Can you believe it is already the middle of June? The summer is already flying by, and we have already had 2 camps come and go!

Our first camp was our Leadership & Golf Camp at Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, from June 8 - June 12. We had 36 students attend the Leadership & Golf Camp! It was a great week for all involved. The leadership camp focused on training in the fundamentals of leading FCA huddles, building confidence in students' leadership skills, and teaching practical skills for personal Christian growth. Below are some pictures of the students before leaving for camp! If you have any personal testimonies from the camp please email us at fcadallas@gmail.com, we would love to hear how the week impacted you!

During the same week as the Abilene we had the Dallas ISD/FCA Middle School Football Camp, a great partnership event that has now completed it's 2nd year. This allows middle school students a chance to work with coaches on improving their football skills. It was a great time for all involved, even though it was hot (can't escape that in Texas) it was a good 2 days!!!

Be sure to check out http://dallasfca.shutterfly.com/ for more pictures of these 2 camps, and check out more of our past events!

Stay Cool!
~Candice S.
Admin Asst.

FCA Southwest Classic - Cedar Hill vs. Duncanville

The night was full of anticipation as one of the biggest rivalries of the seasons took the field with packed stands on both sides. But for this years event there was something more at stake. In addition to players on the football field, the FCA leaders for both side were playing a game of their own. You see this year the game was presented by FCA and each school was raising funds throughout the game which would goes towards various events throughout the year for their chapter. The totals for each team were announced during the game and at the end of each quarter and both Cedar Hill and Duncanville wanted to dominate the scoreboard for both scores. There were FCA tables out by the concessions booths and the groups were passing buckets in the stands.

At the end of the first quarter it looked like it was going to be a sad night for Cedar Hill as Duncanville was on top with both the football score and the donations tally by quite a bit. Cedar Hill's FCA and parents rallied in the next half to be neck and neck on the donations to be within a couple cents of Duncanville. The Cedar Hill football team started to take things to the next level and regained the ground it had lost in the first quarter and made touchdown after touchdown entering the fourth quarter poised for victory.

Duncanville did all they could in the fourth quarter both on the field and in the stands but in the end Cedar Hill emerged as the victors in both donations and in the game. Final score Cedar Hill 42, Duncaville 17. Both FCA Chapters raised a combined $1200 which wil help send a lot of coachs and kids to camps, help with chapter events and a lot more.

What a great event for the community and for the kids. Congratulations to both teams and we look forward to next year!

Even a late loss won't eliminate Texas from BCS chase

By Brad Edwards

Updated: November 3, 2008, 10:50 AM ET

An old college football adage says it's always better to lose early in the season than late.

But thanks to the BCS, that line of thinking has become as outdated as leather helmets.

Now this doesn't mean losses in November are suddenly a good thing. But ever since computers entered the process of determining the participants in college football's national championship game, the quality of a loss has become just as significant as the timing of a loss.

And the Texas Longhorns are hoping this holds true in 2008.

Even fresh off its first defeat of the season, Texas is still well-positioned for a run to the BCS Championship Game. Although the Horns trail the undefeated major-conference teams in this week's BCS standings, they have the best loss of all the once-beaten teams, and they also have a head-to-head advantage on two other teams in that group (Oklahoma and Oklahoma State).

And if you take a good look at the remaining schedules, Texas could still be considered the favorite to win the Big 12. Unless Texas Tech can beat Oklahoma State this week (ABC, 8 p.m. ET) and also win at Oklahoma later in the month, the Longhorns are likely to end up in some sort of tiebreaker scenario between once-beaten teams in the Big 12 South. And UT will have the edge in most of those scenarios.

Only a two-way tie between the Longhorns and Red Raiders would definitely be bad news for Texas. But if the Horns can win their next three games (Baylor, at Kansas, Texas A&M), they should capture the division if either Oklahoma (at A&M, Tech, at OSU) or Oklahoma State (at Tech, at Colorado, OU) can also win out.

The biggest threat to Texas among the once-beaten teams is probably Florida, which is gaining momentum with four straight SEC wins by 30 or more points, including an impressive 49-10 beating of Georgia on Saturday. If the Gators can complete their regular-season run with victories at Florida State and against Alabama in the SEC championship game, they could have enough quality wins to make that home loss to Ole Miss a distant memory to voters ... and perhaps challenge Texas for a spot in the BCS Championship Game.

The Unbeatens

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AP Photo/LM Otero

Things are pointing up for Texas Tech, provided the Red Raiders keep winning.

