The recent blog posting by American forward Robbie Rogers, who has stepped back from football, announced that he was gay. In a moving post that has been tweeted and mentioned by many in the soccer world, Rogers wrote of the pain of the secrecy that he has had to live with and the difficulty of telling and explaining to his loved ones after 25 years. Soccer, for Rogers, became an escape and a way to hide his secret - but one can sense the pain with which Rogers wrote. He describes seemingly religious attitudes prevalent as he writes, "Try convincing yourself that your creator has the most wonderful purpose for you even though you were taught differently." Whilst Rogers didn't state

Preseason often offers a challenge to players, coaches, and chaplains alike. For the player, there are the tasks of securing a contract, getting into match-fitness, making the starting 11, or, sometimes coming back from surgery or injury. For the coaches, they must make decisions on what players to name to the squad, what positions need more support, what formation to play, and what strategies to employ through the season. Teams spend their preseason time refining and working out the mechanics of the game and their work. Often, both player and coach are looking to work out of "preseason form" and begin to ascend to the peak of top shape, top form - physically and mentally. To accomplish this, each goes

I recently returned from the annual conference on sports chaplaincy, held by Sports Chaplaincy - United Kingdom (or SCUK). The two day conference centered on the growing issue of Mental Well-being in Sport and there was a tremendous amount of attention on the players and coaches with a view to how the pressure of sport is impacting to the social, spiritual, mental, and other aspects of life. Aside from the main conference, though, was an undercurrent, a subtext. Even from the beginning of the conference, the issue of chaplaincy standards and accountability was an issue that was brought to the table. In all other types of positions and places, there are standards of excellence that usually accompany and accredit one

As I recently watch a road game for the Colorado Rapids, the team was working to come from behind. Down 1 goal to 2, the team was struggling to avoid a record 10-game road stretch without a point (either a win or tie). Then in the 86th minute, with little left in the time of the game it happened: Rapids' Smith Goal As I watched the game-changing event unfold, I thought, "Good finish" and told the team as much in my weekly e-mail to them. That phrase (common amongst soccer fans) though made me stop and reflect on what it means and what it looks like to finish well. Not just by putting the ball in the back of the net on

No, the post title isn't a typo. For the past three seasons, Wells Thompson has played as a midfielder for the Colorado Rapids. But Thompson is not so much known for his on the field contributions (75 appearances, 40 starts, 5 goals, 4 assists), but for his work in the community and with fans. Vocal about his faith in Jesus Christ, Thompson was a player who was a regular at the team bible study (or CoreTraining) and also in living out his faith. He was the kind of person to take extra time to pack up team lunch leftovers and distribute it to the homeless living near the stadium. He made visits to the local rescue mission to play soccer