The Gospel In The Game Sports Podcast
Conversation and stories about real athletes and the journey thru sport, faith and life.
Connecting athletes, sports families and the church. Build bridges and telling real stories to help repair, build and grow people.
Hosts Dan Dromarsky and Dave Dawson
The Gospel In The Game Sports Podcast
Colin Cooper - Faith Through the Storm
The moment that changes everything – Colin Cooper, Mount Royal University goalie coach, shares how a cancer diagnosis with a four-month-old daughter at home became the ultimate test of his lifelong faith.
From his earliest days between the pipes, Colin faced constant skepticism about his 5'8" frame being "too small" for goaltending success. Each year brought new doubts from coaches, creating a resilience that would later prove providential. What seemed like career obstacles were actually preparing him for a battle far more significant than stopping pucks.
Growing up in a Christian household established Colin's foundation, though it wasn't always easy being "the weird Christian kid" in hockey circles. As he matured through junior and university hockey, he made intentional choices that prioritized his faith community – staying in Calgary despite opportunities elsewhere and starting a Bible study with teammates. These decisions reflected a deepening ownership of his beliefs that would later be tested in unimaginable ways.
The devastation of a "bad luck cancer" diagnosis with a newborn daughter should have broken him. Instead, in that hospital moment of hearing the news, Colin experienced an inexplicable comfort transforming his "why me?" into "how do we beat this?" Through excruciating pain and uncertainty, the foundation built on years of faith held firm. As Colin powerfully states, "God never promised us perfection on this earth," but having that rock-solid foundation makes all the difference when everything else crumbles.
Now cancer-free and continuing his coaching journey, Colin's testimony reminds us that we're stronger than we realize when we build our lives on something unshakeable. His story illustrates that sometimes our greatest challenges become our most powerful platform to inspire others. What foundation are you building your life upon?
okay, colin, we're going to start off our time together with a little bit of a trivia question. If you could hang out with one person for 24 hours on a desert island no trees, no, nothing. You had to spend a full 24 hours with them and there's no land or boats in sight. Who would you pick?
Speaker 2:Do they have to be alive? That's the question.
Speaker 1:Dead or alive, Dead or alive. Dead or alive.
Speaker 2:Dead or alive. Okay, I think I would have to go. I mean, the easy one is Jesus right, Because anyone would love that, but I think I would have to go. I mean the easy. The easy one is Jesus right, Because anyone would love that, but I think I think I would have to go with David. I think that would be such a neat way to just talk through so many different scenarios, understanding how much God loved him and even though he made some pretty wild mistakes, he just stayed true to that and I just think it'd be really neat to hear those stories one-on-one, and I think the 24 hours would fly by just hearing that and talking through that conversation.
Speaker 3:So that would be my answer. For sure I'd be flattered, but he's not talking about me. He's talking about David of the Bible. Unfortunately, yes, I just met.
Speaker 1:He'd want to spend 20 minutes on an island together. That's awkward. We just met a few minutes ago. Let's go hang out on an island together for a day.
Speaker 2:People feel good. That's what it's all about.
Speaker 4:For sure, you are listening to the Gospel in the Game sports podcast with your hosts Dan Dramars and dave dawson gospel in the game episode.
Speaker 3:I don't know what episode we're in. We're in season two, though, and this is, uh, colin cooper mount royal university goalie coach. I'm dave dawson. That's dan dromarski, colin. We generally ask people as the follow-up question how would you describe yourself generally to somebody as an intro?
Speaker 2:yeah, I think you know I'm a hockey guy through and through. I played, I coach, now I mentor. Um, I am, you know, one of those non-prototypical goalies where people don't really know I'm a goalie because they say, oh, you're pretty normal to be a goalie and I think that's kind of the way. It's just a fun loving guy, love to encourage people, lift people up and, yeah, love giving back.
Speaker 1:So now goalie is in hockey goalie position. You have a little bit of a coaching background too, don't you?
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah. So I played my whole life like all the way up, played for the Buffs growing up, played in the AJ, went on to play at Mount Royal and now, yeah, I've been coaching since. I actually played at Mount Royal, did it in the summers, just summer job, and now I've been kind of through all the way the last couple of years. Now it's almost been eight or nine years of coaching and, yeah, loving it. It's so fun to see these guys and you start working with them from a really young age to where some of my goalies now are committing to university, One of which a guy I've worked for several years just committed to play for us in Mount Royal, which is really neat to kind of see them come full circle. So, yeah, it's been a lot of fun and just love the mentorship and the connection piece of coaching.
