Georgia Bulletin

The Newspaper of the Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta

Athletic coaches who attended a workshop on building sports character.Courtesy of Holy Spirit Prep.
Coaches came out to hear the words of the Playing Like Champions speakers at Holy Spirit Preparatory School. Photographed are Brittany Bailey, middle school cheer coach; Kristina Wilhelm, athletics director; Amanda Foutch, assistant swim coach, and Morgan Gallagher, cheer coach and athletics associate.

Atlanta

Holy Spirit Prep partners with sports character program 

By Georgia Bulletin Staff | Published March 4, 2022

ATLANTA—Winning-at-all-costs coaching, sports specialization and parent “sports rage” are eroding the culture of youth sports today. To counter those challenges, Holy Spirit Preparatory School is partnering with the Play Like a Champion Today Character Education Through Sports program. 

The school hosted two workshops titled, “Coaching as a Ministry” and “Parent Like a Champion” to its community at Holy Spirit Church Feb. 6.  

Play Like a Champion helps sports organizations by educating coaches to make sports more character-focused and an opportunity for faith formation.   

The program’s resources are a collaboration with faculty at the University of Notre Dame’s Shaw Center for Children and Families. 

Dr. Edward Lindekugel, Holy Spirit’s head of school, welcomed the opportunity and said, “Play Like a Champion sees coaching as a form of ministry, and challenges coaches to develop the whole athlete: physically, mentally, morally and spiritually. Our community looks forward to gaining tools to enhance our Catholic school athletic experience.”