Bruce Wawrzyniak
Catholic Sports Radio
Helping listeners find the right balance and priority when it comes to their faith life versus their sports life, interviews are done with guests who are Catholics in sports - current or former athletes, coaches, officials, clergy, administrators, and more, from the pro, amateur, and scholastic ranks. Whether you're an athlete or a fan, youth or adult, Catholic or not, this show will deliver content that speaks to you and provides opportunities for ongoing reflection for your daily life.
Author
Bruce Wawrzyniak
Category
Podcast website
Latest episode
Jul 6, 2026
Where to listen?
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Episodes
CSR 89 Joe Reich 12.10.2020 33:54
He is in his 20th season as the head football coach at Wingate University, where he is the program's all-time winningest coach. Previously he was an assistant coach at the University of Buffalo, and before that he was an assistant coach at Gettysburg College and a graduate assistant coach at Georgia Tech. As a student-athlete, he had played offensive line at Gettysburg College after having played...
CSR 88 Dominique Dawes 05.10.2020 29:25
She spent ten years with the U.S. national team in gymnastics. Over the three Summer Olympic Games of 1992, 1996, and 2000 she won four medals, including gold at the Games in Atlanta and bronze at all three. In world championship competition she had won three silver medals and a bronze. In 2010 President Barack Obama named her as Co-Chair of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition...
CSR 87 Bob Ladouceur 28.09.2020 36:47
He coached for 35 years and, at De La Salle High School, a private, Roman Catholic school for boys in California, finished with a 399-25-3 record, including a national record 151 consecutive victories, which became the subject of a major motion picture. A number of his players went on to play and/or coach in the NFL. He had played college football himself as a running back at the University of Uta...
CSR 86 Hale Hentges 21.09.2020 31:09
A pro football player who made his NFL debut last year as a tight end for the 2019 Washington Redskins team after initially having been with the Indianapolis Colts. In college he had played for four years and won a national championship at Alabama after having been a top prospect following his high school football days.
CSR 85 Tomas Cerdeiras 14.09.2020 29:08
An assistant coach for Belmont Abbey College's men's track and field. As a student-athlete there he became the school's record-holder in the decathlon and earned All Region honors. He has also coached an NCAA DII All-American in heptathlon as well as a male and female freshman athlete of the year for their respective conferences. Growing up he had competed in football, baseball, and basketball.
CSR 84 Sean Mock 07.09.2020 26:29
The Director of Player Development and Recruiting Coordinator for the Tulane University men's basketball team, a position that he took approximately a year-and-a-half ago after having been special assistant to the head coach at Georgia State. Before that he served as an assistant coach at Henderson State, which came after a two-year stint at Northwood University where he finished up as associate h...
CSR 83 Patrick Novecosky 31.08.2020 32:00
He played baseball in elementary school, soccer in high school, and now in his adult life is an avid marathoner, including having participated in events from southern California to New York City to Naples, Florida, and even Rome, Italy. Meanwhile, he wrote a book called, "100 Ways John Paul II Changed the World" and has won more than two dozen awards from the Catholic Press Association. He met Pop...
CSR 82 Bas Rutten 24.08.2020 28:41
A UFC Heavyweight Champion and three-time King of Pancrase world champion, he finished his career on a 22-fight unbeaten streak (21 wins, 1 draw). He has been inducted to the UFC Hall of Fame and has appeared in movies and on TV shows. He is a retired mixed martial artist, karate and taekwondo black belt, and Muay Thai kickboxer.
CSR 81 Toby Cook 17.08.2020 32:26
He is in his 14th full season with Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals, serving as the team's Vice President of Publicity after having previously been their Vice President of Community Affairs & Publicity. It is baseball that he credits with leading him to the Catholic church, which he officially became a part of twelve years ago. He shares that story - and more - during this conversation.
CSR 80 Fr Michael Lightner 10.08.2020 39:03
He is an administrator of three churches in northeast Wisconsin. In his college days he was an offensive lineman, playing football at the University of Eastern Michigan, where he had earned a scholarship after having played football in high school. He was invited to try out with the NFL's Cleveland Browns and later would be inducted into the Sports Faith International Hall of Fame.
CSR 79 John Jakubik 03.08.2020 27:57
A strength and conditioning specialist who played four years of college football at Michigan State after having played football and baseball at Kalamazoo College. After Michigan State he went on to be a graduate assistant/wide receivers coach at Missouri Western State University and later was an Ohio State University Strength and Conditioning intern. In his teen years he attended Detroit Catholic...
CSR 78 Bill Bommarito 27.07.2020 28:59
A longtime coach, having done so in football, baseball, soccer, and softball. He is the founder of Coaching Coaches and has had over 70 thousand volunteer coaches and parents participate in his coaching programs and parent programs. He currently has programs with several Archdioceses and several secular athletic programs. He is also the play-by-play announcer for women's volleyball at two universi...