Speaker 3:Colin, how would you describe your hockey journey throughout your life? I mean, many people we ask them when they come on with their coaching. You know, did you imagine being a coach? So I'll just flat out ask you how would you describe your journey from you know, as you talked about playing with the Bisons Buffaloes and from there on?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'd say my journey was pretty tough, truthfully, like I'm a smaller guy, so, being a five foot eight goalie, it was kind of every year you were told you were too small and and weren't going to go to the next level, um, so it's constantly just needing to really lean into, like no, I, I believe in myself, I can play there and I'll show you.
Speaker 2:Um, but, yeah, every year, kind of getting met with that and making a team and a coach being like, well, you know, we thought you were too small but you played well in camp, so we'll see how the first month goes, and constantly hearing that all the way through, um, I would say, kind of throughout that I started to say, okay, yeah, I could see myself as a coach, mainly because I didn't come across too many coaches that really encouraged me, and I think there's a gap there. Like I'm not saying I didn't have any good coaches, that's not true but I did have a few. But there was, there was more negative than positive, which was was a tough thing for me to see, and that's where I was like, okay, I would love to get into that and be, you know, a coach that people can say, hey, he really impacted my ability to play on the ice, but also me as a person, and encouraged me as a person, first and foremost.
Speaker 1:Was there any particular person that maybe stepped into your life, spoken to your life that encouraged you to become a coach?
Speaker 2:Not really honestly. It kind of just felt more led. Truthfully, I had always had guys reach out and be like hey, come coach here, come head out. I think Kevin Swanson with GDI was the first one that kind of gave me that opportunity, like, hey, I think you'd be a good coach, come coach with us. And he's still a guy I work with and now that I even have my own goalie company and we kind of still go back and forth and he's just been an awesome kind of coach mentor. But yeah, I think it was it felt more led and pulled to it than anything.
Speaker 3:So if we were to ask some guys who played with you, played for you, who've been coached by you, what?
Speaker 2:would they say are some of the things that endear people to colin cooper overall, yeah, I think I think a lot. I'd hope to say a lot of people think I just have a contagious energy. Um, you know, always, always looking at the positive side of things, you can try and light up a room. It's someone that is there for people. You know I, I was at my buddy's wedding. He's like you're the one person I know will never say no, like you, just you. If whatever someone needs something, you're going to say yes, which you know I've had to try and learn. Okay, you got to say no at some times or else you spread yourself too thin. But yeah, just super caring, always love putting other people first and, yeah, just very selfless would be kind of what I'd hope I would hear if people said that.
Speaker 1:Okay, now take yourself outside of hockey. Pull yourself away from the goaltending side. We often refer to People involved in sport that you were a person before you ever were a hockey player.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Any passions outside of hockey.
Speaker 2:Oof. Yeah, I mean I've gotten really big into running, which is still athletics, but I really enjoy loving running. So I run kind of four or five times a week and have kind of dabbled into some marathon training. Early on had a couple of the health pieces that have kind of pulled me away from it, but slowly gotten back into it, which has been good. And over the last couple of years I really got into golf.
Speaker 2:So I really enjoy golf and wish I got into it sooner because it's one of those contagious sports where it's you against you, which I really love. Like that competitive nature of you can play with so many different levels of skill. But it's just a matter of like was my game better today, which I really enjoyed, especially being a goalie back right? It's very much you versus you. You're kind of your own analytic and so, yeah, I would say those two pieces and yeah, other than that, right now I just love spending time with my family. I got a little two-year-old at home and she's the light of my world and yeah, I love hanging out with her and my wife and yeah, that's kind of the main things outside of hockey.
