Royal Oak — In 2000, Pope John Paul II said sports have a role in the human family to help transcend barriers, build friendships and find peace.
You might say young adults here and now are getting a kick out of that message. Literally.
Each Saturday, at the metro area’s Catholic soccer league, adults in their 20s and 30s show up by the dozens to St. Dennis Parish’s playing field for three hour-long matches of often fierce competition, and always friendly conversation.
“This is a very good environment to play soccer in,” says Julia Kowalski, 19, a parishioner at St. Hugo of the Hills Parish in Bloomfield Hills, sitting on the sidelines after her game on July 31. “When I used to play travel soccer, our coach would yell at us at halftime… It’s a lot happier here. I only hear positive things.”
While the soccer is serious, the league is overtly built on Catholic ideals. Each team is named after a saint, and the players pray before their hour-long match. The games are fast and furious — but the sidelines are cheery. Players chum around with their opponents, and you won’t find cussing, yelling or agonizing. Just positive reinforcement.
“There are highly skilled players, and there are players who have never played before,” says Christine Center, 21, who’s part of a six-person young adult committee that governs the league. “Usually, that would be hard for a soccer league — but you can just see Christ’s spirit in the league because everyone’s super-nice.”
Center, a parishioner at St. Vincent Ferrar Parish in Madison Heights, says young adults come from suburbs throughout the metro area and beyond.
It welcomes non-Catholic players, as well.
“It’s staying active and it’s against really faithful people,” says Peter Vlachos, 25, a member of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Ann Arbor. “It’s always good to be around positive influences in your life, so this is a great time to do that — especially playing a sport that you love.”
Like several on the league, Vlachos has played competitively on a collegiate level, but doesn’t mind playing with others on a lesser competitive level.
“Those who are competitive are called, in one sense, to be a little more compassionate,” says Eric Coules, young adult minister for the Archdiocese who serves as a liaison for the league, which the archdiocese started four years ago. “They have to hold back and trust their teammates… And those who haven’t played are drawn to a higher level because of the competitive nature of it.”
Coules notes that young adult soccer is one of several sporting opportunities Catholic young adults can get involved in around Detroit. Young adult and campus ministries have leagues for softball, volleyball and pick-up basketball, as well.
It has a recreational bent — but there’s clearly value to sharing faith through sports, he says.
“You’ve got to meet people where they are,” Coules says. “Sports is a very communal activity, one that helps to build friendships. The closer you get into community, the closer you can connect yourself with people of your same religion and the deeper you can grow in that.”
To learn more about Catholic young adult sports leagues, visit www.aodonline.org/youngadults or call Youth, Young Adults and Campus Ministries at (313) 596-7313.
On Sports & Faith
“Playing sports has become very important today, since it can encourage young people to develop important values such as loyalty, perseverance, friendship, sharing and solidarity. Precisely for this reason, in recent years it has continued to grow even more as one of the characteristic phenomena of the modern era, almost a ‘sign of the times’ capable of interpreting humanity’s new needs and new expectations. Sports have spread to every corner of the world, transcending differences between cultures and nations.”
-- Pope John Paul II, speaking at a Mass for athletes, Oct. 29, 2000