Although Penn State leads Texas Tech in both the coaches' and Harris polls, the computer boost from the win over Texas lifted the Red Raiders to the No. 2 spot in this week's BCS standings. Last week, Tech was tied for 10th in the computers. This week, they are tied for first, even with two of their nine wins coming against FCS (I-AA) teams. That's how powerful the Longhorns were (and still are) within the computer element.

And if the Raiders are able to beat Oklahoma State and Oklahoma in the coming weeks, the gap between them and Penn State will only increase. That's not exactly breaking news, of course. We've known for more than a month that no undefeated team from the Big 12 or SEC would take a backseat to any team from the Big Ten.

What should be more concerning to Penn State fans is that Texas, even with a loss, is ranked ahead of the Nittany Lions in the computers. And if Florida wins out, there's a good chance the Gators will be, too.

So if either Alabama or Texas Tech loses before Dec. 7, and the other stays unbeaten, Penn State isn't necessarily a lock to finish No. 2 in the BCS. This week is proof that a narrow lead in both polls isn't always enough to hold off a team that's superior in the computers.

Let History Show ...

The top two teams in the BCS standings went a combined 3-7 in November and December of last season, and they are off to another rocky start this November after the loss by No. 1 Texas.

More potential trouble lies ahead for the top teams this Saturday, when all three of the major-conference unbeatens face one of their most challenging remaining hurdles. Alabama (at LSU) and Penn State (at Iowa) are playing their final road games of the season, while Texas Tech must regroup after its emotional win and host another top-10 team (Oklahoma State).

These three games might determine whether the final weeks of this season could be as chaotic as they were a year ago, or whether BCS drama might be at a minimum until Championship Saturday in December.

Party Crashers

Thursday's game between TCU and Utah should clearly identify which Mountain West team will join Boise State in the race for the non-BCS conferences' potential automatic bid. The higher-ranked team at the end of the season will gain that spot, provided that team finishes in the top 12 of the standings. But there seems to be an increasing chance that the other one (or undefeated Ball State) could also get into the BCS.

There are five BCS games and, therefore, spots for 10 teams to play in those games. Six of the bids go to the champions of the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-10 and SEC, and we'll assume another bid will go to a non-BCS-conference champion that finishes in the top 12. That leaves three at-large spots available.

At this time, it's logical to assume the Big 12 and SEC will each get a second team into the BCS as an at-large selection, and that would leave only one spot available. But there's a rule that no conference can get more than two teams into the BCS, so all those other highly ranked Big 12 and SEC teams won't be eligible.

At-large selections must come from the top 14 of the final standings, so the question becomes, "Will the ACC, Big East, Big Ten or Pac-10 have a team other than its champion ranked in the final top 14?"

Right now, only the Big Ten seems to be in good position to have a second team ranked that high, but that could change if Ohio State loses again, and the Buckeyes still have to play at Illinois.

This is merely a sidebar to what could be another dramatic November near the top of the BCS standings, but the chance for more than one team to crash the BCS party is certainly worth keeping an eye on.

Brad Edwards is a college football researcher at ESPN. His Road to the BCS appears weekly during the season.

A Father's Love

A Father’s Love By Michael Dean Chadwick, as told to Susie Magill

If you had told me that the shaky figure I was staring down on my front steps was my future son-in-law, I would have called you crazy.

It was 2 a.m. when Josh Hamilton rang our doorbell in September 2003. I had no earthly clue who he was, but I sure knew what he was. As a recovered drug addict myself, I could recognize all the signs.

I had never previously met the kid, and I knew nothing of his professional baseball career or the success he’d had down the street at Raleigh’s Athens Drive High School. All I knew was that he was in trouble and needed help.

I figured he’d probably heard the testimony I’d shared throughout the area regarding my own drug problem and thought he’d give me a shot. But I also knew that God had sent him to me. I was supposed to do something. And my philosophy is that until you know what that something is, you can always be available.

I welcomed him in, and we sat on the back porch until daybreak just talking, trying to figure out where he was in life and how to get out. I knew there was only one way to get Josh back, and that was to love him back. Eight rehabs pretty much told me that rehab wasn’t going to kick it. Josh needed more.

I began to share my own life story about growing up on the streets, losing my dad at age 12, getting into drugs, and then finding freedom through Jesus. I told him we had to take it one step at a time. He had to make it through the morning, and then we would focus on the afternoon.

Hamilton and Chadwick

After our initial meeting, we maintained our friendship. While he battled his addiction, he continued to seek me out and even attended speaking engagements with me as he searched for the same freedom I had found.