Speaker 3:Well, it's obviously the Gospel in the Game podcast. We love obviously the gospel in the game podcast. We love talking about faith and you teased off the top of the show that obviously faith is an important part of your journey and what I love the most about this show is especially about faith. No one's really at the same spot. Everybody's navigating the journey on their own pace and you know our last show there was a gentleman we had on the talked about just struggling a little bit and, you know, trying to fight step-by-step with Jesus, which is beautiful. Colin, how would you describe your faith journey growing up and where the Lord has navigated you through and used hockey as well to support that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would say I'm super thankful that I grew up in a Christian household. So both my parents were very honest young age just saying, hey, here's, you know, here's, here's faith and here's who we are. And we go to church and you know, we put God first and my dad was awesome with, you know, teaching us Bible scripture as we were growing up and it was very evident that faith was the focus of their lives and that poured into ourselves, which I loved. Um, and it was one of those things where, in the hockey space, it made it tough because I feel like over the last couple of years it started to shift more. But kind of, growing up, my age group faith was a very it's not in hockey, it's very like it was a. It was more in football or you'd more see it there and for whatever reason, hockey just kind of had you as like, oh, you're the weird Christian kid and I was like kind of like my my dad always jokes he's like it's actually great you were a goalie, cause you were kind of able to be that little bit of an outsider, cause people always thought you were going to be weird. It's like yeah, fair, right, um, so I think the biggest challenge growing up was not looking at as a negative right Like when you're younger.
Speaker 2:Not looking at as a negative right Like when you're younger. You're kind of like, oh, they tease me because I don't swear, they tease me because I say that I go to church on Sundays, and almost embarrassed by it, until the point that it was like you know what? Like it's actually your strength, like it's what makes you different and lean out as a strength and be proud of it, not try and kind of bury it. And that started to shift, I would say, kind of through you 17,. You 18 age group is when you kind of start to take that ownership and pride of it, because you kind of you're going into high school, you have these different life kind of journeys. Some of your buddies are starting to go to parties and you're like, ah, I'm not really about that. And making that conscious decision of like hey, I'm going to stand on my faith and my boundaries and that's who I am and if you don't like that, that's okay. Right, like I'm gonna love you anyway. But I was super thankful where God kind of blessed me with having a bunch of friends and people around me that were super okay with it, and that sounds weird that you have to say that they were okay with it, but you kind of don't say right where it's like some people are like, oh, that's so weird, man, like you make me feel bad for going to party, and it's like, no, like you choose what you want to do.
Speaker 2:This is who I am and and for me, growing up my parents didn't drink and it was very much of like, hey, you know what, like know your limit, and this is what you do and I was okay, sounds good, and and then taking that on, and then I was glad I kind of had that step then, because then, moving into junior um, it becomes kind of a different beast, right when now you're playing with 20-year-olds and they're out living on their own, sometimes billeting or different boundaries, and now it's like, okay, I really need to be strong in who I am and what I believe in. And that's where I ultimately chose to stay and play at home, because my family support system and being in Calgary was super important to me. And you know I'd have trade offers come in and they'd say, hey, this team really wants you. And I was like you know what? Like I'm good, like I'm, I'm happy being here, like, call me a mama's boy or a family, whatever I was, I liked being at home. I liked coming home from the rink and being able to say, hey, like decompress my family, still be able to go to church on Sundays if it worked out with the schedule, um, and really be grounded in that. Um, not to say that that didn't come with challenges, like there's always kind of times where it's like, okay, well, these guys seem like they're having so much fun, like what it? Like? What am I missing? Or why am I choosing this when it's you know? But it was just, you know, that's where I was able to have those real conversations with my family, like, hey, you know what, this is the path you're on and you'll be rewarded for it and you're not really missing anything there, which is really neat to see.
Speaker 2:And then that was another big decision into my university career. I had offers to go to Anchorage in Alaska and a couple other ones in D1 in the States, and I just couldn't wrap my head around leaving the comfort zone of home in Alberta and where I wanted to ultimately set up my life. So you know, being anchored in the community here. I had friends here, I had family here and it just made the most sense of like, well, you know where you go to school is where you're probably going to build your life. So thankfully, mount Royal worked out and had a conversation there where they needed a guy and and it came in and yeah, it was able to really grow.
Speaker 2:That's where I feel like my faith took another step to um in that university where you're really challenging what you're learning. Right, you're meeting with professors that are you really challenging your beliefs or pushing things or not? Pushing agendas that's the wrong word. But you know, in certain classes you're taking it's very okay, well, here's this religion or here's this aspect or here's why evolution or this, and you're kind of very challenged, which I was like, okay, like you can either lean into your faith or kind of you know, go and look around. Okay, that makes sense.
