Chloe Esposito (2016 Olympic Gold Medalist – Modern Pentathlon)
“Before, during and after competition, I’ve always prayed to God for His guidance, help and protection. Prayer has helped me to remain grounded and to keep things in perspective, knowing that winning isn’t everything.”

Damien Schumann (2018 Commonwealth Games Gold Medalist – Beach Volleyball)
“I always pray before every match, asking God to help me honour him by giving my best with the gifts he gave me, and leaving the results in his hands. Prayer has been a great way to calm my nerves before competing and to reaffirm that I just have to do my best.”

Adam Doueihi (Wests Tigers – NRL)
“A quote from Corinthians “For we walk by faith, not by sight” currently resonates in my journey. Since being injured, I have been learning to draw my motivation from God, the only person who loves unconditionally and will not forsake you. Being an injured athlete at the moment is definitely challenging. However, God has been showing me that my talents for the field and love for Jesus are part of a much bigger plan, and through patience, humility, prayer and faithful dedication and training, my faith has been a constant companion throughout my league journey.”

Qwayne Guevara (Founder, Embers Basketball)
“Growing up, basketball became a place for belonging for me. It was on the court that I was celebrated for my passion for teamwork, sport, and competition. As I began to grow in skill and faith, I soon realised how formative basketball was to my development as I understood the capacity for basketball to strive for virtue. Bringing together faith and basketball has inspired the expansion and deepening of community, through Embers Basketball, which has now been going for 10 years. It has brought together women from all walks in life, encouraging one another, upholding each other's dignity, accompaniment and prayer. With faith and community at the foundations of the ministry, I hope that we can continue to make God's love known and experienced on and off the court.”

Stephen Lawrence (1991 Premiership player for Hawthorn, AFL)
“In my twelve years of AFL football, prayer played an integral part in my preparation. Jesus is Lord of everything, after all! When traveling interstate for matches, I always made the effort to get to Mass on Sundays, and prayed for the grace to use my gifts to the best of my ability, to stay uninjured, and to act with integrity as a witness to my teammates.”

Tomislav Uskok (Macarthur FC – A-League)
“Prayer to me is a must. Every morning I start the day in prayer and end my day in the same way. The Rosary is something I pray everyday, it gives me peace and helps me centre my life on Christ. In a professional sporting environment there are good times and many bad times but prayer helps me focus on what’s important and allows me to give thanks and glory to Our Lord everyday.”

Fr Jackson Saunders (Priest and Sports Radio Broadcaster)
 “I am a priest of the Sandhurst Diocese and continue to nurture my love of broadcasting sport on the radio. This expresses my desire to share my faith with others in the wider community by sharing a gift that has been given to me by God.”

Marci Oringo-Vos (Coach and Teacher)
"My life has been dedicated to the empowerment of others through God’s truth, whether in the classroom or on the sporting field. After thirteen years of coaching, and the understanding of how important goals and a good playbook can be - God has taught me that it is also in the rest, the recovery - that we grow stronger. Proper planning, practice and prayer can prevent poor performance: for without a good strong core (that being Christ) - our game has no centre."

Jenny Brinkworth (Mother of Maddy Proud of the New South Wales Swifts – Super Netball)
“Prayer is something that has always come naturally to me and I have gained a lot of comfort from praying for God’s help when I am anxious or worried about the people I love. That’ why, when my children are playing sport at the elite level – and it is such a big part of their life – I pray that they will do well and not get injured. But I also pray that if things go wrong, they will have the strength and resilience to deal with those obstacles and setbacks. I also believe that everyone has God-given talents and gifts which they should use to make other people happy, so I am thankful that my kids have been able to do, both in sport and in other aspects of their lives.”

Fr Steve Ardill (Priest and Football Umpire)
“One of my cobbers once wrote: I suspect an umpire with God on his side always makes inspired decisions and is treated by the players with holy respect! I was able to emphatically assure him that this was far from the reality. My prayers on a Saturday have a focus on the game to be played that afternoon. The Rosary is prayed on the often-long trip to the game and I always pause before the first bounce asking God and His Blessed Mother to guide my decision-making and help me contribute to a safe and enjoyable game for everyone at the oval that day, especially the players.”

Donna MacFarlane (2006 Commonwealth Games Bronze Medalist – 3000m Steeplechase)
“Athletics and my Catholic faith have always gone hand in hand. I believe that God gave me a talent to run and that when I run, I give glory to Him. Of course, I want to win but when things don’t go to plan, I know I’m loved and there is more to this life. For me, prayer is connecting with God through music, quiet time, Mass and the Rosary.”

Fr Paul Crotty (Priest and Football Coach)
“My involvement in sport has helped me to be the person the Lord has called forth before I was born! Discipline, team work, sacrifice, joy in success, losing with honour, honesty, commitment, courage in adversity - are important aspects of not only being a sportsperson but a disciple of the Lord. I am grateful to my parents, family, friends and sports communities who contributed along the way.”

Michael Maguire (Coach, NSW Blues – Rugby League)
“Spending time in quiet thought and contemplation has been vital for me as a coach, as it has allowed me to carefully discern the unique strengths, gifts and talents of each individual on the team and to learn how to guide those gifts to achieve a shared goal.”