By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com
HottyToddy.com’s Adam Brown sat down with Scott Weathersby from the Ole Miss Fellowship of Christian Athletes to discuss FCA’s involvement in the LOU community and his time as an Ole Miss baseball player.
Brown: How did you get into baseball and what has the Lord done for you in the game of baseball; what he is doing with your career now?
Weathersby: Ever since I was a little kid, I think my first love was sports. My greatest love of sports was baseball. Probably because I was better at than other sports, but I just loved coming together as a team with something that is bigger than yourself. I think that really pulled my attention to baseball. As I grew up the bigger, the better I got, and it was always my dream to play at Ole Miss. I didn’t always know that it would work out but it eventually did. I will be forever grateful for that. I have always said in my life the common denominators is my relationship with God and second would be sports. So, the culmination of those two things… that’s really who I am and love doing.
So, in my sport, it was kind of an act of worship as God had given me the ability, and I loved being a part of a team. I just tried to use that ability to the best that I could. For me, it was a smooth deal to where I had a passion for Jesus and a passion for sports and those growing up where my two loves.
Brown: What was it like for you finally playing for the Rebels after wanting to play for the collegiate team for so long?
Weathersby: It had been a dream my whole life and looking back over my time it was even greater than I could have ever imagined. Not just the on the field stuff but the relationships I built with guys that I still have relationships with today. I think that was the most special thing with not just the players and the fans but everybody associated with the program. Those are lasting relationships that can last your whole life.
For me, the highlight of getting to play at Ole Miss was getting to play in the College World Series. But I think the greatest moment was not at the College World Series but at the University of Louisiana Lafayette when we won game three and knew we were going to the College World Series. All the hard work that we had put in for the last four years was a really satisfying filling.
Brown: How was it going from playing with the Rebels to being drafted into the minor leagues?
Weathersby: I got drafted by the Houston Astros and I loved my time in the minor leagues. Those are probably the only times in my life that I can say that I lived in New York and in California, and I got to meet a lot of awesome people and go to a lot of places I had never been before. I had a lot of great coaches, and I will be forever great full for my time in the minor leagues.
The only difference I will say in 2015 when I got drafted playing for Ole Miss is that was the last time that I felt like I was apart of a team. In the minor leagues, it was more of an individual base, and it was tough for me to understand that at first. The system is set up that way and rightfully so. You have players trying to get to the Major Leagues. I really enjoyed my time in the minor leagues; the last team I played for was Ole Miss, but the people that I meet and the places I got to go… the things my wife and I got to experience, I will always take with me.
Brown: What has FCA meant to you from the time you were in college until now as the campus director?
Weathersby: I have always been a huge advocate of FCA as I got involved when I was in college. It really allowed me to grow in my faith and to make my faith my own. When you are in college 18-22 is a very impressionable stage, and it is the first time for you to be out on your own making decisions for yourself. The guy that came before me, Todd Johnson, had a real impact on my life, and I made my faith my own and tried to display it in my actions.
In the spring, we (Ole Miss baseball) played every Sunday for 15 weeks before SEC Network began. We had no way to go to church; we had no way to do anything like that so having FCA was my way and my resource to grow in my faith during that time because without it I would not have had that opportunity.
I would have gone four months at a time without the ability to worship with a group of people and be poured into. I am forever grateful for FCA when I played. It really made it easy to see the impact that it had as I come back after I retired from baseball. That’s why it hit so close home to me because I know the impact it had on my life.
Brown: What all does FCA offer?
Weathersby: So, what we want to do with FCA is to be a resource for students and student-athletes alike to grow in their faith. We want to be a resource for them whether they are coming from California, Mississippi or where ever.
We just want to be a resource for (students) to grow spiritually in their faith and have that available to them. We meet every Monday evening at 8 p.m. in what we call our mulita sports huddle where students and student-athletes from all over campus come and we worship collectively.
We have a team to team Bible study. I have a baseball Bible study at 6:45 a.m. on Friday mornings.
The special thing we have to offer to everyone is “Beats for the Week”: a one on one discipleships where we can really grow and invest. In those key leaders who want to go deeper in their faith.
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