In this new series entitled, The Technical Area, Rev Brad shares some specific applications for certain biblical passages that help apply faith to football in simple, practical ways.
Today’s lesson, is on Mark 3:13-19. Here, Jesus is selecting, from amongst many people who are following him, a select twelve: the Apostles. These are going to be men who live with Jesus, travel with Jesus, learn from Jesus, and go out preaching and teaching and with authority from Jesus. The intentionality with which Jesus selects the Twelve is akin to a manager choosing the starting eleven for match day.
In this episode, Selecting Your Starting 11, Rev Brad examines Jesus’ actions here as a bit of a template for a person selecting their own team of people to surround them in different life moments and circumstances. He talks through six application points based off of six different elements highlighted in the text of Mark 3:13-19.
Special friend and technical director, Adam Smith (currently with Central Fuego Valley FC) is our guest introducer today.
The Technical Area is a new series which is part of the From the Touchline podcast with Rev Brad Kenney. Rev Brad is Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. He and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer).
Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd,which you can find in the Apple and Google store.
https://soccerchaplainsunited.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/The-Technical-Area-Series-Cover-Art.png860934Brad Kenney/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.pngBrad Kenney2023-10-04 00:00:002024-08-20 11:33:21The Technical Area – Mark 3 – Selecting Your Starting 11
Adam Smith is the Sporting Director of Central Valley Fuego FC. He is a former professional goalkeeper and is, today, a coach — perhaps his most well-known coaching stint back in 2019 leading USL-Championship side Fresno FC to a third place finish in the West.
Today, on the Soccer Chaplains United podcast, From the Touchline, in part four (the finale) of our series, Adam talks about his current role at Fuego and also reflects on what it is like to have a relationship with Jesus in the midst of the adversity and challenge that comes with the beautiful game. Adam also gets between the nets for a game of Crosses with Rev in a light-hearted way to end the podcast.
From the Touchline is a short-feature (10-15 min) podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. Rev Brad and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer).
Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd,in the Apple and Google store.
https://soccerchaplainsunited.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/From-the-Touchline-Cover-Art.jpg15001500Brad Kenney/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.pngBrad Kenney2023-05-03 00:00:002024-08-20 11:46:44Jesus Saves with special guest Adam Smith — Part 4
Adam Smith is the Sporting Director of Central Valley Fuego FC which plays in the United Soccer League (USL) League One – part of the third tier of professional soccer in the United States. Adam has an extensive playing and coaching career that extends all the way back to England where he grew up and his eventual transition to America.
Today, on the Soccer Chaplains United podcast, From the Touchline, in part three of our series, Adam talks about his time as manager for Fresno FC. Fresno, a since-shuttered USL-Championship team, was led by Adam to a near top of the table finish in 2019, but with 5 games to go in season, they were told that the team wouldn’t be around in 2020 and was ceasing operations over a stadium issue. Adam shares more on his experience from his time there.
From the Touchline is a short-feature (10-15 min) podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. Rev Brad and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer).
Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd,in the Apple and Google store.
https://soccerchaplainsunited.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/From-the-Touchline-Cover-Art.jpg15001500Brad Kenney/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.pngBrad Kenney2023-04-26 00:00:002024-08-20 11:47:06Jesus Saves with special guest Adam Smith — Part 3
Adam Smith is the Sporting Director of Central Valley Fuego FC which plays in the United Soccer League (USL) League One – part of the third tier of professional soccer in the United States. Adam has an extensive playing and coaching career that extends all the way back to England where he grew up and his eventual transition to America.
Today, on the Soccer Chaplains United podcast, From the Touchline, in part two, Adam talks about the trajectory of his coaching pathway as his playing days came to an end. He takes us all the way to the moment when, in 2019, he learned that his team Fresno FC, would be ceasing operations despite pushing for playoffs and being near the top of the table.
From the Touchline is a short-feature (10-15 min) podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. Rev Brad and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer).
Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd,in the Apple and Google store.
https://soccerchaplainsunited.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/From-the-Touchline-Cover-Art.jpg15001500Brad Kenney/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.pngBrad Kenney2023-04-19 00:00:002024-08-20 11:47:29Jesus Saves with special guest Adam Smith — Part 2
Adam Smith is the Sporting Director of Central Valley Fuego FC which plays in the United Soccer League (USL) League One – part of the third tier of professional soccer in the United States. Adam has an extensive playing and coaching career that extends all the way back to his boyhood days of playing with Everton’s academy as the son of former professional footballer, Graham Smith.
Today, on the Soccer Chaplains United podcast, From the Touchline, in part one, Adam talks about those early days playing and where all his travels took him but to an important realization in his life. You won’t want to miss the start of this amazing series with Adam Smith.
From the Touchline is a short-feature (10-15 min) podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. Rev Brad and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer).
Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd,in the Apple and Google store.
https://soccerchaplainsunited.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/From-the-Touchline-Cover-Art.jpg15001500Brad Kenney/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.pngBrad Kenney2023-04-12 00:00:002024-08-20 11:47:55Jesus Saves with special guest Adam Smith — Part 1
The start for 2019 is off to a fast and furious pace, with the panel that I was able to be part of just a few days into the new year. The annual, United Soccer Coaches convention was the occasion for me to be share insights as a Major League Soccer chaplain on a panel dealing with the topic of character. The panel was comprised of a few other members that I’ve come to know throughout the years including Ben Dudley (representing Positive Coaching Alliance), Adam Smith (Head Coach of USL-Championship side Fresno FC), Caroline Stanley (Coach at University of Tulsa), and moderated by Jordan Angeli (Broadcaster and commentator with the Rapids).
Adam Smith, Ben Dudley, Caroline Stanley, myself, and Jordan Angeli (left to right) pose for a picture before the panel begins.
There were, by some accounts, a little over 100 coaches in the room for our panel. The bulk of the room was made up of youth and collegiate coaches, with a scattering of others in different roles. Once the introductions were done, we dove into questions for each of the panelists — including defining character and also presenting some situational moments for those attending to think through. There were also some great Q&A as several coaches asked about how to implement character and build up resiliency with their players.
Even through there was familiarity amongst the panelists, there was a little room for debate and disagreement. In particular, I responded strongly to Ben’s statement that sports build character. I stated a strong case for sports revealing character, not necessarily building character — that the processing and shaping of character coming as parents, coaches, chaplains, etc. help an athlete understand their sports experiences.
Caroline Stanley (center) shares some of how she creates character-shaping moments as a coach at the collegiate level.
While most have asked, “How did the panel go?” my main hope is that we (Soccer Chaplains United) have shown well in this first panel. Hopefully, more discussion on the subject of character will continue in the years to come. Character is a critical issue whether examining the sport of soccer from a Christian or non-Christian worldview, whether secular or religious, as well.
I had a couple of Christian coaches come up to me after the session saying,
Thank you, I have always struggled with integrating my faith and my coaching in a positive way that won’t turn people off or call me into question.
I certainly, too, tried to make a case for coaches to consider utilizing chaplains or counselors as part of the team surrounding the team. It will remain to be seen if there are future opportunities for us to grow or if we will need to have a place at the table a little while longer. At any rate, we’ve begun and perhaps God will allow us to continue. There is a longer and deeper conversation to be had surrounding the topic of character.
In the United Soccer Coaches charter, character is stated to come first. But as you can see from the image below, charters and values are difficult to not only message, but also to live out. In some ways, our room ought to have been filled to overflowing because even on a basic level, many coaches in the game are faced with the tremendous issues of character amongst their athletes and staff.
Special thanks to those encouraging and supporting us to be part of this year’s convention. We look forward to seeing what opportunities, God creates for us going forward.
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