#Elaine teamspirit professional

I've really been surprised at the people that have come of the woodwork.' 'Other people on the team see us praying and they come up and ask about it. 'You notice a lot of athletes have friends who are athletes.'Īs many as 15 football players or about 20 per cent of the team, attend Sunday night meetings and pray before the games-up from only two players last year.Ĭasto explains. 'I relate more easily to athletes: they're more my type of people,' he says, adding. Recognizing that her athletic prowess came from God makes her confident but humble at the same time.ĭefensive halfback and group leader John Casto says FCA is an easy first step for looking for Christian support at Harvard. 'In general, to be an athlete you have to have almost a conceited belief in your own abilities, so it's hard for people to recognize they need God.' she says. We're not all called to be ministers.'īut acting Christ-like isn't easy, Holpuch, a second-year member of FCA, says. 'It's strange for me to think of Christ as a businessman or in a lot of other contexts as well. 'I think our emphasis is that we will be Jesus Christ's representatives even-or especially-on the football field,' wide receiver Rich Horner says. And they emphasize they want to emulate Christ in their athletics. They say they want to do well individually, but only because it will help the team as a whole. They say they play to win, but winning isn't the most important thing in their lives. 'Who wants to sit in a group of 12 people and listen to someone talk? It would be as bad as tutorial.' Elaine Holpuch, who plays center on the women's basketball team, says.įCA members describe their shared attitudes about sports much the way a coach would characterize the ideal team spirit. FCA emphasizes open discussion more than the larger, structured HRCF, because the athletes say they need close interaction to grow as Christians. Two students started FCA three years ago, officially as a branch of the Harvard Radcliffe Christian Fellowship (HRCF). For some reason it gives a strength or force to just go out and do it,' she adds.īetween 15 and 20 people meet every Sunday night in the Feer Room at Winthrop House for prayer, singing and, most important of all, discussion of the specific problems faced by Christians playing sports at Harvard. 'Somehow having that fellowship just gives me the energy to keep going and try all the time. 'I had just gone through a time of wondering whether I should stay on the team,' she says. Harvard's Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) has changed the way she plays field hockey.

As the season resumes on Sunday for Hamilton Accies Women it’s the beginning of the final chapter in stalwart Elaine Fleming’s career.The word that pops up most often in the interview is 'amazing.' She calls it 'the best thing I've had at Harvard so far.' And she's not the only one.įor J.V. The goalkeeper will end a 20-year association with the New Douglas Park club at the end of the term, but for now she’s focused on Sunday’s Scottish Cup tie with Granite City. It was before some of her current team-mates were born that a 15-year-old Fleming made her debut against an Ayr side that included Julie Fleeting, and a hat-trick from the soon-to-be Scotland superstar provided an introduction to the game.Įlaine now hopes she can mentor some of the club’s youngsters and help them in their own careers. She said: “I had opportunities to go elsewhere but I’ve always been drawn to Accies. I feel like it’s a proper family and community club, and I’ve always enjoyed playing my football here. “When I started playing away back it hadn’t really taken off as it has now. “I was lucky to have the support of my parents and Ian Steele, our coach – if it wasn’t for Ian and all his advice throughout my career I might have drifted away from the game.” “We began at the Jock Stein pitches and decided to start up a girls’ team. Hamilton Accies Ladies' goalkeeper Elaine Fleming in action (Image: James Crilly)įleming has been impressed with how the game has changed in the 20 years she has been playing, and says that bodes well for the future. She said: “You can see the professionalism slowly seeping into the game.

#Elaine teamspirit professional

“When I started it was a largely recreational sport, but now there’s definitely a more professional mind-set. “Even in the last seven years at Accies you can see the level of professionalism under Kevin Murphy and now Gary Doctor, and gym work we now do under Mark McKenna. “We all believe that we are probably as strong as weightlifters, and that is one of the reasons I am still playing as well.