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“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
Second Timothy 4:7 was the Bible verse of the day for young flag football players who gathered Saturday morning for the first game of the season.
Every Saturday for the next several weeks, the west edge of Luverne will come alive with hundreds of elementary-age flag football players through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Softball diamonds, soccer fields and grassy areas in between are divided into kid-sized football fields surrounded by parents, grandparents and other fans in lawn chairs and on blankets.
Now in its seventh year, there are 370 players and 35 teams — up from last year’s 300 players on 28 teams.
They come to Luverne from five different communities — Luverne, Edgerton, Hills-Beaver Creek, Adrian and Rock Rapids. Teams are organized by age in grades 1-6 and practice in their home towns.
‘Humbling’ growth
FCA is an international non-profit Christian sports ministry with chapters in nearly all sports for all ages and incorporates Christian principles into team playing.
The Luverne FCA Flag Football league started seven years ago when Ryan Johnson was looking for an FCA flag football team for his son.
“I learned that if I wanted a team, I should start one,” Johnson said.
That first year 120 local players participated, and the program has tripled in numbers since then.
“I’ve been blown away — and humbled — by the growth of it and how it has reached so many people and how it has benefited so many kids,” Johnson said in 2021.
Coaches and teams work on the fundamentals of football, teamwork and physical conditioning. And they learn what it means to be an athlete and a Christian.
“They learn the message of Christ and they learn how to grow and become better people,” Johnson said. “They learn how to be patient, how to be a teammate and how to be a competitor.”
Following their 9:30 a.m. Saturday games, players huddle with their teams to review play highlights and bow their heads in prayer.
Then all the teams gather for a final huddle to review their Bible verse of the week and what it means for them as athletes and as Christians. Players who could recite the verse from memory when called on are rewarded with T-shirts or footballs.
Guest speakers (some from the NHL and NFL) each week share what it means to be a Christian both on and off the field. On Saturday it was former NFL punter Brian Hansen.
“A coach will have more influence on a child in one season than most people will in a lifetime,” he told the volunteer coaches.
More information is at southdakotafca.org. There is a flag football tab where the Luverne link can be found in the list of communities.