By By Matthew Nascone – special to the standard
Athletes come together to do a job as one, and that principle was one of the reasons the Fellowship of Christian Athletes was formed in 1954.
This group has since become known as a group of athletes working for God. And that relationship between God and the athletes is also at the core of the FCA's belief system.
FCA South Alabama Area Director Cary Lowery said he understands those relationships and he has brought the FCA vision to the southern part of Alabama, and most recently Brewton and Atmore.
That &#8220huddle” is a group of athletes who get together to be what the FCA calls crusaders for Christ.
T.R. Miller High School and Flomaton High School have formed huddles already and are developing programs to mesh with the FCA program, Lowery said. He said the group involved with those two schools is a fairly large group.
Lowery was in Atmore Wednesday to speak to the Atmore Lions Club about the expansion of the FCA program into the Atmore area. He has spoken with Kyle Davis, athletic director at Escambia County High School, and Escambia Academy's athletic director, Heath Gibson about starting a huddle in each of those schools.
The huddle at EA will begin shortly after the school year begins. Clare Jones will be the student leader on EA's campus.
Jones was a participant on the &#8220High School Today” show on WNSI FM 105.9 and said she got the idea to start a FCA huddle from Lou Vickery, the radio station talk show host.
Vickery has been involved with FCA huddles in the past and he knew who to contact because he is on the FCA Board of Directors that covers Escambia County.
The process of hosting an FCA huddle is a relatively easy process, Lowery said.
A certification fee of $40 is then paid and that covers liability for FCA any needed materials for the huddle. We then identify the student leaders and coaches and have an organizational meeting to teach the group how to lead the huddle effectively and then we let run with it.”
In south Alabama there are approximately 115 campuses under Lowery's supervision. And that includes high schools, middle schools and private schools. The coverage area spans Escambia, Mobile, Baldwin, Conecuh, Monroe, Clark, Washington and Choctaw counties.