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The past month of October has flown by for Soccer Chaplains United. An early October trip to Nashville, TN to scout out a team chaplain kicked off the start of Soccer Chaplains United’s work in further developing chaplaincy in soccer.

Nashville, TN

Nashville SC begins play in the United Soccer League (USL) in 2018. With Head Coach Gary Smith currently working to form the team that will begin play in the U.S. second division of soccer, the opportunity exists to help the club place a chaplain from the beginning. Nashville, a city rising in prominence, has also risen in the eyes of Major League Soccer (MLS) and may soon discover if its bid to join the top flight has been accepted.

I was fortunate to spend time with the head coach and to also conduct interviews with four different candidates. The typical process is to narrow down the candidate pool and then put top candidates in front of ownership and coaching staff to create buy-in. As an organization gets a sense of fit and culture, Soccer Chaplains United ensures that a candidate meets certain criteria or is in progress toward meeting those standards.

Nashville, as a city, has many similarities to Denver, CO — including rising rent rates and increased traffic congestion as part of the cities rising popularity and target for healthcare and music industries. For USL players on 8-month contracts ranging from $500-$4000/month, the development of chaplaincy and counseling support becomes key.

The candidate pool in Nashville will soon be narrowed. If you are interested in exploring serving as a chaplain, or if you have a candidate recommendation or for further information, please email info@soccerchaplainsunited.org.