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“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
Philippians 4:13 was the Bible verse of the day for young flag football players who gathered after their recent Saturday morning games.
Every Saturday morning since Sept. 11, the west edge of Luverne would come alive with hundreds of elementary-age flag football players in jerseys touting team names like Broncos, Vikings, Falcons and others.
Softball diamonds, soccer fields and grassy areas in between were divided into kid-sized football fields surrounded by parents, grandparents and other fans in lawn chairs and on blankets.
More than 300 players on 28 teams come to Luverne from five different communities — Luverne, Edgerton, Hills-Beaver Creek, Adrian and Rock Rapids. Teams are organized by age in grades 1-6 through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
‘Humbling’ growth
FCA is an international non-profit Christian sports ministry with chapters in nearly all sports for all ages and incorporates Christian principles into team playing.
The Luverne FCA Flag Football league started six years ago when Ryan Johnson was looking for an FCA flag football team for his son.
“I learned that if I wanted a team, I should start one,” Johnson said.
That first year 120 local players participated, and the program has tripled in numbers since then.
“I’ve been blown away — and humbled — by the growth of it and how it has reached so many people and how it has benefited so many kids,” Johnson said.
Coaches and teams work on the fundamentals of football, teamwork and physical conditioning. And they learn what it means to be an athlete and a Christian.
“They learn the message of Christ and they learn how to grow and become better people,” Johnson said. “They learn how to be patient, how to be a teammate and how to be a competitor.”
Following their 9:30 a.m. Saturday games, players huddled with their teams to review play highlights and to bow their heads in prayer.
Then all the teams gathered for a final huddle to review their Bible verse of the week and what it means for them as athletes and as Christians. Players who could recite the verse from memory when called on were rewarded with T-shirts or footballs.
Guest speakers (some from the NHL and NFL) each week addressed the group huddles about what it means to be a Christian both on and off the field.
At their final Saturday morning game on Oct. 9, they heard from Greg Loy, a pastor in Rochester who played college basketball.
He used a boomerang as a “greater than” or “less than” math symbol and encouraged the athletes to think “less than” themselves and put others before themselves.
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less,” Loy said. “The Bible says it this way: Do not think more highly of yourself than you ought, but honor one another above yourself.”
He said it’s true in relationships, families, marriages, church congregations, neighborhoods, at work, in school and also on athletic teams.
For the love of the game … and the kids
The flag football season wrapped up Saturday night on Cardinal Field in Luverne. “It was really neat for the kids when the lights came on,” Johnson said.
He and Charlotte have three children (second, sixth and eighth grade) and he’s the Luverne High School principal. Organizing the FCA flag football league makes his life busier, but he said it’s worth his time.
“I do it because I love football, and I love the message that FCA provides,” Johnson said.
“But mostly, I love working with kids. It’s a joy to see kids learning to be part of a team … the thrill of winning and the sting of defeat and learning how to be a competitor and how to respond to coaches and referees.”
Registration for the 2022 season begins in June at southdakotafca.org. There is a flag football tab where the Luverne link can be found in the list of communities.