The Golden Hawks of Bethlehem Catholic High School’s Boys’ Baseball program have faced some challenges on the field this season, yet are experiencing great success in spiritual growth and fellowship, thanks to the team’s weekly Bible study group.
Centerfielder Collin Peacock, a senior, describes the group as “a brotherhood that grows and binds us together.” He said he’s found great inspiration on and off the field from Romans 12:12: “Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” It has taught him to “always be hopeful and patient in God’s plan.”
Third baseman Jimmy Richards, a junior, said he’s seen much personal growth among teammates, which he credits to the Bible study group.
Players who had been visibly stressed and frustrated in the dugout and locker room after disappointing games, he said, are “now great teammates,” motivating one another with positivity and keeping the whole team’s “energy up.”
Bible study has also helped Richards realize the game is “not all about me out there. I’m out there for the team, my brothers.”
Emery Oberholzer, a junior and catcher for the team, calls Bible study an opportunity to “grow as individuals” and “to spread positivity” in all things and to “be a better person every day.”
Head Coach Matt Corsi, a 1999 alumnus of the school, said he wanted to “create something that’s more than baseball, something with our faith,” as he looked back on the growth of the group, which started five years ago.
Corsi said he was inspired by his high school memories of playing baseball under the guidance of Coach Mike Grasso, his predecessor at Bethlehem Catholic, who retired in 2020 and who Corsi describes as being “deep in his faith.”
Corsi also found inspiration from growing up with his family and attending Mass with them every Sunday at St. Anne, Bethlehem.
In his first year as coach at Bethlehem Catholic, Corsi and the team attended Mass together on Sundays, rotating among the Catholic parishes in Bethlehem, though he often found it challenging to incorporate Mass into the team’s schedule.
Assistant Coach Scott Kalamar suggested holding a weekly Bible study group during the season as a convenient way to integrate faith and baseball. Kalamar had first seen the two combined successfully as a college student playing baseball at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.
After graduation, Kalamar was signed by Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks, playing on their minor league team, and later the Washington Wild Things, an independent professional baseball team. He started Bible studies at both teams.
The Golden Hawks’ Bible study group started in 2021 during the spring baseball season. Player attendance was not mandatory, said Corsi, yet 15 to 20 students showed up.
After the Seniors graduated, attendance reduced to about half during the 2022-24 seasons, though there was a dedicated core group of students who were passionate about the Bible study and asked if it could be extended beyond spring.
Corsi and Kalamar obliged, starting Bible study in fall 2024 with 15 students participating, “and it just kept growing,” said Corsi.
Corsi invited Father Stephan Isaac, Chaplain of Bethlehem Catholic, and Dr. Dean Donaher, school principal, who often visit.
On the team’s recent spring trip to Tennessee, a Bible study was held at 9 a.m. one morning, and to Corsi’s surprise, the entire team showed up. “The room was completely full.”
During meetings, Kalamar selects Bible readings, said Corsi, and “then we’ll break it down as a group…. Scott does a great job of tying what's going on with our season to something in the Bible.”
“We’ve had an up and down season this year,” said Corsi. Yet the team’s takeaway is that “God’s plan isn’t necessarily your plan.”
Peacock agreed. “God’s trying to teach us something through these losses, and we have to figure it out to turn it around.”
“Your life or season isn’t about your last at bat,” said Richards. “God has a greater plan for us than what He can do for us on the baseball field.”
Photo by Matt Corsi.
Copy Permalink
