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October 26, 2026 • 4 Minute Read
Basketball 6-7 Year Olds Launch
FCA Sports Families, Basketball season is almost here! We are just ONE WEEK away from kicking off our 6–7-year-old basketball league, and we couldn't be more excited to welcome your family to another season of FCA Sports! Whether this is your first season with us or you've been part of the FCA Sports family for years, thank you for trusting us with your athlete. Here are a few important things to know as we get ready! SEASON KICKOFF & SCHEDULES Practices begin NEXT WEEK — Monday, November 2, or Tuesday, November 3! Our 6–7 basketball league is a weekday league, meaning practices and games will take place during the week. Practices: Mondays or Tuesdays, beginning November 2–3. Games: Wednesdays or Thursdays, beginning the following week. Location: Bethel Gymnasium for ALL practices and games. Your athlete's specific team schedule will be available through the FCA Sports App. WHAT TO EXPECT AT YOUR FIRST PRACTICE Before practice begins, please meet your coach in the Bethel Gymnasium lobby for a quick parent meeting with your team. This is an opportunity to introduce yourselves, connect with your coach, and hear what to expect this season. A few simple reminders: Bring a water bottle for your athlete. Basketballs are provided, but your athlete is welcome to bring their own. Basketball rules will be emailed to families this weekend, before practices begin. Our first week is all about getting comfortable, meeting teammates, learning the game, and having FUN! DOWNLOAD THE FCA SPORTS APP The BEST way to stay in the know throughout the season is through our FCA Sports App! Simply open your phone's App Store and search FCA Sports. Log in using the same email and password you originally used to register your athlete. Forgot your password? No problem! You can reset it directly through the app. This is where you'll find your athlete's schedule, team information, and important league updates. If you have trouble logging in, please reach out to me. I'm happy to help! INTRODUCING THE RAY & MEG FILES! This season, we're excited to introduce something brand new to FCA Sports! Our first-ever young athletes' devotional story, featuring our character Meg! The Ray & Meg Files: Ignore the Noise We've been working hard to create a story that helps young athletes discover what it means to grow in character, confidence, and faith while navigating the noise around them. And parents, this isn't just for your athlete. It's for you too! Our hope is that these stories create conversations that continue long after practice ends—in the car, around the dinner table, and at home. READ THE RAY & MEG FILES: IGNORE THE NOISE HERE Take a few minutes to read it together before the season begins. It's a great way to get a head start on our season theme! INTRODUCING OUR PARENT STANDARD One of the things we care deeply about at FCA Sports is the culture and environment we create together. That includes our coaches, athletes, referees, and especially our parents. This season, we're introducing our FCA Sports Parent Standard, a simple reminder of how we carry ourselves on the sidelines and how we partner together to create a positive experience for every athlete. Our kids are watching. They see how we encourage, how we respond to mistakes, how we treat officials, and how we celebrate others. We all have a role in setting the temperature. Please take a few minutes to review our Parent Standard before our first games. REVIEW THE FCA SPORTS PARENT STANDARD HERE MEET YOUR FCA SPORTS TEAM We're here to serve you throughout the season. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to reach out! Troy Farley — FCA Sports League Director
tfarley@fca.org Zach Lewison — Associate Director & Bethel Game Day Coordinator
zlewison@fca.org Connor Davis — Bethel Game Day Coordinator
cmdavis2802@gmail.com Amber Lewis — Operations Coordinator
amberlewis@fca.org Hannah Fiocchi — Volunteer Coordinator
hfiocchi@fca.org LET'S GET READY! At FCA Sports, our mission is to see every coach, athlete, and FAMILY in a growing relationship with Jesus and His Church. Basketball is simply the opportunity we get to use to build relationships, teach life lessons, and point families toward something greater than the scoreboard. We're excited to partner with you this season! Every Coach. Every Athlete. Every Family. See you in the gym! Win The Day, Troy Farley FCA Sports Leagues Director
October 26, 2026 • 4 Minute Read
THE PARENT CORNER #38 → THE LETTER
