THIS IS THE GET IN THE GAME PODCAST
WITH SCOTT LINEBRINK
Our guest today is Graham Daniels, a former pro soccer player and coach who’s now the general director at Christians in Sport in the United Kingdom.
Host Scott Linebrink talks with Graham about the intersection of faith and sports, as Graham shares his personal journey to faith, the importance of sharing the Gospel within the sports community, and the unique cultural influence of sports as a platform for evangelism. They discuss the challenges athletes face regarding identity, the role of grace, and how gratitude can lead to a life of service.
Graham Daniels just wrapped up recording Spiritual Game Plan in Cambridge, UK! 🎤 Can’t wait to finish the audiobook! This book shows how to link your faith with your love for sports in a liberating, deeper way—beyond guilt or just evangelism. Stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/23wkm1W5ST
Notre Dame women's soccer player Izzy Engel. (Photo courtesy of X/@NDSoccer)
Izzy Engle netted a hat trick in her second collegiate game. She scored two more times in her third. The next four games all featured at least one goal or assist too.
By the time Notre Dame’s 2024 regular season ended, Engle had produced 15 goals. She then scored in four consecutive postseason games — one in the ACC Tournament and three in the NCAA Tournament — as Notre Dame knocked off No. 1-seed Mississippi State and reached the Elite Eight. The awards and honors came pouring in: ACC Freshman of the Year. All-ACC first team. Top Drawer Soccer Freshman of the Year. United Soccer Coaches second-team All-American.
Engle is living a dream. Her parents, aunt and uncle all went to Notre Dame, so she grew up attending Fighting Irish football games. Playing soccer for the school was always the goal, but she was determined to keep an open mind during her college recruiting process. Coaches knew Notre Dame was her dream school and would ask her if they even had a chance. She would tell them “yes.” And she meant it.
She liked the schools she visited. But in the end, they just weren’t Notre Dame.
The Edina, Minnesota, native arrived in South Bend in the summer of 2024 ready to embrace the challenge ahead of her. She knew she would encounter adversity, so she braced herself for it as best she could, trying not to take anything for granted.
“My high school and club experience coming into Notre Dame for sure prepared me very well,” she said in a recent appearance on Sports Spectrum’s “What’s Up” podcast. “I was used to adversity. I had some injuries that you had to battle though. Having those experiences, I knew the season was not going to be easy and nothing’s going to be given.”
Her freshman year was a season of incredible highs, as well as some difficult moments. Engle’s strong faith in God helped her avoid getting caught up in the hype and push through the struggles.
“When things were going well, I knew who to give glory to,” she said on the podcast. “I knew it was not on my own. When things didn’t go well … I knew that those valleys, they’re temporary. I’ve got God and I’ve got my teammates to get me through it.”
Growing up in a Christian family, Engle is grateful for what she described as a “boring” testimony. Jesus has always been part of her life, and she specifically prayed that she would find ways to grow in her faith at Notre Dame. That prayer has been answered in ways that even she didn’t expect.
“Having that foundation and knowing that no matter what I go through, no matter if I feel alone, I’m never alone and God is always with me. When you’re going into something so new and so unfamiliar, knowing that everything else might be changing but He is unchanging, that was for sure something that I leaned on,” she said.
Engle was immediately invited to church by teammates and is part of a team Bible study. She is also part of an organization called Notre Dame Christian Athletes and is taking on more of a leadership role now as a sophomore.
This summer, Engle — who also has Brazilian citizenship through her mother — helped the U.S. women’s U-20 national team qualify for the 2026 World Cup and served as captain in the semifinals of the Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship against Canada. The U-20 World Cup will take place in Poland next September.
As hectic as her life is, Engle still manages to find little moments to reflect and think about how grateful she is to be playing the sport she loves at her dream school in an environment that helps her grow closer to the Lord.
“It’s been really special to see what God’s been doing in this place, working in my team, working in me, and working in some of the other girls,” she said on the podcast. “It’s also cool to be becoming more of a leader in my faith and having the courage to step out and allow myself to grow and see who God created me to be.”
Notre Dame hosts No. 11 North Carolina (7-3) in its next game Wednesday. Kickoff is at 6 p.m. ET.
THIS IS SPORTS SPECTRUM’S WHAT’S UP PODCAST
WITH ANNABELLE HASSELBECK
On today’s episode of Sports Spectrum’s “What’s Up” podcast, we have Katie Shea Collins!
Katie shares about her successful freshman year playing soccer at South Carolina, going to school with her twin brother, playing for the U.S. women’s national team, and competing with the joy of the Lord!