Speaker 2:But really the intuit and you know, was able to have a little bit more confidence in starting a Bible study with our team and had guys that would meet with us once a week in one of the, in one of the classrooms, which is really neat and yeah, so it was really cool to see that growth and that ultimately led into you know moving on in your life and your career life and driving forward. And now you know, going through some of the life events I've gone through, where, if I didn't have faith, I truthfully don't know where I'd be Right, and that's kind of where the faith aspect I'm so thankful for the roots and the foundation that my family helped instilled, because it's so true, like if you're building that foundation on, like that old right, if it's on the rock or on the sand, and I was like I'm so glad we laid that rock down early on because, again, like the foundation stood and it stood strong. So super thankful for that.
Speaker 1:Now, Colin, you and I were introduced to each other several years ago, back when you were finishing junior hockey. You were vocal in your faith during an interview and I had my son listening with me, who's also a goaltender, and that just jumped out to him. And following your journey over the last several years, where has God brought, what has God brought you through, and where has he taken you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh, um, I'll try and keep it together here. Truthfully, um, yeah, so going through that, where you know you're you're moving on in life, you're excited, you just welcome your daughter into the world. She's four months old and you're like, okay, this is such a blessing, what a miracle. I'm so excited to then being like, oh man, like I'm feeling off, Like this is a wild flu that I can't kick. And, you know, a couple weeks go by and you're like what is happening? Like I never get sick, Like this is not it. Um, to then being like I really need to go to emerge because something's not okay. To then sitting there um, I'll still never forget it, being in the emergency room and my mom had to come with me because our daughter was like four months old. So my wife's like I can't, I don't know how long the wait will be. And I'm like, okay, and sitting there and being like, well, we're just gonna get you to a ct scan. And then, you know, next thing, I was sitting there just like, okay, hopefully it's okay. I wonder what it is. Maybe get some antibiotics to the. You know, we'll get the doctor in right away. To then, okay, well, we will, we'll just get the nurse in because the doctor's not on today. So, unless it's anything crazy, he's not going to come in. Um to then, you know you're sitting there, and then the doctor comes in and I was like, oh, like I, I didn't think you'd come in. And he's like, yeah, well, we found, we found a pretty large mass and you know, and, and we're pretty positive, it's cancer of its cancer. And here's a guy who never drank alcohol, never smoked very good weight, to then being diagnosed with colorectal cancer, where they said it's common in smokers, alcoholism and obesity. And the doctor said, clearly, you check none of those boxes. So I, I don't know, it's a genetic mutation. It's kind of like the, the bad luck cancer, he says.
Speaker 2:And I'll never forget sitting there just in that moment and the flush of like, oh, my goodness, like bad luck cancer, and I have tried so hard to live my life perfectly and this is what I get, and it just that emotion hits so heavy, like this disappointment, like why God, like why me? To then so quickly looking at my mom and she was in tears and I just kind of was like, no, like, no, like this isn't real, you know. And then I kind of just looked at my mom and I felt I've never I can't explain the warmth and the pure like just out of body comfort I felt in that moment to where it went from so quickly that like this is so unfair to like, okay, no, we're gonna get through this. Like God's got me. And I remember looking at my mom and looking at the doctor and said, all right, so how do we beat this? Like what's next? And the doctor being like you need a minute. I'm like, no, what's the point, the God's got me, we're going to be okay. And he's just like okay, okay.
Speaker 2:And so we kind of you know, then you see the process and that's not to take away that it was so hard, right, you kind of fought back, holding it all in for probably about a month where I was like, okay, I just got to be strong and just be brave Because yeah. Then my wife comes in with our four-month daughter, is just in shambles and I'm like it's going to be okay, we're going to be good. Like it's going to be okay, we're going to be good, like it's going to be fine. I don't know why, but it's going to be okay and yeah, which then led into, I would say like I'm still, you know, still kind of going through it, where now you're in the, you're in the checkup phase, but probably the hardest two years of my life, truthfully, where there were a lot of nights where I was in so much pain like cannot explain the pain, where you're just crying and you're just like God, please just help.
