Americans are inundated with news about the contentious election, the divided nation, and bad news both here at home and around the world.
But it is important to remember there is good news happening as well.
And this pro-life football coach is putting it all on the line and inspiring players to take these life-changing actions.
“Football is the vehicle, Christ is the destination” at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic High School in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Using football to transform lives
According to the school’s head coach Hugh Brown, it’s a way of life that is helping him transform young lives.
He has used his role as head football coach to stop one dispirited kid from dropping out of school, helped three brothers make their late mother’s wish come true, and years ago he even unknowingly saved a now gifted football player from being aborted by his then teenage mom.
Brown, whose day job is executive vice president at American Life League, doesn’t just talk the talk, he walks the walk.
American Life League is well-known for its uncompromising stance on the sanctity of life.
And Coach Hugh Brown applies that philosophy to his coaching style as well.
As the son of Judie Brown, the co-founder of American Life League, Coach Brown holds a decidedly pro-life worldview that drives everything he does.
Brown’s goal as a coach is not just to win football games, but also to help mentor young men and turn them into faithful Christian husbands and fathers.
Brown doesn’t just coach the football team, he also helped found and launch the Catholic high school.
He then founded St. Michael’s football program in 2017 and became its head coach in the spring of 2018.
News that stopped the coach in his tracks
It was not long after taking the reins that Brown received a phone call that stopped him dead in his tracks.
The call came from the grandparents of a successful college football player at a Division I university.
And the news they gave him was life-altering.
Flashback to 35 years ago.
Brown was a young high school underclassman and was assigned to give a persuasive speech.
So, naturally, the son of Judie Brown gave a pro-life talk, exposing the truth about abortion, including hard-hitting photographs.
At the time, Brown wasn’t aware that there was a pregnant teenager in the audience who heard his words.
She was a girl whose parents had decided that she should get an abortion rather than carry the child to term.
And he didn’t know that, armed with young Hugh Brown’s information about abortion, that young lady went to her parents and fought to convince them she should keep her child.
That child grew into a fine young man and then became a star football player at a Division I university and the light of his grandparents’ lives.
Brown is hopeful that one day he will be able to meet the young man who shares his passion for football and whose life he helped save.
As for now, Brown consistently seeks to instill in his young men the faith that help equip them to withstand life’s storms.
The team begins or ends every single workout, practice, and game with prayer.
And the team includes both a team chaplain and a Christian “life coach.”
Coaches and players also participate in community service and are held to a very high standard of Christian witness and accountability, both on and off the field.
Currently, St. Michael’s football team consists of 28 players, which is 43% of the small Catholic high school.
Though small in numbers they are big in accomplishments.
In 2018, the Warriors won the conference championship, and they have been state champions in their division twice.
In 2021, Coach Brown and Saint Michael the Archangel Catholic High School were inducted into the Sports Faith International Hall of Fame.
Brown also has a 100 percent graduation rate among his players, who carry an average 3.1 GPA.
Understanding and living out your faith
Brown spends much of his day working at the American Life League so he is very aware of the opportunity he has been given to share those values with the boys he coaches.
“Being pro-life comes from understanding and living your faith,” said Brown.
He gave the example of Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, who has received national attention for his staunch faith and pro-life values. “Butker is a positive role model I can hold up to my players,” he said.
Brown spoke in particular about one of his players who has a challenging home life and who has suffered some serious injuries.
“As an 18-year-old football player, he thinks life is not fair,” explained Brown. “And he’s right, life isn’t fair, but as a result of all this, his faith can grow stronger. God is building him up. He took a full year to recover from his last injury. He was going to drop out of high school and hang out on the street with friends, but he’s actually learned a lesson in facing adversity. He’s overcoming it. He’s a work in progress. Like other team members who have faced some tough stuff, he’s learning day by day to value life.”
He also helped the team carry one another through another tragedy when the “team mom” – the mother of two players on the team and one former Warrior – was tragically killed in an accident four days before the championship game.
Understandably, sorrow overwhelmed the team heading into the championship.
The woman who died had told Brown the previous year her dream was to “see my three boys on the same field at the same time,” even though she realized that their age separation made that impossible.
So, after her death, Brown took the unusual proposal to the league, who agreed to allow the older, alumni son to take the field with his brothers in honor of their mother.
And against a team that had earlier in the season defeated the Warriors by 30 points, the Warriors won the championship game in memory of the dearly departed team mom.
In a time of turmoil and bad news, it’s refreshing to hear about the good news being spread by Coach Hugh Brown and the impact he is having on young men.
Stay tuned to Pro-Life Press for more on this developing story.
