MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / August 2, 2000

LAPLACE – The Fellowship of Christian Athletes has been a fixture in the River Parishes for almost three decades.

To help ensure the success of the program in the area in the years to come, two groups of high school students recently traveled to FCA camps.

Students from Destrehan, Hahnville and Riverside went to a leadership camp in Bethany, La., while St. Charles Catholic students made a trip to a regionalcamp in Black Mountain, N.C. Gary Zeringue, who has been involved with FCAat St. Charles Catholic, Reserve Christian and Destrehan, went with thestudents on the trips.

The camp at Bethany, approximately six miles southwest of Shreveport, was being held for the first time July 2-5. Staff from the Louisiana FCA officeworked the camp, including Breaux Nader, son of longtime LSU coach and administrator Sam Nader.

“They did an excellent job of making a camp of the same caliber you could get by traveling greater distances,” Zeringue said.

The camp taught the student-athletes leadership skills they could use when they got back to the huddles at their high schools. Zeringue said thoselessons were good things with the students having to do most of the work with their huddles because of the restrictions of recent decisions regarding separation of church and state.

At the camp, the students are separated into 10- to 12-member teams or huddles. A third of the camp is used for training with huddle leaders fromstate colleges coming in to provide information the high school students can take back with them.

Another third is music and guest speakers. Speakers at the Bethany campincluded Pat Tilley, who played for the NFL’s St. Louis Cardinals, and EvangelHigh School coach John Booty. The talks are based on a common theme – thisyear’s was “2B New” – used by all FCA camps that year.

“The focus of the talks is to challenge the kids that are going to be leaders to be the type of Christians they need to be to be effective leaders,” Zeringue said.

The final third of the camp is dedicated to sports played between the huddles.

Bonnie Snider, who will be a senior at Destrehan High School this year, went to the FCA camp for a second time. She said the average day began at 7a.m. with calisthenics. The students would then have quiet time forreflection for 15 minutes. After breakfast, an assembly would be heldfollowed by competition between the huddles. The students then broke intotheir huddles to discuss the competition and reflection. There was anotherfree time after lunch. The students then went to dinner followed by a nightassembly with guest speakers.

“All the huddle leaders were great and provided great leadership for us to bring back to our huddles,” Snider said. “(Guest speaker) Chad Sparks wasawesome. He knew how to get in touch with teenagers.”Rustin Rebowe, a sophomore-to-be at Destrehan, had been going to FCA camps for years with his mother, Darla, who started the FCA at Hahnville.

This was the first year that he had gone as a camper, however, and he said he learned a lot about how to talk to others about God.

“It taught us how to be leaders,” Rebowe said. “I can speak better in front ofpeople about Christ.”Darla Rebowe has been going to FCA camps with her family for eight years now. When the camp nurse’s baby became ill this year, Darla, the head nursefor the St. Charles Parish School System, was asked to fill in.”It was wonderful,” Rebowe said. “They asked me to be it again next year. Itwas a blessing.”Rebowe said the camp helps student-athletes become better leaders for Christ.

“The athletes, who already are the strongest leaders, if they can stand for the gospel and good things, others will follow them,” Rebowe said. “They haveto have an impact.”The FCA athletic camp at Black Mountain has probably been the one most attended by River Parishes schools, Zeringue said. The camp, held July 9-14,was attended by 13 St. Charles Catholic students this year.Randy Madere, a junior this year at St. Charles Catholic, said a typical daybegan at 6:30 a.m. With stretching and other exercises. Breakfast wasfollowed by speakers and singing. Competitions between the huddles was heldbefore lunch. After lunch, clinics on football and baseball were conducted.Students then had two hours of free time before dinner. After dinner wasanother assembly with guest speakers.

“We got real close to God,” Madere said. “We got a better understandingabout God and how he feels about us. You want to do everything you do forGod.”Zeringue said this camp was split equally between athletic games and clinics and assemblies and testimonies by college and professional coaches. Two ofthe guest speakers were Sean Gilbert of the Carolina Panthers and his former teammate, David Rocker. But Zeringue said the highlight of the campmay have been song leader Herb Moon.

“He made the singing fun and got the kids active in the singing,” Zeringue said.

Derrick Gaubert, a senior this year, agreed.

“It was a lot of fun,” Gaubert said. “I really got into it. The singing wasprobably the best part, that and getting into all the events.”The adult chapter of the River Parishes FCA funds the transportation for the trips. Zeringue said he looks for the best camps for the students to gobut that it is up to the individual high school huddles and huddle sponsors to decide which students get to go.

“Most of the time it’s open,” Zeringue said. “A couple of huddle coaches andsponsors pick athletes to go. But it’s often as much as an athlete steppingup and saying ‘I’m interested in this.'”Zeringue said that St. Charles Catholic football coach Frank Monica startedthe local FCAs when he was at Lutcher with a similar camp trip 25 years ago and said they were still going strong.

“The FCA is still active in the River Parishes,” Zeringue said. “For it to stayactive, the kids need to have the camp experience. It’s the fire and sparkthat keeps FCA going throughout the year.”

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