The Christians in Sport Podcast

“Somewhere God was tapping me on the shoulder saying, hey you aint clever enough to deal with this yourself…just ask me for a bit of help!” Paul Brush has battled through a lot of adversity in his life and career - from serious injury, being dropped for the FA Cup final, to losing his wife through leukaemia, leaving him to raise a five-month old son. In the midst of it all he began to follow Jesus...

“When I got injured I found a faith and stability in God when times were tough, when I was literally out of work. He was faithful and he brought me through.” These are the words of Steve Spooner, the third interview in our series looking at the ups and downs of professional football. Spooner began his career with Derby County but got his breakthrough with Halifax Town. He then moved to Chesterfiel...

When we say we have guests who have seen it all - we meant it - and with Bradford City Legend, Wayne Jacobs, we really do! Wayne Jacobs has played in nearly every league in professional football in a 21 year career, defined by his time at Bradford City where he not only played for 11 years, but has also had stints managing them too. He also played in the Football League for West Bromwich Albion, S...

“Before I was a Christian football was my god so I was up and down according to how I played. When I came to know Jesus however, everything changed because Jesus is God and football was in its right place.” These are the words of Gavin Peacock, the first interview in our new series looking at the ups and downs of professional football. Gavin is an English former professional footballer who played...

Welcome to the final episode of the Retirement Question - series four of The Christians in Sport Podcast. The finale sees Danno chatting to former rower Debbie Bruwer (née Flood), whose 15-year international career included two Olympic silver medals and three World titles.  As she prepared to hang up her oars after competing in her home Olympics, Debbie expected the transition to life after rowing...

Episode 3 sees Danno chatting to former rugby wildman turned youth coach Chris Jones and ex-Winter Olympian Adam Pengilly. The pair enjoyed successful, but vastly different careers in top-level sport, with Adam a skeleton slider and Chris an uncompromising prop. But both are only too aware of the challenges faced by elite sportspeople on retirement. Chris talks about trying to fill a void in his l...

Welcome back to the Retirement Question. We resume with Danno chatting to former professional golfer Alison Nicholas. The highlights of Alison’s 20 years at the pinnacle of golf included winning the 1997 US Open and captaining Europe to Solheim Cup victory in 2011.  Although she achieved great success on the course with 18 tournament wins, Alison found the transition to life after golf far harder...

For elite athletes, this is singularly the greatest issue. When you stop playing, you have no idea who you are, where you fit into society, what your future holds or how to conduct yourself. It’s a tremendous pressure on elite athletes and that’s why we’re looking at it. In this first episode of a new series, Danno chats to former Premier League footballer Linvoy Primus. Having played more than 40...

Danno is in Australia as a chaplain at the Commonwealth Games.  We interviewed him to find out what he's up to and what he's saying to top level athletes in this high-pressured environment.

With the Winter Olympics about to start, Danno dives into the adrenaline-filled world of skeleton to meet Adam Pengilly. Hurtling down an icy track lying prone on a sled at speeds of over 80 mph would scare the life out of most people, but Adam, a world silver medallist in 2009, relished the experience. In this gripping podcast, Adam shares the highs and lows of a career that saw him represent Tea...

Welcome back to the Leadership Files. This time, we head into the world of elite rowing as Danno catches up with double Olympic silver medallist and three-time world champion Debbie Flood. As well as her successful career on the water, Debbie’s leadership skills saw her become the first ever female captain of the world famous Leander Club. Debbie shares how she strived to make the most of her own...

Welcome back to the Leadership Files. This time, we return to the world of golf as Danno catches up with former US Open champion and victorious Solheim Cup captain Alison Nicholas. From the outset, Alison shares how Christian faith has shaped her leadership at the pinnacle of her sport. She says: “What would Christ do in this situation? That’s the question I ask myself.” Alison talks about making...