CSR 77 Frank Allocco 20.07.2020 32:39
The Executive Sr. Associate Athletics Director for External Relations at the University of San Francisco (a Catholic school). He won 17 league championships and two Division I state championships in 18 years at De La Salle High School in Concord, California, and has coached and/or been a speaker at basketball camps from China to Belgium to Canada. As a college athlete he played football and basket...
CSR 76 Anne Stricherz 13.07.2020 27:57
The varsity girls golf coach at St. Francis High School in the San Jose, California, area, where she is also the Assistant Athletic Director for Mission and Engagement. She previously was the junior varsity girls golf coach at St. Ignatius Prep in San Francisco. In her college days she attended the University of Notre Dame, where she competed in rowing for four years. She is also the author of a b...
CSR 75 Kevin OBrien 06.07.2020 28:57
He played professional football in the mid-1990s, including the NFL (Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots), the CFL, and the World League (which became NFL Europe). He had played college football at Bowling Green State University. He is the Co-Founder of Virtue Baseball and the Co-Founder of the Catholic Men's Leadership Alliance.
CSR 74 Ryan Vermillion 29.06.2020 26:54
The Head Athletic Trainer for the NFL's Washington Redskins, having started in that role in January. He had spent the previous 18 seasons as the Head Athletic Trainer for the Carolina Panthers. Before that he had been the Redskins' Director of Rehabilitation for one year after having started his NFL career with the Miami Dolphins for nine seasons.
CSR 73 Phil Cuzzi 22.06.2020 33:21
He has been a Major League Baseball umpire for more than 20 years, including having worked a World Series and multiple National League Championship Series, plus even two All-Star Games. Off the field he is very active in his community and with charitable efforts. Have one or more tissues close by as this lifelong Catholic shares some emotional witness!
CSR 72 Kramer Soderberg 15.06.2020 27:57
An assistant coach for the men's basketball team at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. Previously he had been in the same role at NCAA Division II Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri. He played basketball collegiately at both the University of Miami-Ohio and at Lindenwood and at the latter he has been inducted into their Athletics Hall of Fame. Two months ago his book came out, t...
CSR 71 Don Dziagwa 08.06.2020 32:52
The Athletic Director and basketball coach at Tampa Catholic High School, where he has been for over 30 years and was a 2015 inductee to their Hall of Fame. Back in HIS high school days he played four years of basketball and baseball, plus one year of football. A lifelong Catholic, he also had coaching stops in West Virginia as well as five years at another high school in the Tampa Bay area. He's...
CSR 70 Kate Ziegler 01.06.2020 26:36
A two-time Olympian (London 2012 & Beijing 2008), four-time World Champion and a world record setter. In total she won 15 medals in international competition. She retired from swimming in 2016 and has since earned her MBA and helped launch two companies. She is a holistic high-performance coach and a national speaker. As youngster she had also played softball and basketball.
CSR 69 Jaime Barta 25.05.2020 26:18
A junior at Syracuse University where she plays on the softball team after having played at a different school each of the previous two years. In high school she had been a four-time all-state selection and set six school records. Her faith walk includes work that she did for a refugee family, which she mentions in this interview. Her father is a longtime baseball coach and her mother played colle...
CSR 68 Doug Lipinski 18.05.2020 29:15
The Deputy Athletic Director for External Relations at Grand Valley State University in Michigan where he and his staff have been honored with 70 national awards. As a student athlete at the school he was a four-year member of the varsity baseball team, followed by four years as an assistant coach. While growing up he had played five different sports.
CSR 67 Andrew Whitaker 11.05.2020 26:41
The Vice President of Operations as well as a founding board member of the National Catholic Coaches Association. He was a student manager for Michigan State's football team, coached football for two seasons at Alfred State College and one season at the University of St. Thomas. Plus, he coached two seasons of varsity tennis at Lumen Christi, a private Roman Catholic high school in Jackson, Michig...
CSR 66 Nikki Breske 04.05.2020 26:00
She just graduated from Florida State University where she was a pole vaulter, ranking among the Seminoles Top Ten all-time both outdoors and indoors. Born and raised Catholic, in high school she competed for Winter Park High in central Florida and was undefeated during her senior season there. She is committed to and outspoken about abstinence and chastity. Listen for the phone call she received...
CSR 65 Fr Stephen Gadberry 27.04.2020 31:25
The pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Batesville, Arkansas, AND St. Cecilia's Catholic Church in Newport, Arkansas. He was on Season 10 of "American Ninja Warrior" on NBC in 2018 and also enjoys archery and is an avid hunter, plus he coaches CrossFit. He served in the U.S. Air Force in Texas, Germany, and central Iraq.
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