From the Touchline

In a new series entitled, The Technical Area , Rev Brad shares some specific applications for certain biblical passages that help apply faith to football in simple, practical ways. Today’s lesson, is on Luke 13:6-9. Here, Jesus shares a parable with his disciples and thousands of others crowded around. Contextually, he’s relating this into repentance and getting relationships right. Th...

In this installment of our Lessons from Lasso series, we see Coach Lasso taking on Rupert Manion in a game of darts at the local pub. At stake? The ability to set the lineup if Manion wins or staying away from the owners box if Lasso wins. Just before his last throws and eventual win, he tells a story of a quote he came across, “Be curious, not judgmental.” But as Christians, aren&#821...

Season 1, Episode 8 and our 54th Lesson from Lasso, we examine our good friend, Danny Rojas. His positive, bubbly spirit is infectious and he has just shared with Kili that he wants to get into business giving away joy for free. Seem impossible? For some yes, but for those that follow Jesus, joy is part of our experience, even in times of difficulty. Jesus promises his joy — a complete joy coming...

Today, Lesson #53, we take a brief look at John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success. What does it take to build a successful enterprise? Team? Person? The late John Wooden was a successful basketball coach who was also a life-long learner. He looked to build and develop the character and person of the athletes that he coached and this led him to building out a “Pyramid of Success.” Wheth...

Unity is important in football. Whether in the locker room or the board room, a unified group is what is needed to achieve the goals and aspirations that lie before a football club. But more than just football, it’s important to have a group of people around us that can celebrate our wins and comfort us in our losses, too. For Coach Ted Lasso, the “Diamond Dogs” represent a group...

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is soon to wrap up. The From the Touchline podcast has felt a little different the past few weeks as we’ve been going through Soccer Chaplains United’s new devotional book, Five Women You Meet in Faith and Football with a look at the lives of five women who appear in Jesus’ lineage — Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. In this final week...

As we celebrate the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the From the Touchline podcast feels a little different. We’ve been going through Soccer Chaplains United’s new devotional book, Five Women You Meet in Faith and Football . This five-week, daily devotional looks at the lives of five women who appear in Jesus’ lineage — Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. This week, we me...

As we celebrate the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup for the next few weeks, the From the Touchline podcast will feel a little different. It will feature a devotional reading from Soccer Chaplains United’s new devotional book, Five Women You Meet in Faith and Football . This five-week, daily devotional looks at the lives of five women who appear in Jesus’ lineage — Tamar, Rahab, Ruth,...

As we celebrate the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup that is being co-hosted by Australia and New Zeland for the next few weeks, the From the Touchline podcast will feel a little different. It will feature a devotional reading from Soccer Chaplains United’s new devotional book, Five Women You Meet in Faith and Football . This five-week, daily devotional looks at the lives of five women who...

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off today! We wanted to share about the new Soccer Chaplains United devotional book, Five Women You Meet in Faith and Football . This five-week, daily devotional looks at the lives of five women who appear in Jesus’ lineage — Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. We encourage you to get a copy (ebook or print) of the book and read it throughout...

We are celebrating the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup being co-hosted by Australia and New Zeland. For the next five weeks, the podcast will feature a devotional reading from Soccer Chaplains United’s new devotional book, Five Women You Meet in Faith and Football . This five-week, daily devotional looks at the lives of five women who appear in Jesus’ lineage — Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Ba...

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off in 1 week! We wanted to share about the new Soccer Chaplains United devotional book, Five Women You Meet in Faith and Football . This five-week, daily devotional looks at the lives of five women who appear in Jesus’ lineage — Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. We encourage you to get a copy (ebook or print) of the book before the start of...

In today’s Lesson from Lasso we watch AFC Richmond Owner, Rebecca, comforting and consoling Coach Ted Lasso outside of the karaoke bar where he’s having a panic attack. We know Rebecca has her own relationship pain and its from this pain that she’s able to help Ted “bear up” under the hurt of divorce. Henri Nouwen, the Dutch Catholic priest, uses the term “Wound...

