Faith on the Field

Through The Evangelical Catholic Reach MoreTM Mission Training, a Division I athlete learned how to bring her faith out from the sidelines.

Think back to your time as a young adult. You can probably still recall the struggles, doubts, and challenges you faced. Who guided you or who do you wish was there to have guided you?

Briana Gonzalez is a senior at Eastern Illinois University (EIU) in Charleston, Illinois. In her hometown of Huntington Beach, California, she was surrounded by religious education programs and youth groups through her parish, but never quite felt a deep connection to her faith. As a talented athlete, Briana grew up pouring her energy and determination into excelling as a competitive softball player. She committed to EIU in 2020 and took a big leap in moving from California to Illinois.

Adjusting to these major transitions – entering university, being far away from home, and handling the schedule and pressures of a Division 1 athlete – can be a difficult task for even the most independent young person.

“I was lucky to have my team and coaches surrounding me,” Briana says, “I was really impacted by one of my coaches who was a great model of faith. It introduced me to the idea that my faith doesn’t have to be compartmentalized.”

Briana had plugged herself into the university’s Newman Center but was nervous when she was invited by the campus minister to join a Reach More Mission Training group. “I didn’t feel prepared for the mission training because I didn’t really know Jesus,” she admits. Nonetheless, she said yes to the invitation. Briana immediately noticed a difference between her training group and other religious programs she’d experienced in the past.

“It was so much deeper than anything else I’ve done,” Briana shares, “I loved that it challenged me to pray and read Scripture every day, to share my faith with people I wouldn’t normally hang out with, and to truly listen to Jesus and to others. I’d never known my faith in that way before.”

The transformation that Briana experienced was obvious. Her daily habit of prayer strengthened her relationship with God, which fueled her confidence both on and off the field. She grew as an athlete, becoming more supportive and aware of the needs of her teammates. She started praying before practices and games. Briana’s teammates took notice of the changes. 

“God was working in my team and teammates, too,” Briana recalls, “When I would pray on the sidelines, my teammates would join me. Girls that wouldn’t normally do anything like that were praying with me.”

Softball is hard, Briana says, and you need a lot of physical and mental toughness to excel as an athlete. But God was softening the hearts of Briana and her teammates, inviting them to grow together and explore this deeper, more vulnerable side of their friendships.

Looking back, Briana sees her biggest transformational moments as the realization of how much her self-assuredness had grown. “I saw that fear held me back in a lot of situations. Fear of failure, fear of not being the best, fear that my worth was tied to my performance as an athlete. Since I’ve learned how to really pray, I feel secure in my identity as a daughter of God.”

Effective evangelization is difficult if you don’t establish your own personal relationship with Jesus through a regular habit of prayer and participation in the sacraments. But once you know how to listen, the Holy Spirit is able to do amazing things!