A quick update as today, we were able to put forward our top chaplain candidate to Nashville SC. The search for a chaplain which began back in August, culminated in developing a candidate pool. We had those candidates meet with Tennessee Titans (American Football) Chaplain, Casey Cramer for an additional layer of vetting. Casey was helpful in sharing his own personal experience of working in a church setting and offering a chaplain presence to a pro sport team in the Nashville culture.
Casey Cramer, former Tennessee Titans fullback and tight end, now serves as team chaplain and helped Soccer Chaplains United develop its candidate pool.
Next steps will include the chaplain candidate meeting with team ownership to get a feel for cultural fit. Once the candidate has been accepted, Soccer Chaplains United will begin doing more coaching and development support as the chaplain begins to develop the relationship of trust and provides care to the Nashville SC organization. If, for some reason, the team doesn’t feel like the candidate is a fit, Soccer Chaplains United will put forward another candidate.
One of the critical things we learned in placing a chaplain in Charlotte is that a chaplain will ultimately have better acceptance if the team ownership, executives, and coaches have a part in the process. Candidates that are mutually acceptable to Soccer Chaplains United and to the team or organization have a better chance of integration. While this makes the process sometimes longer or seemingly more cumbersome, it is more important to get the right person connected to a team as chaplain, rather than merely plugging a hole or filling a spot.
Nashville SC is also currently awaiting a decision from the Major League Soccer Board of Governors relating to their bid to join MLS. The team, slated to begin play in the United Soccer League (second division) in 2018, was one of four finalists in bidding for the next round of MLS expansion. The organization gave their formal presentation last week and await a decision which may come before the end of the year. MLS released a statement today regarding the pending decision.
