By Bill Turner
The football practice at Hidden Valley High School was taking its toll as the August heat beat down on the field Thursday afternoon.
On the sideline, as practice drew to an end, was Al Soltis. Beside him, a table full of ripe watermelon slices, clearly within view of the players running the drills.
It’s the ‘Watermelon Outreach’, a venture run by Soltis that is now in its seventh year.
“Every year, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes has a theme we focus our camps on,” Soltis points out. “In 2006, since everyone couldn’t attend the FCA camp, we started to bring that theme back to our valley and share it with local football teams during summer 2-a-day practices.”
In 2011, the outreach was received by 25 teams and over 1,400 players and coaches. “As players come off the field, we have cold watermelon for them to enjoy,” Soltis says. “Those who wish to stay, on their own, get to hear us share the FCA message based on that year’s camp theme.”
Soltis is articulate and moving in his presentation. The 2012 message is called ‘In the Zone’, speaking to the young players about striving to play in the zone at their highest competitive level on the athletic field, while most importantly honoring God by living their lives in the zone for Him.
“The goal is for players to realize how they have been blessed with the athletic abilities they have,” Soltis notes. Thursday, the watermelon outreach proved very popular as the Hidden Valley players gathered under a maple tree, listened intently to Soltis, and enjoyed the fruit. Many had multiple slices. The message was well received.