How it works
Each chapter functions as a student organization led by a designated Chapter Leader - a faculty or staff member such as a teacher, coach, or trusted leader. Chapters typically meet weekly or bi-weekly for structured sessions that include fellowship, prayer, and guided small group discussion using FIERCE-developed content.
Meeting Content and Structure
We recommend that Chapters meet weekly or bi-weekly for approximately one hour. FIERCE provides all content, along with additional resources and guidance, to support Chapter Leaders in facilitating discussion. Chapter members will have short readings or prompts to reflect on or pray with outside of meeting time; however, summaries are also included on the Chapter worksheets to ensure everyone begins each meeting on common ground.
Content
Foundational content focuses on responding to the complex and sensitive issues that pervade today's athletic culture, including body image, disordered eating, and mental health challenges through a Catholic lens grounded in grace and truth.
Impact
Transform the culture of female athletics. Chapters operate within high schools, universities, and other community structures as spiritual homes for female athletes who gather regularly for prayer, discussion, and personal formation rooted in a Catholic Christian worldview. They are designed to empower female athletes to embrace their God-given identity, live out authentic femininity, and lead with purpose and excellence. By investing in these young women, FIERCE Athlete creates a (cycle of formation, mentorship, and evangelization) ripple effect: leaders who influence their teams in the present, who in turn, inspire and form the next generation, creating a cycle of mentorship that drives lasting cultural change. Each student Ambassador has the potential to influence countless teammates while mentoring younger athletes who will eventually become leaders themselves.
Timeline to Start a Chapter
Year 1: Chapters focus on establishing a strong foundation of formation, prayer, and community while identifying committed, emerging student leaders.
Year 2: the Chapter Leader guides and mentors a core group of trained student-athlete leaders, known as Ambassadors. mutiplies/extends the impact, ensures long-term vitality of Chapter community. The curriculum from the Student Leader Training Program will become the cornerstone of the second year of the FIERCE Chapter model, ensuring its long-term vitality while cultivating generations of female athletes who lead with faith, conviction, and the confidence of knowing they are beloved daughters of God.
Chapter Leading Training
FIERCE Athlete will work with your institution to identify an individual who can successfully serve as a Chapter Leader. The Chapter Leader should be a faithful Catholic or committed Christian who is knowledgeable and supportive of Church teachings. This individual should be able to commit to the regular one hour Chapter meetings with some additional preparation beforehand. If this is a concern, it might be helpful to identify two co-leaders who could share the responsibilities. It is also beneficial if Chapter Leaders are on-site, i.e. teachers, coaches, or administrators who have a regular presence in the community.
FIERCE provides comprehensive Chapter Leader training either via Zoom, on-site, or some combination of remote and in-person to ensure Chapter Leaders are well-equipped in the necessary topics and skills to lead young women through the Chapter content. In addition, FIERCE staff is on-call for regular meetings and communication to continue supporting Chapter Leaders as questions or issues arise.
Student Leader Training Program
Intentionally equip and train these emerging leaders. provide structured formation for selected student leaders, equipping them with the skills and confidence to: facilitate small group discussions, lead peers in prayer, mentor younger athletes and foster a culture of, and serve as visible leaders on their teams, modeling virtue and integrity/character and confidence on and off the field. Training will go beyond content delivery, so that Ambassadors are not only learning what to lead, but how to lead, developing the ability to serve their peers and ultimately evangelize the next generation of leaders. This curriculum will help young women lead from a place of deep personal conviction, grounded in a Catholic understanding of the dignity of every person and strengthened through prayer. Ambassadors are deeply formed and sent forth to serve as spiritual leaders on their teams and among peers, boldly witnessing to their faith through both word and action. This program will help scale the Chapter Model.
Why FIERCE Chapters?
As an organization, we have discerned the need for deep formation to truly transform hearts and the culture of female athletics - one girl at a time. Talks and events serve as great springboards for igniting sparks of faith, and through the Chapter model, we can continue ongoing formation to create life-changing, lasting impact. We have already beta tested this model at one Catholic high school and have seen truly stunning results. In a testimony from the Chapter leader, she says:
“Working in a high school is both life-giving and very difficult. Sometimes it is as if you are walking among the wounded while here. The conversations in our group usually turn to listening to girls expose those wounds and then try to find meaning. Sam’s book and the questions after each chapter provide excellent discussion questions and topics. We have discovered that these questions usually point to truths in Scripture. So then, with that chapter or even those pages we’ve read aloud, we will turn to Scripture to affirm those truths and dispel the lies girls have believed about themselves. Now, a few months in, we have had every grade level of girls attend the meetings with natural leaders emerging and it's just so cool to see.”
The transformations are not just limited to the meetings - girls are attending daily mass, requesting Holy Hours of Adoration, praying over and with each other, and opening themselves up to the deep power of the Holy Spirit. Our prayer is to bring this movement to as many schools as we can, nationwide.
