I had the chance to visit with some old friends as well as to be a part of something exciting. I’ve been invited to be a part of an advisory group that is founding the National Center for Catholic Youth Sports.

This is exciting because this group will help provide training and resources to coaches in Catholic youth leagues across the country. As some of you know, athletics still has an important place in my life, as I volunteer as an assistant with the Loyola University Women’s basketball team.

It was great to be with youth ministry friends Mike M., Shawnee, Len, Sr. Jude, Irene, Sr. Ann and more. The discussions are exciting as a group of volunteers try to create something to serve people across our country.

This was an amazing event. Close to 20,00 people there. So many people expressing their devotion to God through a day of prayer, reflection and more.

I felt honored to be a part of the teen track …along with Janelle and ONE 80, Michelle and Chris Benzinger, and Mark Hart of Life TEEN.

I have such great respect for Archbishop Wilton Gregory and for the youth director of the diocese, Barb G. I’d met Archbishop Gregory on a retreat years ago. He is such a personable man. He gave time to youth ministers and shared faith; I felt privileged to be there.

Barb is leading a group of local folk in Atlanta to prepare for the National Catholic Youth Conference, October 27-30. If you’re not familiar with it, check out http://nfcym.org/v3/conf/2005/index.html

The hospitality I received was first rate, special thanks to Graham (a fellow Louisiana native) for being so kind.

For the last 3 or 4 years, my father-in-law and I have been able to go to Minute Maid Park to watch “his” Houston Astros take on “my” beloved Cubs for a three-game series. It’s been about the rivalry, sure, but it’s also been a chance for us and two other guys (who vary every year) to get away for a few days.

This year’s trip was going to be very different for a few reasons.
• First, my travel schedule wouldn’t allow me to see the Astros take on the Cubs at all. We’d decided to actually watch the Cincinnati Reds (by the way, both of those teams trail the 2nd place Cubs, thank you very much!).
• Secondly, the other 2 “guys” we would be taking turned out to be my daughter, Megan, and my mother-in-law. That would prove interesting for sure.

I did get a treat. I got to see a future Hall-of-Famer, Roger Clemens (known as the Rocket) pitch the opening game of the series.

He pitched hard for over 7 innings, gave up only one bad pitch, and was losing 2-0 when he was pulled out of the game. (The relieving pitchers weren’t effective at all and the Reds won 9-0.)

I was amazed at Clemens for a few reasons:
+ His passion for baseball. If the picture doesn’t show it, this is a man who still is intense and wants to succeed on the field. He could coast and collect his $18 million dollar salary, but there’s a deeper fire somewhere down below.
+ His persistence. He’s 42, and still can throw a fastball 90-plus miles an hour. That has to take discipline to maintain the physical skills as age creeps in.
+ His professionalism. The Astros, as a team, are struggling, even while Clemens puts up fantastic numbers. But even though gently led by interviewers to trash his teammates, I don’t hear Clemens complaining.

Baseball is a cool game, because, if you let it, it will make you think about life. I wondered what people would say about
My passion—do I still long to succeed in the things THAT REALLY MATTER?
My persistence—am I willing to work for them even though I am getting older?
My professionalism—Am I positive even though things aren’t always smooth?

So, while I am not an Astros fan, I think I did become more of a Roger Clemens fan, at least for a little while. Until he plays the Cubs next.

Anytime you can go to the ball park, think about real life, come away inspired, (and get to eat nachos)—well, that’s a great day.

Thanks to our family friends Warren and Carol for their generosity.