“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” – Matthew 13:44 (NIV)

When my wife asks me to go to the grocery store for “just a few things,” I know I’m probably in for a long day. On those days, you’ll find me searching aisle by aisle and, more often than not, on the phone asking her for help. It’s similar to when she tells me to look for something in her purse. I don’t even make an attempt. I’ve learned it’s much faster to just get the purse and bring it to her.

For years it’s been a dream, and soon it will become a reality. On Saturday, September 1, FCA will launch its new weekly radio program, Sharing the Victory, on more than 60 U.S. stations. Under the same name as this magazine, now celebrating its 25th anniversary, the radio program will offer an informing and inspirational half-hour program that will air every weekend.

Growing up in Pennsylvania, my grandmother raised me to go to church. I did all the normal Christian things like go to Sunday school, sing in the choir and participate in our group of junior missionaries. Obviously, by the time I got to college, I knew who God was. I could tell you all the Bible stories and knew about Jesus, but it all was a very premature version of knowing Him. I didn't really recognize Christ as my Lord and Savior or have a personal relationship with Him.

In sports, a competitive drive is invaluable. As athletes, our desire to win can push us to the next level. We have to have an internal desire to win if we are going to perform our best when it matters the most, no matter what our “win” might be.

Most of us think about competitiveness in the context of competing against others. If we win, others lose. Or, even worse, if they win, we lose. Personally, I believe this win-lose mindset is a competitive mistake.

For Lorenzo Romar, integrity is one of the simplest concepts he’s ever learned—so simple, it only takes a brief, pondering pause followed by a concisely spoken sentence for him to explain.

“A person with integrity consistently does the right thing,” he states matter-of-factly.

As the University of Washington men’s basketball coach, Romar has provided a walking, talking example of integrity to the young athletes that don the Huskies’ uniform year in and year out.

• Create flyers to promote upcoming bible study opportunity.
• Distribute promotional material to team members.
• Invite team members to attend the bible study.

As athletes and coaches, we understand the meaning of discipline. Our lives are filled with early morning workouts and late nights in the gym. We sacrifice whatever it takes to reach our goals. We know that if we work harder than our opponents, we have a better chance of winning.

Randy Swearengin was a rookie FCA area representative, newly hired to a full-time position in Mississippi, when he entered a coach’s office in his district one morning armed with a box of Bibles and a heart determined to impact local coaches and athletes for Christ.

He had recently purchased the box of FCA Coach’s Bibles with his own money and was planning to hand-deliver them to every local coach as way of introducing himself. This particular coach, however, known for being tough and hard-nosed on and off the field, would have nothing of it.

Nic Cardwell’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

It was 2002, and Cardwell, then a senior at Robert B. Glenn (N.C.) High School, and his father were on a football recruiting trip to nearby Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. After a short wait in the lobby of the on-campus inn, a team representative — an “old guy,” as Nic remembers — greeted the Cardwells and sat down to chat with them.

Thirty minutes passed, and Cardwell’s mind drifted. Finally, the older gentleman got up and said, “OK, let’s go eat.” Cardwell quickly snapped to attention. Perplexed, he blurted, “Wait a second! I haven’t met the head coach yet.”

Behind the screaming fans and autographs, the televised games and SportsCenter highlights, the contracts and growing fame, the life of a WNBA player isn’t what it seems. It goes much deeper than stardom. When the adrenaline subsides, there are real challenges facing the women about which few ever read. There is loneliness from being separated from friends and family. There are insecurities about being traded or injured. There are pressures to perform and win.

The locusts come every 17 years.

For Tommy Bowden, this bizarre phenomenon of nature remains a vivid memory from his days in West Virginia. Bobby Bowden, Tommy’s coaching-legend father, had moved the family from Alabama to Morgantown when he became the Mountaineers’ head football coach in 1970. Tommy, who played as a walk-on wide receiver for the Mountaineers from 1973 to ’76, still recalls the peculiar insects, with their freaky red eyes, thick black bodies and incessant drone. Every 17 years, they would crawl out of the ground by the millions to mate, spawn and die, all within several weeks.