By: Jessica Mayer

Local Ahwatukee high school teacher and former coach, Bob Wakefield, has a mission: not only to guide his students in athletics, but also in life and faith.

Wakefield is a sponsor of Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Mountain Pointe High School in Ahwatukee.  FCA is a prominent organization at about 30 schools in the East Valley, where over 1,000 students participate Valley wide.   Mountain Pointe is home to at least 50 students who are involved in FCA, Wakefield said.

 The 51-year-old, who has been active with FCA since he played football at Arizona State University in 1978 and has sponsored FCA at Mountain Pointe since 1993, said attendance is at one of its all time highs.

“The last couple years we’ve really had kind of a reemergence of a lot of student activity… the kids have really began to take on a sense of urgency about sharing their faith on campus,” Wakefield said.

Wakefield has coached football and tennis at Mountain Pointe and at other schools across the state including Tempe High and Valley Christian. His coaching experience ranges from football and tennis at the high school level all the way to basketball and flag football at the junior high level.  As a father of four, Wakefield finds himself now focusing his energy on fatherhood and mentoring his students through FCA.

“Everything that’s going on here at Mountain Pointe is basically just a praise to God…I’m just a part of what’s going on…just to be a part of that, and watch the kids grow is just an honor and a blessing and a tremendous privilege,” Wakefield said of his involvement with FCA.

Julie Watt has been the East Valley campus representative for FCA in Arizona for the past three years, and has volunteered for the organization from the time she was in junior high.  “We exist to reach coaches and athletes for Christ using the vehicle of athletics,” Watt said.

 Of Wakefield’s involvement with FCA, Watt claims he has been “amazing” for the program.

 “Not only is he a veteran to FCA, he is extremely supportive of FCA’s mission,” Watt said. “He strives to see the kids on campus lead their huddle and to do his best to support them…He gives up so much of his own time to be there for high school students at MP.

Mountain Pointe’s FCA program meets biweekly in groups called “huddles” where students congregate in a session similar to a bible study.  In addition to huddles, FCA members also gather in meetings called “chapels” to listen to various guest speakers ranging from college level coaches to college level athletes.

 “Mountain Pointe’s FCA huddle is really flourishing…the past two years, we’ve implemented chapel programs for various sports, and FCA has taken off,” Watt said.

 Erika Papadeas, a high school senior at Mountain Pointe, has been involved with FCA since her freshman year.  The 18-year-old has played varsity volleyball, junior varsity basketball, and varsity track and field. Wakefield has been a “positive influence” on her life over the course of her involvement with FCA, Papadeas said.

 “This year has definitely been the best of all my four years.  It has grown a lot more and I think that there are more vocal leaders…and good relatable topics,” Papadeas said of FCA at Mountain Pointe.

 Wakefield says his hope is for more students to see the impact that FCA at Mountain Pointe is having on current members’ lives.  He insists that FCA is not just for Christian athletes, “we go full-spectrum, everyone is welcome,” Wakefield said.

 “It’s a chance for them to really see different leaders, different guys that they hang with, that they laugh, sweat, and cry with, they get to see them really living out a part of their lives that they don’t see all the time at school…” Wakefield said.