More than a game

Varsity Catholic missionary Hayden Merkel (center) works with student-athletes, including Ethan Holverson and Nate Taylor.

—Varsity Catholic, a division of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), is a bright spot in today’s culture of sport. Studentathletes need virtuous role models during their years of rigorous and stressful academic and training schedules. FOCUS missionaries Hayden Merkel and Hunter Beggs work hard to be these role models for the nearly 50 percent of the student population at Loras College who are student-athletes.