More Than a Letter What Meg’s Coach Needed to Hear Meg almost left the letter in her backpack. It was the last practice. Teammates were gathering their things, parents were waiting, and her coach was collecting volleyballs. “Coach? I made something for you.” She held out a folded piece of paper. Her coach smiled. “For me?” Meg nodded. “You can read it later.” What Meg didn’t know was how much her coach had needed something good that day. A painful divorce was unraveling life at home. Concentrating at work had become difficult. Conversations with her own children left her searching for answers she didn’t have. Then came practice. Wipe your eyes. Grab the whistle. Smile. “Bring it in, girls!” She wanted to be there for this team. But lately, showing up took more than anyone realized. A parent’s frustration over a game decision had followed her home. A forgotten drill felt like one more failure. Some nights, she wondered whether anything she did mattered anymore. She wasn’t just tired of coaching. She was tired of trying to hold her life together. After the last family left, she sat down and unfolded Meg’s letter. Meg wrote about being nervous to try volleyball. About being hard on herself. About the times she had wanted to quit—and how glad she was that she hadn’t. She wrote about belonging to a team. The encouragement during practice. The huddles that helped her understand she was chosen and didn’t have to prove her worth. Then her coach reached the part about mistakes not defining her. She read it again. That was something she had wanted Meg to understand. Somewhere along the way, she had stopped believing it about herself. She lowered the letter into her lap. The divorce wasn’t over. Tomorrow would still be difficult. She still needed support. But sitting there in that quiet gym, she could finally see something her exhaustion had hidden. She hadn’t failed at everything. Something good had happened this season. That evening, she called a trusted friend. “I’ve been saying I’m fine,” she admitted. “I’m not.” Meg hadn’t known the whole story. It wasn’t hers to fix. She had simply put her gratitude on paper. And her coach carried it home. Beyond the Story: The Parent Corner This story was inspired by a real letter an athlete wrote to her coach after a recent season. One line stopped me: “You have shown me that my mistakes don’t define me.” Think about that. We see a practice. A game. A decision we disagree with. But what about the rest of the week? The person coaching our child has a life beyond the sidelines. There may be burdens we know nothing about when we approach them frustrated. That doesn’t mean our concerns don’t matter. It means the person receiving them matters, too. Proverbs 12:25 puts it this way: “The weight of worry drags us down, but a good word lightens our day.” A good word. Not a perfect speech. Not an answer to every problem. Sometimes, a simple letter that says, “What you did mattered to me.” And maybe you’re the one who needs encouragement right now. Then let this Parent Corner offer you some: A difficult season is not the whole story of your life. You matter beyond what you accomplish. You don’t have to carry everything alone. One More Step Together Who came to mind while you were reading? A coach? A teacher? Your spouse? A friend who keeps showing up? Write to them this week. Tell them something specific they did. Tell them why it mattered. Don’t assume they already know. And if you’re struggling, let someone you trust know what you’re carrying, too. I believe we’re all one thought, one word, or one action away from a totally different life. Not because one moment fixes everything. But because one moment can become the beginning of something different. You don’t have to know someone’s whole story to offer a word that helps them keep writing it. One more step together. Win The Day, Troy Farley FCA Sports Leagues Director
October 26, 2026 •
The Ray Files: Fall 2026 — Volume 8 (The Finale)
October 17, 2026 • 6 Minute Read
READ THE PARENT CORNER #37 → ZERO TALENT
10 Things That Require ZERO Talent What Ray Learned from Aggie "Ray! Get yourself over here and help your grandma with these flowers!" Ray looked up from where he was sitting on the porch steps. Aggie was standing beside a flowerbed, holding a watering can in one hand and pointing toward a bag of soil with the other. "Coming, Aggie!" "Well, don't wear yourself out getting here!" she called back with a grin. Ray laughed and made his way over. As they worked, Aggie noticed something wasn't quite right. Ray wasn't his usual talkative self. "What's eating at you, sweetheart?" Ray shrugged. "Nothing, really. Just thinking about practice yesterday. Some of those kids are so good at everything. It's like they don't even have to try." Aggie set down her watering can. "Well, let me ask you something. Do you think being the most talented person is what makes somebody successful?" "I guess it helps," Ray replied. "Sure does. But talent isn't everything. In fact, some of the most important things in life don't require any talent at all." Ray looked puzzled. "Like what?" Aggie smiled. "Oh, honey. You better sit down. Grandma's got something to show you!" She reached into the pocket of her sweater and pulled out an old, folded piece of paper. The edges were worn, the creases deep, and the handwriting looked like it had been there for years. "What's that?" Ray asked. Aggie