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off in 2 weeks! We wanted to share about the new Soccer Chaplains United devotional book, Five Women You Meet in Faith and Football . This five-week, daily devotional looks at the lives of five women who appear in Jesus’ lineage — Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. We encourage you to get a copy (ebook or print) of the book before the start o...

Today’s Lesson from Lasso is a bit of a milestone, Lesson 50 and it might sound familiar — truth-telling. We talked about it way back in lesson 27 (originally airing April 6, 2022). But that kind of truth-telling was the soft, gentle, and compassionate type. You know the moments — letting someone know they have food in their teeth or that their breath might need a little bit of fresheni...

Today, we get into Episode 7, Season 1 and Lesson 49 in our Lessons from Lasso series. The scene fixates on Coach Lasso as he downs a couple of whiskies from the mini-bar in an effort to anesthetize himself from the emotional pain of taking the final steps in signing divorce papers — an ultimate sign of divorce. Lasso isn’t the only one in the episode who is numbing the dark parts of hi...

Lesson 48 in our Lessons from Lasso series and we’re talking about Jamie Tartt getting canceled. Coach Lasso and Beard have done a lot of work to try to reform the prima donna striker and get him to buy into the concept of “team,” but just when it seems like they’ve gotten through to the young man Owner Rebecca Welton undoes the work by agreeing to send Jamie back from his...

Jared Watts played professional soccer for the Colorado Rapids and Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer. His pathway of coming into pro soccer came through his time spent at IMG Academy and later at Wake Forest University. He had to endure a few injuries and needed to lean on the support of others doing key moments in life. Today, on the Soccer Chaplains United podcast, From the Touchline , is th...

Jared Watts played professional soccer career for the Colorado Rapids and Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer. His pathway of coming into pro soccer came through his time spent at IMG Academy and later at Wake Forest University. Today, on the Soccer Chaplains United podcast, From the Touchline , is part two of three in our conversation with Jared. He shares about his ACL injury that happened whi...

Jared Watts, also known as “Wattsy,” is a corporate recruiter and he finished his professional soccer career a few years ago after playing for the Colorado Rapids and Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer. In a three-part series, he reflects on some of his journey and we hear about his story which includes time spent at IMG academy in Florida — which back in the day was a special training environm...

Wells Thompson is the Founder and CEO of Soccer Resilience. A former professional midfielder, drafted fifth overall by the New England Revolution and played for the Colorado Rapids and Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer, Wells has an incredible testimony. Even though he won the MLS Cup Championship, his career isn’t all glitz and glam. Today, on the Soccer Chaplains United podcast, From the...

Wells Thompson is the Founder and CEO of Soccer Resilience. A former professional midfielder who played in Major League Soccer, Wells has an amazing testimony. Much of his inspiration and work today comes out of the learning that he has had to do from his own lessons of life before, during, and after a professional soccer career.. Today, on the Soccer Chaplains United podcast, From the Touchline ,...

Wells Thompson is the Founder and CEO of Soccer Resilience. A former professional midfielder who played in Major League Soccer, Wells has a story worth hearing. His work today comes from his own lessons of life that he has learned and continues to learn. Today, on the Soccer Chaplains United podcast, From the Touchline , is part one of three in our conversation with Wells. We catch up a little bit...

Adam Smith is the Sporting Director of Central Valley Fuego FC. He is a former professional goalkeeper and is, today, a coach — perhaps his most well-known coaching stint back in 2019 leading USL-Championship side Fresno FC to a third place finish in the West. Today, on the Soccer Chaplains United podcast, From the Touchline , in part four (the finale) of our series, Adam talks about his current r...

Adam Smith is the Sporting Director of Central Valley Fuego FC which plays in the United Soccer League (USL) League One – part of the third tier of professional soccer in the United States. Adam has an extensive playing and coaching career that extends all the way back to England where he grew up and his eventual transition to America. Today, on the Soccer Chaplains United podcast, From the...