SWU takes part in RecSpo 2014

Southern Wesleyan University was one of five institutions of higher education invited to attend RecSpo 2014, a conference held Sept. 17 - 19 at the new Star Center for Upward Sports, a Spartanburg-based organization devoted to Christian ministry through sports.

SWU professors Clay Bolton, Roger McKenzie and Daryl Couch, along with students Lacey Land and William “Liam” McCarty took part in RecSpo 2014.

The conference was held in collaboration with Athletes in Action, Upward Sports and the National Sports and Recreation Ministry Center. Featured speakers included former Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden, former NBA player and current assistant coach Mark Price and Pastor Michael Catt of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga., whose ministry produced the hit movies “Facing the Giants,” “Fireproof” and “Courageous.”

RecSpo 2014 featured youth pastors, coaches, administrators and college students. Couch, a psychology professor who chairs the university’s Social Sciences Division and McKenzie, a religion professor who coordinates outdoor education programs at Southern Wesleyan, led a session on team-building through outdoor activities – a simple guide to team building activities and games designed to bond a team or group featuring easy-to-learn games for sports teams or youth groups.

Bolton, who is assistant professor of recreation and sport management, led a session titled “Taking Faith Out of the Locker Room, Press Box and the Field,” which included updates on the attacks on prayer – team prayer, prayer over the loud speakers at sporting events, and in the locker-room or on the field. Additionally, Land and McCarty, who are recreation and sport management students, staffed a vendor booth complete with SWU gear, admissions information and handouts regarding the university’s Recreation and Sport Management program.

More than 300 from across the nation attended RecSpo 2014. The next conference is scheduled for early August, 2015.