From the Touchline

Last week, the devastating news broke, Diego Maradona, one of the greatest football legends in the game, died while resting at his home in Buenos Aires, Argentina. For Argentinians, Maradona was a national hero and, for some, a god. For a cadre of football stars around the world, Maradona was some to be emulated for his on the field skills and abilities and accomplishments. Yet, for many controver...

2020, unlike any other year in recent memory may prove to be the most difficult one yet to find much to give thanks for. But as we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving in the U.S., we all might just need a little extra encouragement and help in just how to give thanks and some ideas of what to give thanks for. Today, on the From the Touchline podcast, I share three practices that can help shape our...

It’s my favorite time of year, again. Advent. This season and the lessons that we can learn and the hope that we can build has perhaps never been so important especially in the difficulties that we’ve undergone with COVID-19. I have shared before about Celtic Advent ( listen to last year’s podcast ). This season of the church which begins November 15 is a critical time for prepar...

Last year, on Saint Martin’s Feast Day (November 11), I created a special podcast ( listen to it here ) and shared Saint Martin’s story — the one where he famously cuts his Roman cloak in half and covers a beggar shivering from the cold. That famous story is the origin of our English word for chaplain. Today, on the From the Touchline podcast, I share another story of Saint Martin, on...

Today is a pivotal time in the history of the United States, with a polarized and divisive time politically and socially, there are different attitudes and approaches toward governmental and other types of authority. Even in the sport of football, submitting to authority can be a struggle — whether as an athlete submitting to a manager, a coach at odds with a technical director, or, even, new owne...

For the Christian athlete, sometimes questions can arise around the morals and ethics that we find in the midst of the Beautiful Game and in sport, in general. Is competition good? Is it healthy? Is it right? There is a historic tension at times felt and perceived between one’s faith and the competitive nature that we find at work in the game of football. Today, on the From the Touchline pod...

Have you ever felt alone in the midst of the Beautiful Game? Alone in your faith? Alone in a different country, where you don’t speak the same language? Where it is difficult to find community or ways to live out your faith? Today, on the From the Touchline podcast, I am joined by American Goalkeeper, John Hollinger. John joins me via zoom from Madrid, Spain while he waits out a 4-week lockd...

In the midst of uncertain and difficult time, we may find ourselves flat on our back and needing help to stand back up. We need a good, trusted friend — someone who gets us, someone who understands us to help us back up after we’ve been knocked down. Today, on the From the Touchline podcast, I share a story of two men who extend a hand and helped each other through a difficult time. In II Ki...

We are well into the fall season now — leaves are changing, there is a chill in the night air — and the football season here in the U.S. is soon to come to a close with end-of-year tournaments before the cold of winter sets in. Today, on the From the Touchline podcast, I reflect on the similarities between the harvest season and the football season. Reflecting on poetic words from Kenneth McLeod&#...

In the Kenney household, the fifth week of the month is something special — because mom and dad are on for doing the typical household chores. Yes, each of my four girls, absolutely love when a month has a 5th week — they are jubilant and overjoyed with being able to get a “break” from loading dishes and setting table and such. Today, on the From the Touchline podcast, I reflect on whe...

Special guest and friend, Steve Guppy , who currently serves as the Nashville SC Assistant Coach and is a former winger for English Premier club Leicester City, joins me for part two of a recorded interview. I take a look at a few verses found in Isaiah 40 and ask Steve some further questions about what it’s like for a footballer on the wings to go the distance in a match. Steve and I also h...

Special guest and former England National Team and Leicester City, winger, Steve Guppy joins me today to share more about how he got into the game of football (soccer) and what it really takes to work, play hard and have success on the wings. Steve shares about his own journey including not touching a ball for two years and some of the special memories that have happened for him along the way, inc...

Everyone in the game of football has likely been on the cusp at some point — whether as a substitute or a trialist, whether as an assistant coach or staffer or working somewhere within in the the football industry, it’s likely that you have been in that position where greatness, achievement or success was just within reach and, yet, you get passed over for someone else or because of cir...