Speaker 2:Like just take it for like a minute, like I just need a minute of no pain. Um, and then being like super almost disappointed. If he didn't respond like like right, then like okay, well, I'm still in pain. Like are you there? Disappointed. If he didn't respond like like right, then like okay, well, I'm still in pain. Like are you there Right? And it was just like that battle of like okay, like I know he's there, but like are you there Right?
Speaker 2:Like those kinds of those despair, moments of like I am in so much pain, I just need help. And then you know having that moment of like, dreams of just like peacefulness, of like just you know, angels, being like walking with you and I saw myself like walking in a hospital with two angels behind me and just like getting stronger with every step, and it's just like stuff like that, where you're like how can you not believe in this guy? Like you know what I mean. Like it's like so the faith journey has become so much stronger and so much realer.
Speaker 2:Um, when you go through something like that, where you're challenged with having those like okay, sweetheart, like, if this doesn't go well, here's what you kind of need to do. Right, like this policy would go towards this. You'd pay this off first. This is what this does, this is how this all works. To then being like you know what, like we're good, we're healed, and like we're gonna see scarlet grow up, we're gonna see her go to grad and it's gonna be okay.
Speaker 2:Um, and yeah, it was uh, to go through that and to just know that god's there.
Speaker 2:Um, and to then try and use that platform of like yeah, this is an incredible hard journey, but this is what faith is for.
Speaker 2:If I fold now and admit defeat, to say, then what was the last 28 years of my life standing on? Right, and it was like this is the challenge, right, it was so cool to see the reach out from people saying I've never prayed before, but I'm praying for you because I know it's going to work. And having people, just like guys, where I was so stunned that were sending me messages, being like God gives his you know as tough as battles to as tough as warriors, like I'm praying for you, and just being like man. Like we had like one conversation on faith and that stuck um, but I just that was so cool to see and that really the touch and and the outreach I've had, um, not myself, like God gave me a platform to do that um, but that's why now I'm like I will continue to be so vocal in my faith because it saved my life and it saved so many other lives and it's the firm foundation that will continually be what I will always lean into. For sure it was really powerful.
Speaker 3:I appreciate you sharing that, colin. Yeah, of course, there are a lot of people that have been through situations, difficult situations, maybe cancer, and it's so hard to imagine what that would be like. I want to ask you about something that you said. You know, the previous 28 years of my life, this was what God is preparing me for, and I think a lot of us can maybe gravitate to that concept of you know. There's maybe trials that we've gone through. We think, okay, what's the point of this? Where is this coming to?
Speaker 3:And many of us you know, who are listening and maybe come to those moments and maybe lost their faith and then maybe you've never turned back, maybe, if you're listening to this for the first time, you know you've walked away from your faith and there's an opportunity here for some encouragement. So, colin, I want to ask you about, in those moments, the over the years what was the preparation process like over the years? What was the preparation process like and where did you, how did you put the building blocks in place for your faith to, like you said, prepare yourself for what the Lord was able to do through you and your faith in a time when you needed him the most?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think I kind of touched on earlier a little bit, but the foundation piece was massive, I think if I was very surface level with my faith and very like, oh yeah, I'm a Christian. But then you, when you go through something tough and you're like, okay, god, like, why? Like, why is this it? And and I think the neatest thing I felt through all of that is I never really felt a clear answer as to why. So never really when I pray or I'd sit there, I never really felt. But I think that's strategic in the sense where he allows you to fill space, right when it's kind of like, well, why God, why me? And they enter and they're almost kind of, you know it's like why not you? Right, like why not use this platform? And why not know that he's never going to give you more than you can handle, right? So if he didn't think I could walk through that journey, I believe that he wouldn't have allowed it to grow, which is a very weird concept for people to understand. But I think that you know God also never promised us any perfection on this earth, right, like we're not no one's guaranteed a certain amount of time, we were never guaranteed gold and riches and we're going to be crazy successful and live the best life ever here. That was never promised in scripture, and I think that was what I kept coming back to, and I was really thankful for my dad. I really had a tough like, a lot of those tough conversations of like like why go through this? Like, why he's like well, look at your life. Like the adversity you've gone through every year has prepared you for this. He's like, like, every year, what did a coach tell you? Oh, you're too small, you're not good enough. Okay, well, what is this sickness telling you? You're not strong enough, you're not going to get better, it hurts too much, okay. Well, now you have the choice. Well, what was your instinct? Well, to push and fight through adversity and overcome. Right, we were made to be more than conquerors. So I said, well, okay, what a better time than to conquer this and to move forward? So I think, just that resilience and that adversity to be able to push through it and really know that, like you know, god gives us strength to push through tough moments, and I also think that the tough moments are what bring us closer to him. Right, if everything's going smooth and easy, it's going to be easy to be like, well, I'm doing it all, look at what I'm accomplishing, right. But it's in those tough moments where it's like, okay, god, I need you. He's like, I know you do, you always need me, right. But it's almost those reminders and those checkpoints. And you know it sounds wild to say, but I always feel like I would always have those checkpoints when I got a little bit too of like, oh, look at what I'm doing, I can do this, I've got this contract, I'm doing this. And it's like, no, god's given you this platform to move forward right now.
