Gretchen Shelton, FCA's area director of Southwest Florida, speaks to the athletes on the first day of camp. Nine Florida high school football programs were in attendance.
Fellowship of Christian Athletes is a non-profit organization that reaches out to athletes of the world through faith based coaching techniques, clinics, and events. Ave Maria University had a chance to partner with FCA in order to put on a football camp for nine Florida area teams.
High school athletes, coaches, and staff arrived on Ave Maria University’s campus Monday, July 26th to begin the four day “Unleash the Power” camp. The theme of camp is “Strengthen your Core,” and is backed by Colossians 1:11; “May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy.
Ave Maria University’s athletic department, which is affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, shares the same core values as that of FCA making it a strong and successful partnership. FCA’s core values – integrity, serving, teamwork, and excellence run parallel with the NAIA’s Champions of Character values – respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership, and sportsmanship. The camp is designed to develop these core values utilizing Christian principles as well as to encourage, equip, and empower athletes to serve and make a difference in the lives of others.
The athletes were not the only ones to gain benefit from attending the camp. AMU Football’s Defensive Coordinator Mike Kolakowski found it enjoyable and exciting to have over 300 kids on campus, many of which were juniors and seniors looking to play college football. “The camaraderie of the teams was top notch. The players really learned and did a great job of staying focused on the instruction being taught during the field workouts,” stated Kolakowski. He continued to mention, “The FCA staff and high school coaches were outstanding during the four day camp. The camp was run extremely well, was organized, and the teaching was phenomenal.” Putting on a camp with over 300 athletes is no easy task, and the AMU staff was thankful to have Gretchen Shelton, the Area Director for Southwest Florida FCA, on campus to ensure a smooth running of the camp.
We the Cuprits, the youth worship band at First Assembly in Fort Myers, were on stage during the opening assembly on Day 1 of the camp where the athletes gathered in AMU’s Bob Thomas Student Union. The band members, Josiah Ravish – lead singer, Jordan Batty – drummer, Adam Ferrell – keys, Aaron Dunn – bass, and Paul Erickson – lead guitar, amped up the crowd. Shortly thereafter, AMU Head Football Coach Barry Fagan addressed the athletes, and briefly shared what it takes to transition from high school to the college football ranks and about finding the right school. Fagan declared an athlete’s character as important as their physical talent level. Fagan went on to state, “The player must know the difference between right and wrong, have a good spiritual base, with morals and ethics, in addition to being able to compete at the scholarship level.”
A student from Calvary Christian Academy said about the camp, “It helped me to realize that I don’t need to worry about what everyone else thinks and that if we work hard, we will succeed.” Along with the players growing as young men, the coaches were also able to spiritually grow. A coach from Victory Christian Academy said, the camp “helped me as a coach to get closer spiritually to more of my players.” This is a perfect example of what FCA is trying to do with their programs.
FCA of Southwest Florida is located at 3000 Orange Blossom Dr., Naples, Florida 34109.
A video can be viewed at the Ave Maria University Athletics homepage.