A Q&A with softball legend Leah O’Brien Amico about FCA’s new Bold and Beautiful Team Bible Study and what it means to be a strong woman of God.
FCA: In sports, female athletes often struggle with their identity and losing themselves entirely in their performance. As someone who has been involved in sports at a high level, what are your thoughts on identity and being a strong woman of God?
LA: It really comes down to knowing who God has made you to be. I know for me, as an athlete in college when I started to understand what the Bible said about who God created me to be, I went out and competed a little bit harder. I had a different audience that I was playing for. I wasn’t necessarily playing for man’s approval anymore but just so that I would go out and use the passion and the talent that God had given me.
FCA: You are around younger athletes quite a bit. What struggles have you seen in high school and college-aged athletes?
LA: I think a lot of young athletes get their worth from how they compete, and I think there are a lot of outside influences: their parents, coaches, how they stack up to their teammates, pressures not only in the sport but off the field. In light of those challenges, it’s important to have a study like Bold and Beautiful to say, “This who God says you are.” If you have that and make Him your solid foundation, then everything else will flow from that.
FCA: Why are you excited about this study?
LA: I know when I was a college athlete this is something that would have spoken right to my heart. Learning what the Bible said and how to apply it to my sport and learning who God made me helped me to be a well-rounded athlete and get to the highest level. So for these athletes or coaches to have this tool and to be able to share these truths is huge. As athletes, we go out and compete, but these are things that can take you deeper. The bond that it will create, as well the results that you’ll see on the field, will all be fruit from this study.
FCA: What would you say to encourage the study leaders?
LA: As leaders, we’re pouring into people. I believe the leaders will get just as much out of it as they go through this study, and it will impact their lives, but I also believe they’re going to make an eternal difference in ways they don’t even see at this point when they step forward and lead a study. I just encourage them to know that they’re definitely going to have battles because there is an enemy who doesn’t want these athletes to know the Truth about who God says they are. But if they press on, they will be rewarded in big ways.
FCA: What would you say to encourage and challenge the study participants?
LA: For those who are going to be in this Bold and Beautiful study, I really encourage them to open their hearts to what God is going to teach them. I hope they will go into it with an open mind to say, “I do want to learn to be the best me, the best athlete, the best person, the best follower of Christ I can be.” The way to do that is to be open, honest and vulnerable. And I believe that if you get a couple people to start doing that then they’re going to see a ripple effect with those around them, and through that the bond and the unity in the presence of His Truth, people will be set free. The Bible says that who the Son sets free is free indeed (John 8:36), and I encourage athletes to say, “There’s more freedom waiting for me in Christ.”
FCA: Why is a team so important?
LA: The importance of a team is that you have people who are walking through something together. When you’re on that field, everybody brings something different to the table, and that helps you become a better athlete. And we all play different roles, so if you do this study with a team or a group, you are going to glean information and see things in ways you didn’t know. You’re going to see God moving, and through that He can reveal more about you.
Through that bond that gets created on a team, you end up encouraging and lifting each other up and going through the hard stuff together. And that’s probably the biggest thing. Everyone can do well and put a smile on their face when things are going good, but when challenges come, it’s harder. And what will happen with this study is that you’ll realize you’re not alone. There is encouragement to be found and there are people who can pray for you and lift you up—who can lead you and show you where the Word says something different about what you’ve believed or what you’ve felt. And it can make a dramatic difference in your life and the lives of everyone on the team.
To download Bold and Beautiful Team Bible Study, CLICK HERE.