The Soul of the champion: recognizing the spiritual and the transcendent in sports

This workshop focuses on important  spiritual qualities found in athletics.  Spiritual values provide a solid and secure foundation to sports that allow athletes young and old to understand the true value and purpose of athletic activities.  Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on why sports are so important to American families, on their own athletic experiences, and how they relate to the spiritual and transcendent.  Sports provide athletes with unique and important avenues of insight into what is important and true.  Additionally, athletes may also discover how to sense mindfulness, and focus beyond ordinary experiences.  In reflecting on their own sports experiences, participants will discover avenues to make real the qualities of the soul that create champions.  This workshop will help bring to light the ways by which athletes can become champions in the very best sense of the word.

 Led by Bob Flanagan:

Bob Flanagan earned his M.Div. from Virginia Theological Seminary and B.A. in English from Trinity College (CT).  He has been an ordained Episcopal priest since 2003.  Arriving at Brooks School in 2008, after serving as Associate Rector in a New York parish, Bob is School Minister and teaches the Philosophy of Religion and Senior Seminar courses.  His athletic career includes five varsity letters while at Brooks School and rowing an undefeated regular season four with coxswain to a second place finish at the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association (NEIRA) championship.  At Trinity College, Bob was captain of an undefeated freshman heavyweight eight that earned a bronze medal at the Dad Vail Regatta.  Also, he co-captained the varsity heavyweight eight his senior year and earned the college’s Gold Award for outstanding athletic performance and leadership.  He has been a rowing coach at Greenwich Crew and in the three years since returning to Brooks, has coached two girls varsity fours to bronze medals at the NEIRA championship.