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| Spring 2002 | a publication for alumni, family, and friends |
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Darrell Orand With more than 200 student-athletes in a student body of 687, the presence of athletes on the Dakota Wesleyan campus is strong. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes sees a need for Christ in the lives of these student-athletes, and has recently undergone a reorganization to help fill those needs more effectively.
"We have small groups, sports activities, speakers and videos to help them with their problems. We want to bring additional structure to the organization and to provide more consistency and meaning to both the student-athletes and the coaches," Olson said. Olson said the FCA is another vehicle on the campus for athletes to find out what God can do for them and to help them in their lives. The FCA is a national organization that has spent more than 45 years influencing athletes through camps, huddles and adult chapters. The purpose of FCA is to present to athletes and coaches the challenge and adventure of receiving Jesus Christ as their savior and serving Him in relationships and in the fellowship of the church. The reason there's a group specifically aimed at student-athletes is because they have special needs relating to time, studies, peer pressure and relationships. They can also have special influence because of their abilities. Over the past several years the campus FCA chapter has dwindled in attendance and in campus support from student-athletes, so the leaders of FCA are looking at different ways to strengthen the group not only in numbers, but also in spirituality. Olson serves as a huddle coach for the group, and Ryan Mitchell, coordinator of the DWU S.T.A.R.S. Program, is the assistant huddle coach. Over the next few months a captain, co-captain, recruiter and secretary will be chosen from among the student-athletes. The captains will be the leaders of each huddle, which is a small group of student-athletes. They will work in conjunction with the huddle coaches to plan interesting activities for the group. The co-captain will coordinate all the publicity of special events and meetings. The recruiter will coordinate the efforts of each huddle and send invitations for each meeting; the secretary will keep records of each meeting and any correspondence. The DWU FCA group held its first meeting of the semester on Jan. 17 with more than 25 people in attendance. Former NFL player Brian Hansen was the guest speaker. He played 15 seasons in the NFL and was able to share his experiences about what Christ has done for him in his life both in and out of the NFL. Hansen is now the FCA state director for South Dakota. The DWU FCA chapter meets at 9 p.m. every other Tuesday in the wellness center.
"This gives the athletes and coaches an outlet to strengthen their faith and spirituality. It allows them to grow and let God give them more direction in their lives," Zoller said. Although the reorganization has been aimed at getting more student-athletes and coaches involved in the program, Zoller hopes other students will continue to be involved. "We have always had a lot of students who were not athletes be a part of the program and we will continue to welcome students who are not athletes," he said. Contact Rod Olson, DWU football coach, at roolson@dwu.edu for more information about FCA. Dakota Wesleyan University |
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"We want to see the FCA provide the student-athletes an
opportunity to come together and talk about the everyday ins and outs that occur in their
lives," said head football coach Rod Olson who leads the reorganization on campus.
Andrew Zoller, a member of Dakota Wesleyan's cross country and track
and field programs, has been involved as a student-leader in the DWU FCA chapter for the
past two years. He says he wants to involve more student-athletes in campus ministry and
provide them with a chance to grow spiritually.