Speaker 2:I think the timing of it's so easy to get wrapped up in how do we make the most, how do we generate the most profit? How do we do this? And then realize, in a blink of an eye, I all of that is gone. Like in that moment when I came into my family, walked in, I would say I don't care if I never make another dollar, I would rather spend every day with you guys. If that's all I have left Right and it just like it.
Speaker 2:Put it in perspective to be like what are, what are we living for, right. And if it's really just to you know, go to work, pay the bills and just really focus on your career and this and that not to downplay. Like career is important, money is important, yes, but like what's the purpose and what's your mission? And my mission in that moment was to, one, make it through it to be there for my family and, two, to use that as a platform to say, hey, like, if we can through this, guys, like we can get through a lot and we all can do it Right Like it's, you can lean into your faith, you can lean into your strength and we're all a lot stronger than we give ourselves credit for. So I was a little bit of a rambly.
Speaker 1:No, no, no. I was actually just ready to drop my headphones, go run through a brick wall. Personally.
Speaker 3:I was ready to go heat up my chicken and have some dinner. We'll listen to this. I'm like I'm getting some great solid food. Biblically, I could use some solid food behind me.
Speaker 1:This is great. You know what it reminded me if? If you're listening to this podcast right now, pause, listen or read Psalm 79, 80 and 81. And and it's just boy, it goes right along with what exactly what Colin's sharing with us right now. We're going to go to a fun segment, though. Okay, we've talked about a lot of great and awesome things. We have a popular segment, a list of questions for you. They're going to come at you fast. Are you ready?
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:All right, Mamas Boy, here we go. If you could put on the jersey and play for any professional team, what would it be?
Speaker 2:Buffalo Sabres.
Speaker 3:Are you a stats guy? I? Am 2008, 2009,. There was a goalie who played for the Calgary Bisons, you 15 triple a. He played 14 games at a goals gained average of three, oh seven. A safe percentage of eight 89. Do you remember who led that team in scoring?
Speaker 2:I would want to say that would be. It would either be Jay Merkley.
Speaker 3:It was Jay Merkley. It was Jay Merkley, so that's a good one. By the way, that was Cooper's 250.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I figured Jay was. Was it Klimchuk who was behind him?
Speaker 3:I don't know. Yeah, there was someone else, I think, but a Jay Merkley led that team.
Speaker 2:Merkley led the team. That's what I thought there we go. Wow, I was testing the brain.
Speaker 1:Okay, here we go. Now we're just going to talk about preference. If you could live off of one food item for one week, what would it be?
Speaker 3:Chicken fingers. The Calgary Canucks were 15, 24, and 10,. Their goalie was in the 2014-2015 season. Do you remember what the save percentage was for the goalie? Who played those games?
Speaker 2:9-0 902.
Speaker 3:908. Not bad Pretty good for a team who was 10 games under 500. That's a really good. He should be a goalie coach someday.
Speaker 1:He should be no doubt. Okay, we're going to war. What's your weapon of choice? You only get one.
Speaker 2:Riot Shield.
Speaker 3:You're having a water fight with some of your friends. Someone has the water gun. Next is the garden hose. Where do you go after that? Hmm, fire hose. Is it time for the fire hose yet?
