Catholic Sports Radio Bruce Wawrzyniak

This is something of a special edition. This guest was on the show before, more than a year-and-a-half ago, back on Episode 190 in September 2022.  He is a professor and Kule Chair at St. Joseph’s College, a Catholic college at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada.  And since we met him then – and you can go back and hear his story on that episode – this conversation instead gives us all the chance to learn all about a fascinating individual from the world of sports and our Catholic faith, because this guest just last month had a book come out that is a Number 1 New Release on Amazon in Canadian Historical Biographies, a book called, "Hockey Priest: Father David Bauer and the Spirit of the Canadian Game," published by The Catholic University of America Press.

She has coached for FC Dallas Juniors and for TOCA -- which is an official soccer training partner of MLS -- in addition to being a private trainer / entrepreneur for soccer skills, camps, and events.  She has six years of training in Krav Maga, Karate, Jiu-jitsu, and other forms of self-defense and now teaches private lessons to individuals, groups, churches, and monthly women's seminars.  She received ISSA certification in fitness and nutrition and worked with dietitians for five years, plus 25 years of experience working with various coaches and instructors. She played division I college soccer at McNeese State University, where she was First Team All-Conference and earned the Golden Boot Award.  She had been varsity soccer MVP in high school and also competed in club and other soccer programs.

He is an outfielder with the Schaumburg Boomers of the Frontier League, which is a Professional Partner League of Major League Baseball. Last year in 78 games played he batted .300 and had a .995 fielding percentage.  After playing collegiately at the University of Minnesota-Duluth he went on to play double A ball with the Chicago Dogs of the American Association.  He had started his college career at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. He also trains youth baseball players at a local facility. On the faith side he has a reversion story that he shares during this interview.

She grew up playing a wide array of sports, from softball, basketball, volleyball, and track, to swimming and volleyball.  She has also played golf and in tennis leagues, plus she has run a half-marathon AND a triathlon.  Present day her focus, fitness-wise, is on stretching, strength, and restorative movement, adding that she loves a good hike. She has overcome personal tragedy more than once, and, she is the co-founder of SoulCore, a Catholic fitness apostolate whose mission is to amplify the experience of prayer through physical movement. Their signature SoulCore Rosary is a 60-minute strengthening workout that is set to the prayers of the rosary.

He has been the Catholic chaplain for the NFL's San Francisco 49ers for the last eight years, which have included two trips to the Super Bowl. He was a competitive golfer, to the point of having considered going pro at one point, AND he did a 53-mile walk from East San Jose to East San Francisco as part of a fundraiser. He is the founder and president of several non-profits, was ordained to the priesthood at age 25 back in 2011, and just celebrated one year of serving as the principal at St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in Alameda, California, near Oakland. He not only earned a BA in philosophy and religious studies from Santa Clara University (SCU), but, earned three degrees at Saint Patrick's Seminary and University, PLUS, he went back to SCU for his master's degree and then got his doctorate from the University of Southern California.

He is an undefeated professional MMA fighter, currently boasting a 9-0 won-lost record, with his most recent victory having come on March 22nd, winning by way of a third-round submission in a featherweight match, after which he said, "I feel really great in this weight class and please with the help of God we can keep this streak going." He hails from Dublin, Ireland, and is signed to Bellator MMA. From March 2012 to November 2018, he had 24 fights as an amateur. He had begun his combat sports journey through boxing at age 12 before transitioning to MMA a few years later.