The school year is now officially underway, and athletes at Iola High are looking to grow the brand of Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) on campus.
FCAs goal is to unite faith and athletics. FCA is an amazing positive environment for all athletes, according to Iola student and FCA member Audrey Coltrane.
Head track and field coach, Dana Daugharthy, has been the sponsor for FCA for the past few years. Prior to last year, Daugharthy said that he was doing everything possible to keep FCA afloat. Even though Daugharthy was bringing breakfast for members, the early morning meeting time was a turnoff for students, he said. Last year was a turning point for the struggling organization, Daugharthy said.
I was trying to prepare lessons, bring in speakers, and it was a lot of work, but nothing was happening, Daugharthy said. I wanted fresh vision, so I prayed that someone would be able to come along from the student side. And that same summer, Audrey contacted me with all of these ideas.
According to Daugharthy, the club is heading in the right direction, but the meeting time is tricky because of the districts early release schedule on Wednesdays that allows for students to attend various activities. The problem is that there are too many clubs and too few Wednesdays in each month. The remaining part of the day is designated for students to attend their club meetings, with different club meetings held on different Wednesdays throughout the month. A common issue is that students are unable to attend all club meetings they hope to be involved in due to same-day meetings.
FCA is considering asking administrators whether they can meet some other afternoon of the week.
During club seminar meetings, I usually have two to three meetings I am supposed to be at, Iola Cross country runner Lorie Carpenter said. Sometimes, I am an officer in two different clubs, so what am I supposed to do then.
In years past, FCA has not seen the numbers it has hoped for, usually having five to 10 students. Coltrane said that FCA is not well known at Iola High, and last year when a sheet was passed around campus of all the clubs available to students, FCA was listed as Future Christian Athletes.
We want to make sure people are aware of who we are, Coltrane said. Lots of students in the high school go to church somewhere, but they arent aware of FCA and how to connect in the group.
FCA is looking to build off its success from a couple of large events from last year. Fields of Faith included a keynote speaker along with a worship band, and had a turnout of over 100 people. FCA followed that up with Courts of Courage later on in the school year, which included a speaker, student-led music, along with food and games. Coltrane hopes events like these will attract more athletes to FCA.
One of the goals for FCA this school year will be to bring in athletes who may not attend church on a regular basis. Coltrane stresses that FCA is not just a group for individuals who identify as Christians.
We are trying to make sure that FCA is open to everybody, Coltrane said. Sometimes people do feel like oh Im not a Christian, or Im not an athlete, so I shouldnt go to FCA. But that is not the case and you should totally come.
Coltrane and Carpenter both emphasize that increasing the presence of FCA will ultimately come down to their responsibility. Coltrane is hoping new members will spread the word about their positive FCA experiences.
The more people you have the more comfortable people are, because they know that their friends are going to be there, Coltrane said. If somebody invited me to go to a Bible study, and I knew there was going to be only three people there, I probably wouldnt show up. But if I knew there were going to be more people, I would feel more comfortable.
On Tuesday, FCA members were affixing pieces of gum to business cards for teachers to distribute during seminar. The cards will include social media information so students will be updated on all things FCA.
FCA is hoping for a big school year, and to be the light as their motto says this year at Iola High.
