a life now focused on Christ and serving Him with all of his heart.

*****

Hamilton wasn’t the only one in the family God had been dealing with through the experience. Katie had been fighting strong battles of her own.

“During Josh’s relapse, I spent so much time in prayer,” she said. “I felt God laying on my heart that Josh was going to get back into baseball, and that He was going to give him a platform to share his testimony and share what God had done in his life.”

Josh and Katie Hamilton with daughters Julia and Sierra.
Not pictured: newborn Michaela

This revelation came as a complete surprise to Katie. She still had never seen her husband play baseball at that point and thought his days on the field were done. When she felt the Spirit giving her the vision for Hamilton’s future, she questioned why He would reveal such information during the worst period of his addictions.

“I kept thinking, ‘You know, Lord, I must have been so wrong. Did I just imagine You told me that? Did I just dream it? Was it something that I wanted?’” she said. “The Lord always just told me to wait. Even when I wanted to quit praying for Josh, He would bring me back to Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV): ‘But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength...’”

While remaining faithful in prayer, Katie still battled bitterness and resentment toward her husband. Not wanting those emotions to take root, she sought help and advice from her pastor. To her surprise, he didn’t suggest a complex list of things for her to do. He gave her one simple task: forgive Josh wholeheartedly. Whether he accepted it or not couldn’t matter.

Katie took the advice. She called Hamilton at his grandmother’s house and spoke powerful words to her husband: “I forgive you.”

Not completely understanding the weight of her words, he responded with a halfhearted, “OK.”

“I wasn’t all there yet emotionally, just being a month sober,” Hamilton said. “I just listened.”

Still, Katie meant what she said, and, to this day, has never once brought up Hamilton’s past. Not the drugs or nights he went missing. There’s been no pointing of the finger or questioning “Why?”

Said a now-understanding Hamilton: “That is a good wife.”

Soon after the phone conversation, the two reconciled. Hamilton began seeking God, reading his Bible, praying and participating in a Bible study—all the things he had neglected in the years that had passed since he first acknowledged Christ.

*****

Josh Hamilton - #32
Texas Rangers

Life Verse: James 4:7 (NIV): “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Born: May 21, 1981
Position: OF
Bats/Throws: L/L
Height/Weight: 6-4/235 lbs.

Favorite Pitch: “Anything across the plate.”

Best Thing About Baseball: “I love throwing players out. The ball goes up, you see the guy on third, you hear the crowd and your teammates yell, ‘Tagging!’ You catch the ball, throw it and watch the whole thing happen. Then the stands explode when you get him out. It’s just an awesome feeling.”

2008 Highlights:
• Broke the All-Star Home Run Derby record with 28 home runs in a single round.
• Was batting over .300 and leading the Majors in RBIs into September 2008.
• Became the first player in a decade to be intentionally walked with the bases loaded.

Still under official suspension from Major League Baseball, Hamilton didn’t know how it would be possible for God to use him in baseball as Katie had predicted. Then, in January 2006, he received a call from Roy Silver, a former professional ballplayer who had read an article about the centerfielder’s desire to return to the sport. He invited Hamilton to his baseball academy, The Winning Inning, in Clearwater, Fla. But there was one condition: hard work and Scripture memorization would equal time hitting and throwing.

Hamilton accepted and relocated. He threw himself into chores that ranged from cleaning bathrooms and vacuuming offices, to maintaining the field and trimming the trees. He also attended the Bible studies offered and got serious about studying the
Word.

“I was kind of like their experiment,” Hamilton said. “It humbled me back to the roots of how I grew up: Work first; then play. If I didn’t finish my work, I couldn’t play.”

After two months in Florida, Hamilton felt better than he had in years and wanted to try his hand at independent league baseball. Wanting to cover his bases, he first placed a call to MLB to make sure his time in an independent league wouldn’t hurt his future chances of playing in the Majors.

Their response was unexpected.

“They said if they were going to clear me to play independent league ball, then I should get cleared to play back with the Devil Rays organization,” he said. “God had His hand on some hearts right there.”

