FCA Golf Tournament - March 18th

click photo for more info and to register

Tournament is on March 18th @ El Niguel Country Club

Night of Champions

FCA's annual outreach event Night of Champions is coming. Join us on Friday evening February 10th for a night of fun, food (as always, free In-N-Out), entertainment and Jesus. More info to come but get the date on your calendar now, you don't want to miss this!

Edison FCA

245 students showed up for the last FCA Huddle at Ediosn High School last week! The room was packed and the student leaders have done a great job reaching out to their campus! It was "FV Nerd Day" on campus in honor of the Bell Game the following night, so everyone was dressed up and having a great time! The leaders led a great game of "sit down if" and then student leaders Bri Emerzian got up and shared about her relationship with Jesus! She shared about how becoming a Christian does not always make things easier, but it provides a Rock and a Hope! Also, thanks to all the parents and youth pastors who came to support and serve at the huddle!

Huntington Beach FCA

About 65 students filled into room I-5 last week to hang out at HBHS FCA. We were blessed to have pizza and drinks provided by Hope Chapel, as well as the support of many other parents and youth pastors.The students led a fun Game and then Pastor Jim Gane from Crosspoint Baptist Church shared a message about the hope of Jesus. It was a great huddle!

HBHS FCA

Over 75 students showed up to participate in the second huddle of the year for HBHS FCA. We had a great time hanging out, eating pizza , playing games and hearing the Word from Pastor Eric Oleson (God's House). Student Leader CJ led the students in a modified version of Rock-Paper-Scissor called Bear-Flick-Chuck Norris. Leader Susannah Oleson then introduced her Father Eric and he taught the students about the importance of having a relationship with Jesus and why we really need Him!

It was a fun day at FCA and the leaders are very excited about what God has in store for the year!

I am Second - Lecrae

Huntington Beach High School FCA

Huntington Beach High School FCA kicked off with a bang on Wednesday! About 85 students packed into Mr. Johnston's classroom to check out the 1st FCA meeting of the year! We had a great time playing the "Who am I" game and then talking about what FCA is and what we will be doing throughout the year. God is good and it is so cool to see a room jam-packed with kids who want to find out more about Jesus!

We will meet again in 2 weeks, but in the meantime here are some pictures from the day!

The Athletes Bible...

August 11, 2011, 11:29 am » Jeff Hopper

I think it is important to consider some commonly chosen Bible passages and assess their application before selecting other Scripture choices that may make a lot more sense during a game. Here we go...

Three passages that athletes should trade out for something better

 

Theologians call the convenient application of a Scripture passage to our personal circumstances or interests “prooftexting.” Some teachers may do this deceptively, but most believers do it lazily or accidentally. Understanding the context of a passage helps us keep a check on our prooftexting and challenges us to apply the verse to our lives as it was meant to be applied, not how we would like it to be applied. Desiring to be more careful with our Scripture application, then, let’s look at three passages that may need to be phased out of use by Christian athletes.

          

 

Click here to continue Reading this article...

Camp Update - day 2 pictures

As promised, pictures from day 2...

Wrestling Coaches and Huddle leaders planning the week!

Women's Soccer staff prays together!

Surf Clinicians might have the toughest job all week?

Ackerman Hall just waiting to be filled with rowdy campers

Surf Clinician Dave Allee & OC Director Greg Brown

Handing out Camp Staff shirts...we are official!

Jared & Kelly Hall with some awesome huddle leaders!

Camp Update - day 1

Today was the first day of on site prep at camp. Core Staff and huddle leaders arrived to begin preparing and training for the arrivals of the campers on Wednesday morning. The day began for me and Jessica earl this morning as we awoke @ 5:30am to pack up our truck and get out of the apartment in time to pick up our camp U-Haul rental by 7:30am. After I got the U-Haul Jessica headed up to camp with the kids and i met a few of our other staff people at the warehouse to load up all the sports equipment, t-shirts, and about 3,000 pounds of bibles! WOW!