smiled as she carefully unfolded it. "This belonged to your grandpa Jack." Ray leaned in a little closer. "Grandpa Jack wrote that?" "He sure did. Your grandpa was a man of many talents, but he always believed that some of the most important things in life had nothing to do with talent at all." She handed Ray the paper. "He wrote these ten things down a long time ago. Said they were worth remembering. And you know what? I think he was right." Ray looked down at the faded handwriting. Across the top, in big letters, were the words: 10 THINGS THAT REQUIRE ZERO TALENT He began reading. Being on time. Making an effort. Being high energy. Having a positive attitude. Being passionate. Using good body language. Being coachable. Doing a little extra. Being prepared. Having a strong work ethic. Ray looked up. "That's a lot of things, Aggie." "Sure is. And here's the best part. You don't have to be the fastest, smartest, strongest, or most talented to work on a single one of them." "But what if I'm not good at something?" Aggie leaned back in her rocking chair. "Ray, I've lived long enough to see plenty of talented folks go nowhere because they wouldn't put in the work. And I've seen people nobody expected much from do remarkable things because they kept showing up." She pointed toward the flowerbed. "See those flowers? They don't all grow at the same speed. Some bloom early. Some take their sweet time. But they all need someone willing to water them, care for them, and keep showing up." Ray glanced at the watering can. "So you're saying I should just keep trying?" "I'm saying you can't control every gift you've been given. But you can be faithful with the gifts you have." Ray smiled. "And I suppose you're going to tell me to finish watering those flowers?" Aggie winked. "Now you're catching on! Number eight, sweetheart. Do a little extra!" Ray laughed, then looked down at the old piece of paper one more time. "Grandpa Jack must've been pretty smart." Aggie smiled, her eyes drifting toward the farmhouse. "Oh, he had his moments, sweetheart. He certainly had his moments." Beyond the Story: The Parent Corner Ten things. Zero talent required. Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? But here's what I've been thinking about. Just because something doesn't require talent doesn't mean it doesn't require intentionality. Think about it. Showing up on time when life is pulling you in a hundred different directions. Giving your best effort when you're tired. Choosing a positive attitude when things aren't going your way. Being coachable when someone points out something you could do better. None of those things necessarily come easy. And yet, none of them require us to be the most gifted person in the room. We spend so much of life comparing what we can do with what someone else can do. Who's faster? Who's smarter? Who has more opportunities, more experience, more ability? But what if we spent a little less time worrying about what we don't have and a little more time being faithful with what we do? Colossians 3:23 puts it this way: "So no matter what your task is, work hard. Always do your best as the Lord’s servant, not as man’s." (The Voice) No matter what your task is. I love that. Whether we're coaching a team, raising a family, leading at work, serving in ministry, sitting in a classroom, or simply trying to get through another Monday, the invitation is the same. Give your best with what you've been given. Not someone else's best. Not perfection. Your best. And maybe that's what makes Aggie's list so powerful. These ten things don't come with an age requirement, a talent evaluation, or a certain level of experience. They're available to every one of us. Now, does that mean we'll get all ten right every day? Absolutely not. Some days our energy is running on empty. Our attitude needs adjusting. We show up unprepared, resist correction, or simply go through the motions. But tomorrow gives us another opportunity. Another chance to show up. Another chance to grow. Another chance to be faithful with what's right in front of us. Because at the end of the day, it's not always about what we're capable of doing. Sometimes it's about what we're willing to do. One More Step Together Here's my challenge for all of us this week. Take another look at Aggie's ten things. Don't just think about your kids, your teammates, your coworkers, or the people around you. Think about yourself. Which of these ten things comes naturally to you? Which one requires a little more intentionality? Pick one. Just one. Maybe it's showing up a few minutes early. Bringing a better attitude into a difficult situation. Listening instead of defending. Or putting in a little extra effort when nobody would notice if you didn't. Whatever it is, take that step. Because talent may help determine what we're able to do. But our choices help determine what we actually do with it. One more step together. Win The Day, Troy Farley FCA Sports Leagues Director
