St. Thomas More wide receiver coach and campus minister Lance Strother has been with the school for 15 years. Strother took time out this week to discuss his service to the program and what it means to be an STM Cougar.
Question: How long have you been the wide receiver coach and the campus minister?
Answer: I have been at St. Thomas More since 2004 where I started coaching receivers and I’ve taught religion. And then in 2011 I became the Director of Campus Ministry.
Q: Could you provide more background about how you got into both being a coach and your path to being a campus minister?
A: I was blessed to go to St. Thomas More as a student back in the 90s, and play football, basketball and track and was very blessed to have faculty members and people, when I was a teenager, reach out to me as mentors in my faith. And it was at St. Thomas More student where I really fell in love with Christ and began to do ministry. And I did youth ministry every year following graduating from St. Thomas More wherever I was living. So, it was kind of the reason I think the reason whyI’m still very passionate about coaching and doing ministry is because, as a teen, I was an athlete that got intercepted by some phenomenal adults at St. Thomas More back in the day, who pointed my gifts and my talents and my energy and my blessings to Christ. So my faith and sports are both deep passions of mine and places where I feel called to serve.
Q: How are you able to balance these duties?
A: I don’t separate the two at all. I think the titles of coach and campus minister just sort of define the platform and they’re kind of one in the same, I think just the opportunity to be a servant that is leading young people to become their very best, to recognize the gifts and talents that they’ve been given, to understand that those are not meant to be used selfishly, but that all of the gifts and talents and energies that we’ve been blessed with are meant to serve other people. So sports is a fantastic platform for young men to learn how to function within a team and within meaningful relationships. And the platform of our faith is no different. We learned there as well that all of our different aspects of life, we’re meant to do it together. We’re meant to do it in family. We’re meant to do with community and fellowship with other people. And in both platforms, we’re both being called to be our absolute very best.
Q: What is your favorite part about being with STM?
A: St. Thomas More is truly a community. It’s a community of very convicted people with lots of gifts. And together we are committed to leading our students to Christ and to the very best of whatever it is that they’re passionate about. Certainly their faith. So St. Thomas Moore is just an unbelievable team of faculty, staff and administration and coaches that share one heart of leading our students to be God’s servant first.
Q: In your eyes, what does it mean to be an STM Cougar?
A: To be a St. Thomas More Cougar means to be somebody convicted in their faith, committed to maximizing their potential and then sharing that gift set in whatever way we find that God is calling us to. Nothing I do is on my own. I’m just one part of a team that includes football, that includes receiver play. I’ve got an awesome young coach in coach David Starkovich, a former player that helps with receivers and we’ve got an awesome tight ends coach and we’re all one unit. I don’t do anything on my own and certainly don’t deserve credit as such. I like just doing my piece and my part on our team to do whatever we can to position these young athletes to be successful.