Engaging with athletes and coaches means making connections and getting to the Heart of Sport. For the newly organized Alpine Ski Team Huddle in Pinedale, this has been an exciting opportunity to engage with their teammates and share the Gospel.

Keep reading below an interview from one of the Huddle Leaders River Dauwen. She played high school soccer and skied on the Pinedale teams. As a volunteer, her journey with FCA has certainly come full circle. She had helped lead on the FCA Pinedale Leadership Team, as well with the Star Valley Soccer Power Camp a few years ago as a high school student.

Read in River's own words how she and volunteers are engaging with athletes on campus and in the community:

How It Started. "The alpine ski huddle got started right before Christmas break. I came to practice to announce it starting and I asked a question for everyone to ponder.

'What is the most important thing about you?' This question really goes straight to the heart of what is your identity? How you see yourself?"

It is an especially important question for Christians. Our immediate response should be our identity in Christ; but life can sometimes get the better of us and our answer is an identity rooted in the world."

How It's Going. "Our meeting generally starts by just chatting about how practice and the most recent race has gone as well as what's happening in their lives. Eventually, we will transition into prayer to prepare for a short devotional."

"I try my best to make the devotional very practical and applicable to all aspects of life. It’s more of a conversation about a biblical topic than anything else. After we finish the huddle, we end in prayer and head home!"

Volunteers and Leaders. "Coach Dylan Bear has been an incredible encouragement to both the students and myself. He has been at almost every meeting with some thought provoking questions ready to go.

Katie LaBuda from the FCA school leadership team has also been a big part of getting this huddle going! She has stepped up to motivate other athletes to come and be willing to learn.

Allison Gregory is another student who has been essential to our huddle. She is a steady and consistent presence at our meetings who always has a wise insight or practical application to share."

Vision for the Huddle. "The vision for this huddle is to help these student athletes integrate Christ into their practices, races and time spent with their team. We want to bring Christ into their daily activities through teaching practical applications of Scripture and helping them notice opportunities to show God's love to others.

Skiing can be difficult to stand firm for the Lord in because of the culture of the sport. I know what a struggle it is. I want them to be more prepared and supported than I was!"

Over MLK weekend Northern Colorado and Wyoming, staff all gathered in the scenic Estes Park at the YMCA of the Rockies for a weekend focused on Sabbath. 50 athletes attended from 17 different high schools!

Why Winter Camp?

We wanted our Student Athletes to grow closer to God as Christians. Winter is the perfect time to slow down and focus on God more. If you've been to FCA Camp, you know all about the fun we always have, the new relationships we build, competition, and developing as athletes.

Winter Camp was just that with the fellowship and fun. However, it was also about slowing down to get to know God and ourselves better. As athletes, we must rest to let our bodies recover so we can compete again.

But what about our souls? What about our minds?

Our FCA WY State Director Karsten Sween spent time speaking on this important topic through their time there. "They need rest, too! Winter Camp teaches our athletes the special day of rest - the Sabbath," Karsten Sween shares on Winter Camp. 

Feel free to watch the video below to learn more and hear the impact on these Student Athletes from Wyoming and Colorado.

Empowering our Leaders to share the Gospel and make Disciples truly fulfills FCA's vision and mission to: To see the world transformed by Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes and to lead every coach and athlete into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His church.

We recruit and train our FCA Leaders to go out into their sports and campus communities to be positive influences and impact their teammates and peers. We pray that even their coaches will be affected by their love for Jesus and growth as Athletes!

FCA Empowered Leader in Casper. Meet our FCA Empowered Leader Erich Hulshizer, who leads 7th grade CCA Huddle with our Huddle Leader Volunteers. In addition, he helps lead the Kelly Walsh football, boys swimming and soccer huddles.

As a Kelly Walsh Junior, Erich plays football, soccer and diving. He was also awarded by the Wyoming Coaches Association the 2021 all-state football honors as Defense Back for Kelly Walsh.

"As a student leader, I talk to people whenever I am able to about God's love." - Eric Hulshizer

He initially got involved with FCA as a result of a Ministry Leader from CCA talking to him about FCA in middle school.

"I have always been in church my whole life and became a Christian when I was young. My favorite verse is Romans 12:1," shares Erich.  "FCA has helped me grow because I have become closer to God. Some ways I grew in my faith was because it helped me understand that I am pretty good at talking to people about God and has helped me want to become a youth pastor." 

Pray for our Leaders. When asked how FCA Team can pray for him, Erich says, "You can pray for me by asking God to keep me from distractions and help me stay focused on what He wants for my life and to give me confidence in whatever I do for Him."