The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) club, headed by sophomore Meghan McDermott, hosted three Stanford baseball players in room 704 on Friday, March 23. Many students and teachers attended the event to listen to the players share stories about their Christian faith and how it affected their lives.

Among these players were student athletes Mark Appel, A.J. Venegas and Christian Griffiths. One of the leaders of the Bay Area FCA organization asked the baseball players a wide variety of questions, and the college students opened up and discussed how religion played a role in their lives.

Mark Appel, who grew up in Houston, Texas, moved to California for high school. During his four years at Monta Vista High School, Appel played four years of both baseball and basketball, realizing later that baseball was his true passion. Throughout his life, his parents put an emphasis on education. Appel said that he had always hoped to attend a good college, but was unsure about playing baseball for a school since he had been a late bloomer. In his early years in high school, Appel did not consider himself a strong baseball player until senior year. He said that he turned to his faith for support and dedicates his success to it.

A.J. Venegas also played both basketball and baseball during his high school years in Alameda. Ever since he was little, he always dreamed of going to Stanford, where he often watched the college’s sports games with his father. Setting high goals for himself, Venegas was determined to achieve his dream of attending Stanford. The large school and its environment was a culture shock for Venegas, who had attended a small high school with around 200 students. Time management during his years at Stanford has been a struggle for Venegas, who is required to commit much of each day practicing for the team. When frustrated with either sports or school, Venegas also turns to his Christian faith, which he said has altered his life.

Christian Griffiths also played both basketball and baseball growing up. He believes that if he had not chosen to baseball, he would admittedly become a soccer player. Griffiths said that he knew throughout his high school years that he wanted to play college baseball, and hoped that his skills would guide him to a top-tier university. At Stanford, his main joy comes from his ability to take classes that truly interest him. His first encounter with religion came at the age of seven, and ever since, Griffiths has been dedicated to faith.

The session marked the first meeting for the school FCA club.