Finding Mission in Everyday Life

Seeds of faith can take root anywhere, even under our cleats.

I didn’t set out to become a football coach.

Last season, I was standing on the sidelines watching the chaos of practice and the games. Coaches were trying to run plays, boys were scattered everywhere, no one knew where the tee was, water bottles were empty, and it was obvious they could use an extra hand. Someone to help them herd the cats. So, late in the season, after praying on it and leaning on my charism of Service, I asked if they would like some help next year. Not as a coach, but as a sideline dad, keeping track of water bottles, rounding up equipment, and making sure boys weren’t getting lost in the shuffle.

This year, when the season started, that opportunity came up again. I reminded them of my offer, and a few days later I was added to a group text with the other coaches. I was given a link to the online training and told to send the head coach my certificate when I finished it. Then at the next practice, I showed up and they gave me a group of boys to run drills with. Now, I don’t have coaching experience, but I know the game enough to help out. Thankfully I had another coach alongside me. He started running the drill, and I slowly got my bearings. Honestly, I think I’m learning more than I’m teaching.

Then it happened. Right before a water break during practice, one of the boys looked at me and said it: “Thanks, Coach.”

It almost instantly brought me to tears. I held it in and told him, “No problem. Keep up the good work out there.” Then when I thought the boys weren’t looking, I wiped my eyes with my towel. That one word carried so much weight. Suddenly, I realized the responsibility I now carried. What I said mattered. How I acted mattered. Someday, one of these kids may remember something I said or did, and it might shape their whole life. The gravity of that moment sank in, and I haven’t been able to shake it since.

Coaching my own son on this same team brings its own challenges. He has to get used to calling me Coach during practice, and Dad after. And I have to remember to treat him the same as everyone else, no special treatment. At times, he thinks I’m being too hard on him, but I know it’s better for him to see me hold the same standard for all the boys. That is part of the responsibility that comes with the title “Coach.”

And there were more moments of joy. At the end of practice, kids I don’t even know by name yet come up to bump fists or say, “Thanks, Coach!” They don’t have to do that. They do it, I hope, because they recognize that I am someone who cares for them, someone who will lead them to bigger and better things. It shows me they’re watching, listening, remembering. That’s when, in my heart, I started to pray even harder, because if they are remembering my words, I want those words to build them up, not tear them down.

Pope Francis has spoken often about missionary discipleship. In Evangelii Gaudium, he wrote, “All of us are called to take part in this new missionary ‘going forth’… all of us are asked to go forth from our own comfort zone in order to reach all the ‘peripheries’ in need of the light of the Gospel.” Most of us will not be missionaries in faraway countries. But each of us is called to be a missionary right where we are. For me, this football field has become a mission field.

Missionary evangelism means more than sharing words about Jesus. It means living in such a way that people see Him in us. As Catholics, that means we don’t just keep our faith inside the church walls. We carry it into our families, our workplaces, our neighborhoods, and yes, even onto football fields. Think of it like practice and game day. Practice matters, but the game is where it counts. Sunday Mass prepares us and strengthens us, but how we live on Monday through Saturday is the game. That is where the real witness happens.

Every team also has a playbook. Without it, the game falls apart. Our playbook is Scripture and the teachings of the Church. When we study it and follow it, we know the right plays to run in life. And just like football, this mission is not a one man job. Not everyone is the quarterback. Some block, some catch, some play defense. Each role matters, and each role helps the Body of Christ move forward together.

That is why I take my own role seriously. A team can only succeed when everyone steps into their position with courage, and the same is true in faith. Each of us has been given a position to play. Mine happens to be on the practice field with a whistle in hand. And that is where I feel the weight of it all. I feel pressure, joy, fear, and gratitude. I fear saying the wrong thing or teaching them poorly. I feel the responsibility when a boy looks me in the eye and trusts me. But I also feel joy in their smiles and gratitude in their thanks after a big play that came from something I showed them. That is why I ask the Holy Spirit for guidance constantly.

Come, Holy Spirit. Guide my words. Guard my actions.
If He is leading me, I know I will not go wrong.

Jesus told the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. Some seed fell on rocky ground, some among thorns, but some fell on rich soil and bore fruit. That is what this coaching role feels like. Each word, each lesson, each correction is a seed. And here is the thought that hit me the other day. We might be playing on a turf field, and even though it looks fake with its colored plastic grass and scattered pellets, it is still fertile ground. Because when God’s will is at work, the seeds sown there will still take root. They will not grow in the surface under our cleats, but in the hearts of these boys. And in time, those seeds can bear real fruit. I may never see which ones take root, but I trust God with the harvest.

Saint Paul wrote to Timothy: “Let no one have contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity” (1 Timothy 4:12). Those words are not just advice for the young. They are a reminder for anyone who has been given influence. To be an example in how we speak. To show faith in how we work. To live love in how we treat others. To let purity shine through in a world that has forgotten what it means. Paul is not calling Timothy to perfection, but to witness. And that is what every coach, parent, teacher, or friend is called to do. Witness with your life.

Maybe you are not a football coach. Maybe you are a parent tucking your kids in at night. Maybe you are a teacher standing in front of a class. Maybe you are a coworker people turn to for advice, or a friend someone leans on when life gets heavy. Whoever you are, someone in your life is calling you “Coach” in their own way. Someone sees you as an example. Someone is watching what you do.

So, ask yourself this week: Who is looking up to me? Who might remember something I say or do years from now? Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you. Plant seeds of faith, encouragement, and truth. Step into missionary evangelism right where YOU are.

Because the mission is not always far away. Sometimes, it is right under your cleats.