Louisa, Ky. — This past Sunday at Louisa Methodist Church 42 boys aging from 5-12 years old enjoyed a day of football and learning about Jesus.
The kids worked through different stations that included speed and agility training, cone drills, hand and eye coordination, core strength, and also got a 20 minute Bible lesson plus homework to end the day’s proceedings. Every kid went through every drill and competed against themselves.
Aside from Bible lessons and Life lessons the Volunteers like Dr. Aaron Kendrick, Josh Thompson, Keary Ratcliffe, and William Prince, along with Dr. Tom Frazier were very encouraging throughout the day while teaching skills that would relate to any sport. They also discussed basic fundamentals like stance, blocking, tackling, ball control, catching and throwing all while learning about God and ethics.
They wanted to do Sunday’s because it would minimize interference with Baseball, Soccer, Tennis, plus Sunday’s are for God, anyway.
This is free to any kid that wants to learn about football and Jesus. They won’t turn anyone away no matter the age or where they are from. It is tailored toward boys. Kids from surrounding counties are more then welcome to come. They plan to run this every Sunday at 3:00 ( rain or shine ) for 1.5 to 2 hours until the end of June. All the kids need to bring is water, tennis shoes, ( in case it rains we have the gym ) cleats. Guardians will need sign some paperwork before participating. This is non contact so pads are not needed. Religion is also not a requirement.
You can get more information on the Facebook page Football for Jesus.
Event Coordinator Dr. Tom Frazier
“… For a large portion of my childhood I did not have a father. As a result, I had to figure things out many times on my own. This led to a lot of mistakes. When I moved back home 6 years ago and started coaching youth league football, I saw kids without fathers. Lots of young boys grow up without positive, Christian male influence. They looked up to me as their coach, but when the season ended, we went our separate ways. Over the last few years, I felt God was telling me to use my experience to help them.”
” …Every Sunday one of our volunteer coaches will begin practice with a bible verse connected to a life lesson. So many things on the football field translate well to life. Last Sunday, I shared my experience with “Faith without works is dead” from the book of James. We had a discussion about the definition of Faith and how “believing” is not enough. You have to back up your talk on the field and in life. Working is part of manhood and we wanted them to know that.” While I started this idea, a lot of people have reached out (and continue to reach out) to help. Thankfully, the United Methodist Church has supported us fully.”