Welcome to the Leadership Files - series three of The Christians in Sport Podcast. We kick off with Danno catching up again with former rugby wildman turned youth coach Chris Jones. Recorded at the ‘House of Pain’ - the home of Pontypridd RFC, the podcast sees Chris share how he learned to coach in the hard but fair style that has brought his Rhondda Valley teams great success. He says: “Any side...

Why should Christian athletes at the top level get stuck into church? That’s the question we’re tackling on the latest Christians in Sport Podcast. Having met a series of elite sportspeople over the course of the year, we now discuss another key issue that comes out of many of the interviews. The Bible tells us that followers of Jesus should prioritise meeting together (Hebrews 10 v 25), but that...

A special roundtable podcast with Graham Daniels interviewing Olympian Debbie Flood and footballer Linvoy Primus about what its like being a Christian and a top-level athlete and if the two can go together.

We move into the world of coaching for our latest podcast as Danno crosses the Pond to meet Val Gin. A professor of kinesiology at Gordon College, Massachusetts, Val was a successful women’s volleyball and softball coach for 13 years before changing her focus to training coaches of the future. Val’s Christian faith is integral to this work as she seeks to combine physical training and training in...

With the RBS 6 Nations in full flow, we return to the rugby field for this month’s Christians in Sport Podcast with former England international Ann O'Flynn. Listen to this absorbing podcast as Ann talks about: -   Being an “anomaly” as a girl playing rugby (2 mins 30 sec)   - Setting up a women’s rugby club at Liverpool University so she didn’t have to play for their rivals (7.00) - Plotting her...

We are marking the return of the Six Nations with a foray into the world of rugby union for the latest Christians in Sport podcast, but this month’s interviewee has a far from conventional tale to tell. Danno meets wildman turned inspirational youth coach Chris Jones. Although a Welsh junior international, Chris was soon far better known for his violent antics on off the field, which earned him th...

We kick off the new year on the Christians in Sport podcast with a trip to the Hawthorns – home of West Bromwich Albion. Here Danno meets former West Brom, Derby and Portsmouth defender Darren Moore, who is now First Team Coach of West Brom. Listen to this absorbing podcast as Darren talks about: The last-minute call up that saw him make his first-team debut at 17 (4mins 20secs) The gut-wrenching...

Paralympian Niel Louw has an amazing story. Listen to the podcast as Niel talks about The freak accident that should have killed him (2mins 20secs) The great opportunity God gave him as a disabled athlete (5.10) Winning his first Paralympic medal in the 200m final at Barcelona 1992 (9.40) Finally beating his rival, the world-record holding Nigerian sprinter Adeoye Ajibola (11.55) Having his hopes...

Jane Powell is now involved with her fourth different international sport in an illustrious career as a player and now a coach. Listen to as Jane talks about: - Choosing which sports to play (1min 43secs) - Her ambitions growing up (4.35) - Leading England out for the World Cup final in Melbourne (8.05) - How she became a Christian (12.48) - Coaching hockey in Iran (24.10) and at London 2012 (18.3...

Buckle up as the Christians in Sport Podcast visits the high-speed world of motorsport. Seeking career advice from an ex-Formula 1 driver proved a life-changing experience for Adriano Medeiros. Hoping for some help to fulfil his dream of making it in the world of motor racing, the Brazilian instead began a journey of faith that is still shaping his exploits on the track today. Adriano thought Alex...

As the Rio Olympics get under way, ex-athletes Debbie Flood and Adam Pengilly tell us what it is like to compete at the games. Debbie won silver medals as a rower at Athens and Beijing and also reached the final in London. Adam raced skeleton bobsleigh at Turin and Vancouver, winning a world silver medal in between. Here the pair offer an insider’s view on the games and share how their Christian f...

An audio extract of an article written about doping and what the Christian faith has to say about it. To read the full article go to christiansinsport.org.uk/losing

PARYS Edwards has competed at the top level in two different sports over a 20-year career that is still going strong. Starting off as junior hockey international in her native Zimbabwe, she then represented South Africa at under 21 and student level. A move to England saw her win three national titles with Leicester before a new challenge dawned. Parys took up triathlon aged 30 after being prompte...