Speaker 2:You got to go to the water balloon station. If that's kind of all there is. Yeah, water gun, they got the hose. You got to go with the water balloons.
Speaker 1:Okay, you get it. You, we're not capping this on money or anything. Yet you, for the 20, next 24 hours, get to go to one place in the world to take one picture with you in it as a selfie. Where are you going?
Speaker 2:I would say maybe Edinburgh in the UK.
Speaker 3:Okay, what's the TV show that you and your wife crush before you go to bed as just like a relaxing at night and something you can? It's the Bachelor, gilmore Girls.
Speaker 2:We're not going to judge you. We did watch Bachelor in Paradise yesterday. We do love TV shows, so we kind of ripped through a bunch. But right now Bachelor in Paradise is on, amazing Race Canada is on and we're working through Quarterback Season 2 on Netflix right now.
Speaker 1:Okay, based on that song choice, we're done with our those TV choices. We're done with our question.
Speaker 3:Ben doesn't watch TV or movies, so he doesn't know what any of those are. So you're safe, come on.
Speaker 1:Bachelor is a bunch of single guys or something like that. Why would I want to watch a bunch of single guys?
Speaker 3:It's good TV, ben wants to watch Lumberjacks and hockey.
Speaker 1:Actually, I just actually watched an incredible baseball game. Your Yankees restricted the Toronto Blue Jays that team. That Blue Jays team this year is phenomenal Baseball, yeah, so good. Oh, and a money-blowing moment here before we wrap up our time the tickets in Toronto. Right now they're selling out baseball games regular season. You want to sit behind home plate? It's like you have to buy them in sets of two and they're like $1,500 each it's wild.
Speaker 3:Wow, it's nuts.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we went to a game last year during one of our treatment weekends and it was like $15 because they were so bad and it was empty Crazy. What are your changes?
Speaker 1:seriously what I'm speaking.
Speaker 3:How quick things change. Colin, how would you describe where you're at right now in your life faith journey, health overall together?
Speaker 2:yeah, overall, right now I feel like I'm in a great spot. We've been a full year and a half clear, which is a huge blessing. Um, moving forward, I got a bunch of new contracts coming down the pipe through the goalie development contracts and through the company there that I'm running. Um, like I said, daughter just turned two in july and it's been an absolute blast and, yeah, faith has just been that anchor where I'm like I'm just so thankful to be where I'm at now and and looking forward. Honestly, it's been so neat to kind of push through tough moments and and now talk like this and be able to say hey, like look what God can do, and just be excited to see what what he brings next.
Speaker 1:Okay, Last question you got a Bible verse you can share with us. You have a favorite.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I would say it's always kind of been growing up. It was like philippians 413, like I could do all things through christ, who strengthens me, um. And then it moved on a little bit more to the last year. It's kind of shifted to isaiah 4031, which is the one that talks about you know the like. But those who trust in the lord find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles, they will run and they will walk and not faint. So that was one that I got. I got tattooed underneath my arm here and we're just like, hey, like that was that, was it Right? He gave me the strength and we soar and that's what it's all about now. So every year we do our run and we're all there to soar.
Speaker 1:Dave's got that on his wall. That's exciting, well, and we're all there to soar. Dave's got that on his wall. That's exciting. Well, two conditions about being on the gospel and the game. First one is is you get to come back, always get to come back. Second one is is we get to pray with you. So, to wrap up our time today, we're just going to pray with you, colin.
Speaker 2:Sounds great.
Speaker 1:Heavenly Father, thank you so much for calling Cooper. Just pray that you would watch over him and bless him. And, lord, that as he walks this wonderful journey with you, that he would be an instrument used for your glory, honor and praise. And, lord, we just pray that you would continue to bless him and his family and that you would just give him the courage to tell the story of his life and what you've done in it, just to bear testimony to you and your faithfulness. And, lord, we just pray that you would bless him as he grows in you. In Jesus' name, we pray Amen.
Speaker 2:Amen. Thank you, guys, that was great.
