Jordyn Wieber - Olympic Gymnast

The small-town Michigan native showed an affinity for gymnastics early on. Like, reaching level 10 by age 10, the highest level in the junior Olympic program. Her advancement went at such a breakneck pace that her parents worried she would be sucked into the dark world of elite gymnastics. However, Jordyn’s own determination ruled out in the end, and her supportive family provided a wholesome balance.

As with most Christians, a healthy family is not something seen as separate from the faith life. According to faith, the magazine of her home diocese, Jordyn has said, “My parents have always made going to church as a family important. Sometimes we have to split up due to our schedules, but most of the time we are able to get to Mass together. It’s a very special family time and it means a lot to me.”

The church isn’t just a place for family time; it is family. Her home parish of St. Jude’s raised an astounding $11,000 in order to help Jordyn’s parents and siblings watch her compete in London. (Catholic Sun)

In London, you probably know Jordyn as the favorite who suffered disappointment in the All-Around, only to come back and contribute to the Fierce Five’s team title. It later came to light that she had been performing throughout the Olympics with a stress fracture. Though she claims that adrenaline kept her from feeling too much pain, it did limit her ability to practice.

"We want her to feel that she had the time of her life -- that she's had her shot, that she's fulfilled and doesn't have any regrets," Rita (her mother) said. "And I hope to God that she doesn't have to get first to feel fulfilled." (Detroit Free Press)

Does Jordyn have to have more than one gold to feel fulfilled? Are gymnastics the meaning of her life? “I like to look at my gymnastics ability as a great gift from God,” she says. “Without God in my life, I feel like there would be no meaning.” (faith)

More on Jordyn Wieber:

Catholic Sun article

Detroit Free Press article

NBC Olympic Athlete page

Chase Hilgenbrinck - Professional Player to Priest

"I couldn’t have dreamed this up for myself. I think that’s what’s truly divine about it." 1  

Even if we had an above average dedication and love for the game, most of us simply lack the natural talent to become a professional player. When someone does have that talent, it’s easy to think that it was meant to be, that it’s a gift from God; yet, this week’s Cool Cat serves to remind us that there are gifts greater than promising athletic careers.

In 2008, Chase Hilgenbrinck walked away from a career in the MLS to join the seminary. He didn’t walk away while he was near retirement, nor because he was injured. He had just spent four years playing professional soccer in Chile, becoming something of a celebrity, and had just signed up for a short stint with the Revolution. It was after only four games that Chase made the break, cutting off the Revolution’s offer of extending his contract. He instead switched to a career where heaven’s the limit.

Of course, God’s call did not become apparent to him overnight. After making his childhood faith his own during his college years, it became his cornerstone while he was in Chile. Separated from everyone he knew, Chase became terribly lonely, so he turned to the one thing he did know: the church. Not lacking for time, Chase would take advantage of the peaceful space to think about why professional soccer didn’t feel fulfilling, and why he felt lonely even with a girlfriend. It was tough eventually giving up the desire for a wife and kids, but through prayer Chase found himself moving naturally toward his new vocation.

And how did he celebrate the end of his discernment? With champagne! Such is the act of man who did not feel cheated in being called away from the pros. Though it was an act so counter-cultural as to make headlines, it did not surprise those who actually knew him.

Three years into his seminary education, how does he feel about his decision? “At the time I left soccer, I wanted to be obedient to my faith and to the call of God I heard in my life,” Hilgenbrinck said. “I never realized that I would be as happy as I am actually going through with everything.” (MSLsoccer.com)

If your interest has been piqued by this week’s kicking cool cat, be sure to check out the articles listed below, which each provide a more thorough and better written account of his life than this lowly blog post.

More on Chase Hilgenbrinck:

"Chase Hilgenbrinck, from the pitch to the priesthood" (ESPN)

"What Ever Happened To ... Chase Hilgenbrinck" (MLSsoccer.com)

1WBALT Interview

Lopez Lomong - Olympian and Lost Boy

"… animals could have killed us or people could have got us and killed us, but God was there to protect us."
(USA Today)

The Second Sudanese Civil War.

Lopez Lomong was abducted while attending mass at the age of six. After some weeks of wasting away in the rebel camp, he escaped with several older boys (his "angels") through a hole in the fence. And they ran.

As is clear from the post title, Lopez Lomong’s running ability is a God-given gift, but I get ahead of myself. The boys made it to a refugee camp, and there he subsisted on roughly one meal a day for ten years, all the while believing his parents to be dead. At sixteen, he wrote an essay for Catholic Charities detailing what he would do in America, given the chance. His story was so moving, the chance was given.

In 2001 Robert and Barbara Rodgers welcomed him into their home in Tully, New York. The transition was not without a hitch: Lopez was too shy to ask his adopted parents for help with the shower, lights, and other first world puzzles for the third world upbringing. Key to adjusting to his radically new setting was running. What was once comforting footfalls became high school cross-country, then a NCAA Division I education, the pros, and ultimately the Olympic 1500m. In 2008 he was voted by the U.S. team to bear the flag in the parade of athletes, and he is currently training for the London Olympics this summer.