Have you ever chased after a floating bubble, only to have it disappear on you? Have you opened up your mouth to catch a falling snowflake, only to wonder if you ever really caught it because it just didn’t seem to last? Or, have you ever on a chilly evening got a glimpse of your “breath” in a glint of light only to see it quickly fade away? Then you have experienced hebel {heh&#...

Brooke Ewert , Director of Counseling for Soccer Chaplains United, joins me on the From the Touchline podcast, today to talk about the different ways that she is helping athletes, coaches, and others in soccer cope in the midst of the pandemic influenced sports season. The current global pandemic has seen a rise in the numbers of athletes and others around sport who are faced with serious mental h...

The Portland Timbers won the MLS is Back Tournament and co-chaplains Ben Dudley and Troy Ready join me on today’s episode of From the Touchline to talk about the team, the tourney and what the remainder of the season might look like. It’s Troy’s first time on the podcast so we will get to know him a little bit better and hear some of his background and story — including a di...

Amidst the tumult of scheduling changes, season cancellations, bubble tournaments, playing in empty stadiums, social distancing, and contact tracing, how can a footballer stay at peace? Well, the words of the prophet Isaiah, many, many years ago can help us to realize how we can keep (or, more accurately, be kept in) perfect peace — heart, mind, body, and soul in these uncertain times. Today,...

The Portland Timbers are set to try and advance in tonight’s matchup against the Philadelphia Union in the MLS is Back Tournament. On today’s From the Touchline podcast, we speak with Ben Dudley , volunteer co-chaplain with the Timbers and a Soccer Chaplains United original. Ben shares about what chaplaincy to the Timbers organization looks like, as well as how the team is received in...

In such uncertain times, there are certainly many difficult spaces for football/soccer athletes, coaches, and teams to navigate. Whether issues stemming from COVID-19 and lockdown, to sequestering for a month-long tournament to get back to soccer, or the racial tensions and strife that are rippling throughout US cities and around the world — just a normal day can be overwhelming — before addi...

In a football, there are a lot of people running — and not only are they running for a ball — many times its much more than that; they are often running away from a past. In truth, we all have a past — things that we are ashamed of, things that happened in the past that are part of us, things that seem too dark, too deviant, irreparable. In today’s From the Touchline episode, I tak...

And who is my neighbor? This age-old question has been bandied about a lot with varying responses, but perhaps it has never been more critical for Christians and especially for Christian footballers to wrestle with the question and understanding, who is my neighbor? Sometimes in football/soccer, because of the global nature of the game and because of the diverse settings in our locker rooms and sp...

The murder of George Floyd has sparked global outcry. And Floyd’s death has touched professional footballers and many other people of color who have felt or experienced, themself, the oppressive spirit and injustice when others held power or sway. In today’s From the Touchline episode, I share a personal story and experience with racial reconciliation and the need for people to self-ex...

Right now, if you’re like me, you’re probably tired of all things Coronavirus — it can feel consuming, depressing, and more. Even as things in the U.S. begin to re-open and start to phase a return, there are likely still a lot of questions that are in your heart and mind — will school happen in the fall? Will sports resume? What will life look like on the other side? In today’s From the...

In the midst of Coronavirus, there is a rising divide that is becoming more and more apparent. Sides are being taken on how one ought to respond to restrictions and the pace of re-opening local, national, and global societies and economies. The divide seems to be widening as people pick sides — Democrats against Republicans, mask wearers against non-mask-wearers, social distancers against non...

Part of the uniqueness of the beautiful game is the game is in constant motion. There is little stopping of play and there is a fluidity to the athletes and official that are on the field. Especially for the midfield position, there is a lot of running that goes on. Data analytics have tracked averages around 7 miles in a typical soccer match — with some players running as much as 9.5 miles i...