2008 Media Guide - Greenville College

NCCAA And Member School Begin Circle of InfluenceBy Brian McMahon, Head Men’s and Women’s Soccer Coach, Greenville College (IL)GREENVILLE COLLEGE PANTHER SOCCER2Ifirst heard of the National ChristianCollege Athletic Association (NCCAA)and its member institution, IndianaWesleyan University (IWU), througha prison ministry that was taking place inmy hometown of Mansfield, Ohio. IWU’ssoccer team came over to Mansfield when Iwas a sophomore in high school to ministerto the inmates. My family housed playersfrom the team. At that time I met the HeadMen’s Soccer Coach, who would beginmaking a tremendous impact on my life.I maintained contact with the coachthroughout my Junior and Senior years ofhigh school as IWU would continue theirministry at the prison playing against theinmates. Although I had offers from severalother colleges, I wanted to obtain a degreefrom an NCCAA Division I Christian college.Because of the impact the IWU team hadon me, I chose to attend Indiana WesleyanUniversity and played on the men’s varsitysoccer team.However, this was also a time in mylife that I was facing some struggles. I hadbegun to let my ego get the best of meand began a drug addiction. My drug usebegan when I was a junior in high schooland remained until I was a sophomore atIWU. However, my coach continued towitness to me and be a role model for meto follow.Even though I had always knownChrist as my personal Savior, I was alukewarm Christian at best (Revelation 3:16“So then, because you are lukewarm, andneither cold nor hot, I will vomit you outof My mouth.”) Not only did my gradessuffer as I began my education at IWU,but so did my physical conditioning leveland playing time for the soccer team.My caliber of play was not what it couldhave been, and I knew it. Most of all, myspiritual conditioning was on the path toeternal destruction. I was not able to givemy best—to my education, my team, mycoach, my family, nor my God.My sophomore year was one of lifechangingproportions. The NCCAA andIWU helped me to turn my life aroundthrough the emphasis of Christ throughathletics. I played in the NCCAA NationalSoccer Tournament at Lee University(TN). The NCCAA had invited MichelleAkers Stahl, USA National Women’s SoccerTeam, to speak at the national tournamentbanquet. Her message and testimonyhelped me realize where I was spirituallyand to determine where I wanted to gowith my life and career. I came to realizethat I didn’t have to take drugs or drinkto play at the top level. For some reasonI had thought that the two went hand inhand. As I recommitted my life to God, Ibegan to excel in the various areas of mylife, including athletics. My junior year atIWU brought another chance to play atthe NCCAA National Soccer Tournamentat LeTourneau University (TX) followed bycompleting my college career at the NAIARegionals my senior year, receiving honorsboth years.The Lord allowed my experiencesto shape who I am and what I do today.Following graduation I pursued a field ofsubstance abuse counseling in which Ireceived certification at the CCDC I level tocomplement my B.S. Degree in Psychologyfrom IWU. For three years following mygraduation, I served as a primary counselorfor alcoholics and addicts in a detoxificationunit in a hospital while coaching soccerat the high school level. Although I wascoaching, I missed the NCCAA and theChristian college environment.Knowing the impact the NCCAA hadon my life, I began searching the NCCAAweb site and found a job with an NCCAAmember institution, Greenville College (IL),where I could enjoy serving as both HeadMen’s Soccer Coach and Substance AbuseCounselor. God has certainly led me here,allowed me to use my experiences to helpothers, and topped it off by allowing me touse athletics to impact the lives of studentathletes,hopefully continuing the circle inmy life.Will you assist the NCCAA in theirministry? It made a difference in my lifeand now I am continuing the circle byimpacting the lives of my student-athletes.Your prayers and financial gifts make adifference.Serving Christ through athletics,Brian McMahonA Message From Our Athletic DirectorDr. Doug FaulknerAs we approach the 2008 soccer season, we are reminded of the rich tradition and history of PantherSoccer. The history in soccer at Greenville College has been filled with success on the field as well asoff the field. Many lessons have been learned through soccer that have impacted students’ lives foreternity. For that reason alone we are thankful for the significant role our soccer program has playedin students’ lives.As we remember the history, we also look forward to the future and great things ahead for the toolof soccer to be used in the development of young men. Our head coach, Brian McMahon, gives us manyreasons to be optimistic about the 51 st season of Panther Soccer and beyond. We hope you will enjoywatching and supporting Panther Soccer as it strives to fulfill the Mission of Greenville College on and off thefield.