Once here we spent the day unloading and getting the equipment shed and training room set up.... on the other side of things the huddle leaders (college athlete/camp counselor) were having a bit more fun! They spent the day bonding, playing games and preparing their hearts spiritually for the week ahead of them! Then tonight the were treated to a Westwood favorite...Diddy Riese! Needless to say, today was tiring but rewarding! It is great to be a part of all the behind the scenes hard work that go in to making this an awesome experience for the Kids.

I will have Pictures everyday starting tomorrow...I promise!

Please Pray for; The huddle leaders as they prepare to influence the kids for Christ, The staff to be willing and ready to serve with a humble attitude!

GameChanger - FCA Sports Camp Updates

 

Tomorrow camp staff will head up to UCLA for our 2011 FCA Sports Camp to prepare for the 692 campers that will show up on Wednesday. I will be providing an inside look at FCA sports camp with daily updates and pictures. Check back each day this week, Monday June 27 - Sunday July 3, to see how God will use FCA Staff and volunteers to make an impact in the hearts of kids from all over the West Coast!

Check the Blog for Daily Updates this week!

FCA Sports Camp 2011

FCA Sports Camp 2011 is at UCLA from June 29-July3...Be There!

(Click on Picture for more info)

Contact Adam Goodman with any questions!

May HBHS Huddle!

On a beautiful 80 degree day in Huntington Beach, FCA decided to head outside and play a friendly game of Kick-Ball! It was Senior/Freshman vs. Juniors/Sophmores and the Seniors/Freshman took home the "W"

 Check out some pictures from today...

Football Power Camps 2011

Sign Ups Live for our 2011 Football Power Camps. 

(Click on Picture fro more info)

FCA Hoops Tournament Update

10 teams showed up for the inaugural OC FCA Basketball Tournament held at Edison High School. There were 4 teams in the high school division and 6 in the adult division, but the competition was fierce either way.

High School Division

 

Adult Division

Everyone had a great time and got to play a ton of basketball. The winners of the day were the "Clippers" for the HS division and "Team 6" for the adult division. There were some great competitive and hard fought games all day long. Also, Dylan Garrity of "team 6" beat out Mikey Kinoshita of the "Kamakazis in the 3 pt shoot out. Both were very impressive, Mikey hit 12 of 15 shots but Dylan edged him out with a 13 of 15 shooting performance.

the "Clippers" with Jared and I

"Team 6"

GOD Given Talent...

The Evolution of March Madness: How Come Talent is “God Given” When there is no God?

March 23, 2011, 9:20 am » Christian Buckley

The Evolution of March Madness Evolution:
How Come Talent is “God Given” When there is no God? 

I don’t profess to be an expert on evolution or the defense of creation.  I can’t explain the mutative process and how only some mutations are passed down and some are not.  I can’t explain how natural selection, in combination with randomness and time, has produced human beings. At the end of the day, I really can’t explain why, “Evolution means that we’re all distant cousins: humans and oak trees, hummingbirds and whales.” 

What I can tell you is that most of the world that has a platform to talk about it, at least in the media, seems to reject any possibility for a creator.  Not hard to see that. 

But what I find really interesting is that same “media” – the one that finds the idea of God as creator synonymous with garden gnomes as mischievous creatures that ruin my strawberries -- uses the phrase “God given talent” quite a bit. As I was watching the NCAA Tournament over the weekend, and the Oscars before that, and the Super Bowl before that my ears just continued to be pricked by commentators constantly referring to a standout actor, musician or athlete as having “God given talent.” 

It’s the go to phrase when there just seems to be an astounding difference between say Lebron James and the next best athlete.  Like when the Jamaican runner Usain Bolt smashed the world record in the 100 meter dash a few years back and there was no way to explain it really other than aparently God given talent.  When an actor, say a really young one, just has an unparalleled ability to present that art or when a phenom artist or musician just pops up – God given talent.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By1JQFxfLMM
 
Not once have I ever heard a media personality say, “What amazing evolutionary talent that player has” or “just look at the power of mutation, natural selection, and time at work.”  


So how come when most of the enlightened part of the world thinks I have more in common with the UCLA or Florida mascots (bruins and gators) than a creative force do we still fall back on God as the final explanation for uncanny unexplainable human ability?
  