Lomong is still very much attached to his roots. It was about a year after coming to the U.S. that he discovered his parents were alive. Now his monetary aid helps support the younger brothers he did not used to know he had. He is also a driving force of Team Darfur, an organization of elite athletes who are spreading awareness about the conflict, and pressure on the guilty powers. With 4 South Sudan he raises funds for clean drinking water, healthcare, and education.

Interestingly, some of the the mainstream media downplays his faith. However, USA Today was cool enough to share Lomong’s own faith-filled words with us: "(God) blessed me and gave me a lot of strength to be faithful and more determined with my life to overcome obstacles. He had a vision for me. He knew I would come to America and have family.”

More on Lopez Lomong:

Official page

The Rodgers' own miraculous journey

ESPN blog

Rebecca Dussault - Winter Olympian

...and eight time national XC ski champion.

The winter X-games are upon us, and although they are not a direct translation of the games in the Winter Olympics, they still bring to mind memories of Vancouver and Turino. Among those memories are the particular athletes who inspired us, and in that vein I’d like to introduce this week’s cool cat: Rebecca Dussault, Olympian and mother.

Her journey to the Winter Games in Turino began when she first started racing in cross-country skis at age 15. Over the next five years she was among the elite, but to her dismay, she was not in good company. Many competitions were on Sundays, so on Saturday evening she alone would be hunting for a church and even fasting to receive communion. When her pre-race Eucharistic habit wasn’t being met with incredulity, Dussault still clashed with her 40 teammates where her beliefs were concerned.

The seed to witness was planted, but it would not sprout immediately. At age 19, Dussault married and wanted to retire from racing to make sure her priorities were straight. She was blessed with a son and a devoted husband, but she came to realize that God had blessed her to be a darn good skier as well. When she made her return after a three year break, she wasn’t the only one on the road to Turino; her son and husband were her indispensable entourage, and they would accompany her to the Italian Alps.

In Turino, Dussault became something of a media-buzz; interesting, since she didn’t even come close to medaling, though she was the top American finisher. Rather, it all had to do with what was written on her skis: Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. Pier Giorgio was a local of Turino, an athlete, and a faithful who died young contracting polio in his service to the poor. Dussault had adopted him as her patron saint before making it to Turino, and now the whole world was hearing about him.

Dussault is a member of Catholic Athletes for Christ, and she continues to witness in a way that only an athlete can: "There are so many parallels between sports and the spiritual life. When I am enduring physical pain, I can do just one more pull-up for one more soul. We need to recognize that a love of sports can help the mind search for truth."1

(from Varsity Catholic on Vimeo)

But of course, athletics aren't everything, and her motherhood is not to be diminished. "I have a 4-year-old son. I already have my gold medal." 1

More on Rebecca Dussault:

1 Catholic Herald, "Olympian Rebecca Dussault Shares Faith at Chantilly Church"

Catholic News Service, "Olympic skier attracts media attention for devotion to faith, family"
Catholicmom.com, "Olympic Skier But Wife, Mother and Catholic First!"
Rebecca Dussault's website

Philip Rivers - QB for the San Diego Chargers

Stats (For those of you who understand it)

“If you’re going to be a Catholic man, be it all the way.”1

Philip Rivers personifies the Christian athlete. His discipline and attitude toward betterment translates to his faith, making him a model athlete for Catholics and a model Catholic to the rest of the world. That is not to say that Rivers is one of a kind or perfect, but that being a professional athlete is a unique opportunity to live and share the faith. Key to this is that he has priorities straight: faith, family, then football.

Rivers has a love for the sacraments and the universal home that the Church provides, so it’s with joy that he looks up local churches while on the road, and if that doesn’t work out, there’s always the team’s traveling priest (don’t be too jealous of the priest, you'll have to go to confession). But Rivers’ commitment to living his faith doesn’t stop at receiving communion every Sunday.

Brace yourselves for this one. Not only does he speak openly on chastity and abstinence (Football players do that? Yes, they can!), but he says that Natural Family Planning has given his marriage strength, adding that, “There’s discipline and sacrifice that comes with that so we (he and his wife Tiffany) are able bond in many different ways.” 1

The Church, in her wisdom, knows what NFP does for the family, and Rivers is a happy father of six. If you count his commitment to helping children outside of his biological offspring; well, he’s a father to quite a bit more.

The Rivers of Hope foundation, according to the website, was formed to give “hope for kids yet born, those 'stuck' in the foster care system, and hope for qualified couples waiting to be parents. It is our intention to bring hope, information and other means necessary to bring children into a family unit.... some for the very first time.” The ways in which the foundation helps includes a birthday club for foster children, raising awareness in the community, providing grants, and providing equipment (sports, musical instruments) for extracurricular activities. How the foundation helps is detailed here.

He’s known as a trash talker in the NFL, and that might lead some Catholics to disqualify him as a role model (actually, it has), but he explains that, “I’m known as a trash talker, but I’m not saying any trash out there. It’s all in fun; just like you would give a little jab to your brother in the backyard… it’s nothing I couldn’t go home and tell my wife or my mom.” 1 However, he does acknowledge that it’s been a lesson in just how much under public scrutiny he is as a professional football player. 

We all have lessons to learn, weaknesses to turn into strengths, and this Cool Cat is one to provide inspiration. 


More on Philip Rivers:
1 Lifeteen.com interview
   Life on the Rock interview
   Philiprivers.com