He began sobering up and going to AA meetings. I gave him a job in my construction business and, soon after, he and my daughter, Katie, started dating. Four months later, in what seemed like a blur, they were married.

Then that demon reared his ugly head once again, and it was bigger than Josh could handle. He had no idea how to fight it; he didn’t have the right equipment. It was still Josh trying to conquer it through Josh’s strength. His stints of sobriety were short-lived because he wasn’t seeking real help—help from the only One who could fully deliver him.

You see, prior to his drug addiction, Josh had never really experienced failure. This was a kid who hit over .500 in high school. Baseball was what he knew, and he was good at it. But after his car accident, he felt lost and alone. So, he found something new to be good at. Unfortunately, it was getting drunk and high.

There were times he and Katie would have explosive arguments, and he would leave for several days. Then he would show back up at our house in the early morning totally clean, asking my wife to fix him some eggs as if nothing had happened.

There were two Joshes: one during his straight periods and another when he was trashed out of his mind. But we chose to love them both. And that is the advice I gave to Katie: that if she didn’t love him back, she wasn’t going to get him back. That didn’t mean she didn’t set parameters to protect herself and the girls, but, if her love was tough enough, it would survive this storm.

“There were two Joshes: one during his straight periods and another when he was trashed out of his mind. But we chose to love them both.”

The ironic thing was that seeing Josh’s struggle was like me holding up a mirror to myself 20 years prior. I knew that if God could deliver me, He could deliver Josh. I always believed that with all my heart. Even when times were tough and we wondered if Josh was going to self-destruct, I never really doubted that God was going to turn him around.

When he finally hit rock bottom, it was the best place for him. He was broke, didn’t have a place to live and on the verge of losing his family. He finally realized that the price he was paying for doing drugs was costing him more than he wanted to give up. It was going to cost him his wife, his girls, his baseball career and possibly his life. And just like the story of the prodigal son, God was right there waiting for Josh with arms outstretched, welcoming him home. Josh didn’t have to chase Him or even wonder where He was; He hadn’t moved an inch.

Today’s success hasn’t come overnight for Josh. He has had to work to surrender his addiction to Christ every day. It is a continuous fight, but, by using the right spiritual weapons, Josh has been victorious. What the devil meant for bad, God turned into His good and glory.

The story of Josh Hamilton is a miraculous one. It has provided so much hope for so many people. I see it everywhere I go, from the fan mail to the phone calls. This guy has given many people a new lease on life and has restored their faith that God can heal their family just as He healed ours.

Even with the distractions Josh faces in Major League Baseball, his faith has not faded once. He is the kind of guy who is all-or- nothing, and he is all-in with his relationship with Christ. He is staying focused with his faith and his family and remaining humble throughout his success on the field. Even after all the attention he received following the 2008 All-Star Game’s Home Run Derby, he is still both humbled and thrilled to be used by God.

There just isn’t a lot of pretension when it comes to Josh. It’s pretty simple: He’s just a kid out there, playing for his Father. And when Josh says, “It’s a God thing,” you’d better believe it. That’s not a sound bite he feeds to the media; it’s words flowing directly from the lips of his heart.

Fields of Faith - Frisco

Last night was a great night. Across all of America students gathered on football fields and auditoriums worshiping, sharing testimonies and reading the word of God. It was the annual Fields of Faith event and I was fortunate enough to be joining with Frisco High school and several others for a memorable evening. We started with some wonderful worship and then Matt Washington got up and passionately challenged us on how we should be living and the things that will matter in the end. Next up was Ann from Wakeland High School who honestly shared about the real temptations that we all face. Temptations to fall in to the familiar and everyday routine of life, with God.

Next we heard the story of King Josiah and the impact that he had on his kingdom and his nation, at only 16 years old. He read about the way that Josiah brought his people to a place of remembering the Laws of God that they had forgotten for so many years. We were asked to look in to our own lives and in to the bible and see where we were. Where were the places that we had forgotten the laws of God, just as they had done. In the end it didn't matter whether you had been following Christ for your whole life or were one of the more then 20 teens who accepted him for the first time there in that auditorium, your life was changed and impacted by the testimonies and worship we had last night.

To cap everything off, we celebrated with a good old fashioned pizza party. It doesn't get much better then this for a gorgeous fall night.

Check out some of the pictures from the event (sorry they are a little dark, dark room - I'll do better next time). If you have more pictures you want to add, questions for us, whatever - post them here or email them to me at fcadallas@gmail.com.

Also, be sure to check out our group on Facebook, Twitter and Myspace.

Fields of Faith - Frisco