Maybe we just haven’t evolved beyond that silliness.  Or maybe we just can’t get away from the fact that when we witness something truly amazing like a Jimmer Fredette jump shot – we intrinsically know that whatever is good and beautiful and astounding might not have trickled down from goo.

Heart of an Athlete - Caroline Smith

Heart of an Athlete

 March 2011

Q&A with Caroline Smith Florida State Swimming

“Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you your heart’s desires.” – Psalm 37:4

Florida State University sophomore Caroline Smith made an immediate splash with the Seminole swimming team when, as a freshman, she set the school record in the 500-yard freestyle. Even more impressive was the fact that she did so while turning in a stellar classroom performance, earning ACC Honor Roll honors and a 4.0 GPA. Still, as member of FSU’s FCA leadership team, Smith knows the records and honors are blessings from the Lord, whom she joyfully worships both in and out of the pool.

STV: Were you a natural-born swimmer, or did you ever doggie-paddle like the rest of us?CS: I took to the water naturally. I’ll never forget my mom begging me to get out of the bathtub as a little girl. I loved being around the water and spending my summers at the local pool and at swim camps.
I did have to work at the competitive side of it, though. In my very first race I finished dead last and was lapped along the way. But my mom says that after that race I was smiling like I’d won. I was just happy being able to swim. It didn’t matter what place I finished; I just loved the sport.

“You can’t sprint and expect to hold on; you have to be patient and endure.”

STV: You swim distance races at Florida State. What’s the key to success in those events?CS: It is all about endurance and patience. I’ll swim about 400 or more laps in practice to build my endurance. Practice also helps me with pacing and teaches me to be patient during competition. You can’t sprint and expect to hold on; you have to be patient and endure.

STV: In 2008, you qualified to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials. Is it still a goal of yours to compete in the Olympics one day?CS: I think, at some point, every kid dreams of competing in the Olympics. If I made it to those starting blocks I would be very appreciative to God, realizing that it wouldn’t be just my efforts but His grace and the help of the people around me who got me there. But right now I’m taking one day at a time and focusing on the goals of an ACC Championship for our team and individual championships in my events.

STV: What do personal accolades mean to you in light of your relationship with the Lord?CS: I know they are blessings from Him, and they’ve had a huge impact on my faith. I believe the truth found in Philippians 4:13: “I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.” If it wasn’t for God, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I prayed a lot about where I should go to school, and I know my prayers were answered. God led me to Florida State, and the people here have really blessed my college experience.

STV: Is FCA a part of that sentiment?CS: Definitely! Sometimes God drops down on the priority list, especially in the lives of athletes who have rigorous schedules and schoolwork. But FCA has helped me put Him first. It has encouraged me to grow stronger in my faith and reach out to others. The guidance we get through FCA helps mold us into who God made us to be.
The people I’ve met through FCA have been great, too—especially our leaders, Denise Bernath and Reggie Hutchins. It’s awesome to come together as athletes who have the same goals and ambitions of wanting to represent our teams well and serve God the best way we can.

Basketball Tournament Sign Ups

The FCA 3 vs. 3 Basketball Tournament sign ups are now live on OCFCA.org! You can register your team and pay right there.

Click here to Register

FCA 3 vs 3 Basketball Tournament

 SIGN UP HERE

 

OC FCA Basketball Tournament on April 2 @ Edison High School! Ages 14 and up (Yes there will be a Masters Division for you "advanced gentleman")! Bring your friends and help make this event huge! 

Contact me for additional information @ agoodman@fca.org

Mission Viejo FCA

Wednesday was another great day for Mission FCA. About 175 students were blessed to have free del Taco, play an awesome game and got to hear a message from Mission Hills Youth Pastor Danny Bower. Danny shared about passion and how our relationship with Christ needs to be filled with passion. God's passion for us is so overwhelming and Danny truly related that to the kids. Thanks to all the parent volunteers and for Danny and Sean Aday (Grace Community Church) for coming and spending time with the students!

See you all at Night of Champions (feb. 11)