Men’s Group Pickup Soccer Promotes Faith and Fitness on Campus
Image courtesy of Griffin Cappiello/The Tower.
By Griffin Cappiello
Any given Sunday, rain or shine, you can find a group of students, staff, priests, and seminarians coming together in community – not in a chapel, but on the soccer field.
Men’s Group, sponsored by Campus Ministry, has an established weekly tradition of playing pickup soccer. The location changes – some weeks, games are held on the Law School Lawn, some weeks, games are held at the DuFour Center. The people change – some weeks, only four or five students show up, some weeks, over thirty guys will play. But every week, the core principle stays the same: men coming together to share in their common love for God and the beautiful game.
“I think the coolest thing is seeing a bunch of men come together just to spend time with one another in a very competitive, but also charitable way,” Josh Abando, the Campus Minister for Undergraduate Formation, said. “I think it’s cool that we can bridge so many different parts of campus to a unified language that most men know, which is sports.”
Each week, Catholic University students, Campus Ministry staff, University chaplains, and students at the Dominican House of Studies gather at whichever soccer location is available. After some mingling, stretching, and playful trash talk, captains are appointed, teams are selected, and the game begins.
Fr. Maximo Stöck, S.S.J., Chaplain for Undergraduate Formation and Athletics, is a popular first-round pick. The Argentine priest has a background in rugby and is not afraid to show off some skill moves on the soccer pitch. Loris Schaeffer, Campus Ministry’s Business Operations Manager, also got some shouts as the best Men’s Group soccer regular.
“He’s adamant, he wants to play soccer, he wants people to come,” Abando said about Schaeffer. “He’s also just so technical…his movement is kind of like cursive – we’re all here writing in Comic Sans, but here he is, being French, and being cursive in the way that he’s particular with his movement. It’s like poetry in motion.”
Students enjoy coming together and partaking in a friendly – but competitive – game of soccer each week. It’s an excellent opportunity to get away from the stress of schoolwork and a chance to reset, spend some time with friends, and get some exercise while promoting faith and fellowship.
“Men’s Group soccer is a great way to meet new guys and bond in a competitive way,” sophomore theology and philosophy major Andrew Stansbury said.
“It’s healthy for you!” Abando said. “Physically, spiritually, and emotionally.”
Men’s Group hosts formation meetings every Friday morning in the Happel Room in Caldwell Hall. Soccer games are held every Sunday afternoon.