Speaker 3:There's so much authenticity in his story and I you know, every week we hear a different journey and some of the different athletes we've had on and they've been tremendous. We're going to have more incredible athletes and great stories going forward. But there's something just so raw and real about when you go through deep despair, moments like that when he talked about, you know, his young daughter there and his wife wasn't sure how long the they were going to be in the hospital for, and then you know his mom had to be there and then the doctor oh yeah, no, no, he's off for the weekend and suddenly it's an emergency and the doctor's here we have like I can't imagine going through those things and I know there are people who have gone through that like that was just gripping and I really appreciate colin sharing that and that's yeah. There's a lot of stories out there like that. There's so many and that's just what I'm grateful for to have the ability to hear some of these and be able to share those stories.
Speaker 1:Well, and not only like you can. You can hear it in his voice. But I think if you, if you follow people's journey, I think that's one of the neat things I really like about some of the social media getting to know people outside of your bubble, I guess you'd say. And Colin was really raw, even how he shared his, his journey with cancer and just the whole thing. And then the experience is like you wanted to pray for him, like even listening right there to his conversation, you were just like wow, like you included in your vulnerable state. You included people in it to be part of this journey with you and to use it as an opportunity to share your faith and to grow yourself and to show the confidence that you had in God. Wow, that's, it's awesome.
Speaker 3:And being aware that, like he said, this is what the Lord is preparing me for, right, it's, it's. He would be forgiven if he were to say God, I thought that you know, you were here and this happened, like that's happened a lot in life. There are Christian people who have had that happen and their faith has never been the same. And that's a very real emotion. But like for him just to say Lord, you prepared me for this and we walked through it together, Like that was really sobering.
Speaker 1:Well, and that's why I even mentioned, I mentioned during the podcast about reading those Psalms, Because in that Psalms you hear the heart of the writer, in that Psalm just be like God, where are you when all this stuff is happening? And then to end off, Psalm 81, talking about how having the Lord is sweeter than honey, and you're like you could almost see that in his story. It's like I just saw the sweetness of God. I saw the sweetness of God in knowing not only that things would be all right, but even if things weren't all right.
Speaker 3:I knew that God was good. Yeah, and you know what's great about I think. Often people can gravitate to and I've shared this in different podcasts before, but I just want to drive home, if someone's maybe listening for the first time and and um, you know there's there's something to be said for an athlete with star power, right, that well, you got that guy on and I can hear his testimony. That's incredible. We're gonna have some of those throughout the seasons. There'll be athletes coming up that are pretty well-known names, for sure.
Speaker 3:But I think what makes it even more real is just realizing that when you walk day to day through the streets, through the mall, driving down the street, through the hockey arena, the football stadium, you never know who is standing beside you, who's got a powerful story. And that's what's so unique and so great about what we're doing here, and I'm just so grateful for the ability that, yes, we can gravitate to the big star power athlete and say, let's get this superstar on. I want to hear his faith. That's yeah, there's nothing wrong with that, but it's so to me incredible to hear a journey like Colin's to know, yeah, you played some good hockey, but I wanted to stay home so I could be close to my family for support. Yeah, like that, that's just so powerful.
Speaker 1:Well, and you know what we talk about. The people always say the odds of becoming a professional athlete on uh in any sport and it's just so few of them but they're amongst athleticism altogether. There are just so many stories of faith and goodness and what God has done and what he's doing and struggle and pain and just testimony. Like, if you haven't listened to our podcast about testimony, go back and listen to it from season one, because I think when we recorded season one, we went through so many subjects that when you listen to season two, if a subject comes to mind, you're going to go back to season number one and you're going to be like, oh yeah, testimony, oh yeah, anger, oh yeah, self-control. Or maybe you know an athlete or maybe you know someone that can benefit from this. Encourage them not only with the stories and the testimonies that are being presented, but some of the lessons that we've gone through to go along with it that you can now use as a tool in your arsenal to get through things Subscribe and share as well.
Speaker 3:We'd love to get our followers up, listeners up. I think we averaged four listeners a week. We said 21 last week. We overshot a week. We said 21 last week we overshot it was four, I'm just kidding. Get those subscribers up there. You can check us out where all podcasts are found. Subscribe to us as well. Instagram and Twitter or X. You can follow us there and share, share, share because we want to get the encouragement as wide as we can, and thank you so much for listening to this episode.
Speaker 1:Yeah, let us know you're listening.
Speaker 4:You've been listening to the Gospel in the Game. This podcast is listener-supported and can grow by your input and support.