Typically, players need to be clean for a full year before being reinstated. But doctors informed the Devil Rays’ general manager that playing would actually help Hamilton’s recovery. In June 2006, only eight months after his last drug use, Hamilton was officially reinstated with “limited privileges” and was soon playing for the Class A Hudson Valley Renegades in the New York-Penn League.

Delighted to be back on the field, Hamilton saw it as a miracle in and of itself that he could still swing a bat. But there
was more to come.

The following December, MLB held its Rule 5 draft, in which any player not listed on a team’s Major League 40-man roster could be picked up by another team for $50,000. The catch being that the selected player must stay on the new team’s big league 25-man roster for the entire season.

To that point, there had been no indication that any other team was interested in Hamilton. So, it came as a surprise to everyone when he was the third player chosen. He was picked up by the Chicago Cubs who immediately sold him to the Cincinnati Reds, which locked him into Cincinnati’s active roster for the season.

In only a year and a half, Hamilton had gone from a no-name drug addict to a promising ballplayer making his Major League debut.

*****

As Hamilton made his way to the plate in Cincinnati on Opening Day 2007, he received a standing ovation. And that same adoration and support has followed him to his new home in Texas with the Rangers.

He has now surpassed every expectation, not only by staying clean, but by producing on the field. Hamilton’s name has become associated with RBIs and home runs, so much so that in mid-August, his former team, the Tampa Bay Rays, intentionally walked him with the bases loaded to avoid a possible game-winning hit. It was an act not seen in more than a decade.

For Hamilton, however, the main highlight of this past year isn’t punishing the ball from the plate. It isn’t even slugging the record-breaking 28 homers the first round of the 2008 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby. No sports achievement can compare to what he enjoys most: the opportunity to share his story and to point to the One who is responsible for his rise out of the shadows. And just as Katie foresaw four years ago, Hamilton now gets that chance after every game.

Every time he is asked that one defining question—“How do you explain your turnaround?”—Hamilton smiles. He knows the answer to this one: “It’s a God thing.”

Fields of Faith - Frisco

2008-10-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

Last night was a great night. Across all of America students gathered on football fields and auditoriums worshiping, sharing testimonies and reading the word of God. It was the annual Fields of Faith event and I was fortunate enough to be joining with Frisco High school and several others for a memorable evening. We started with some wonderful worship and then Matt Washington got up and passionately challenged us on how we should be living and the things that will matter in the end. Next up was Ann from Wakeland High School who honestly shared about the real temptations that we all face. Temptations to fall in to the familiar and everyday routine of life, with God.

Next we heard the story of King Josiah and the impact that he had on his kingdom and his nation, at only 16 years old. He read about the way that Josiah brought his people to a place of remembering the Laws of God that they had forgotten for so many years. We were asked to look in to our own lives and in to the bible and see where we were. Where were the places that we had forgotten the laws of God, just as they had done. In the end it didn't matter whether you had been following Christ for your whole life or were one of the more then 20 teens who accepted him for the first time there in that auditorium, your life was changed and impacted by the testimonies and worship we had last night.

To cap everything off, we celebrated with a good old fashioned pizza party. It doesn't get much better then this for a gorgeous fall night.

Check out some of the pictures from the event (sorry they are a little dark, dark room - I'll do better next time). If you have more pictures you want to add, questions for us, whatever - post them here or email them to me at fcadallas@gmail.com.

Also, be sure to check out our group on Facebook, Twitter and Myspace.

Fields of Faith - Frisco

SMU Game Day

2008-10-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

Wow, it is an exciting time around here. There is a constant hum of the fax machine with registrations coming in and people frantically running around making plans, ordering shirts and talking with artists. Everyone is excited for the big day, are you excited? Check out our myspace to hear some of The After's music before the big day so you can be ready to jam along.

www.myspace.com/dallasfca

Starting this thing out.....

2008-10-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, we are really excited about the things going on at the Dallas FCA and in all of your schools so far. We are staring up this blog and hope that you will join us. We will be posting stories about things going on, questions for you to respond to, random thoughts, contests, etc. So pass this on to your friends, coaches and parents and hang on cause this is only the beginning.

Also, make sure that you are following us on twitter, are our friend on facebook and myspace as well. That will be fastest way to know what's going on and you don't want to miss out.