The game inside

Charlie Clary can be found in the stands, on the field, poolside and at the cafeteria at LSU. He’s chaplain to several athletic teams, including football and baseball, mentoring athletes on the way of the cross.

At practice, coaches are constantly telling teams that the upcoming game, match or meet means everything. Clary spreads a different message: Don’t base your entire existence on the fleeting power of a fast-twitch muscle that sparks, for a blink, under brassy lights.

Prepare for the decades that follow. Go for lifelong glory.

After practice, Les Miles, a strong believer in developing his players for the game and for life, tips his highly perched cap to Clary.

“Thanks for taking care of them,” he says.

“These are big boys,” Clary says. “They are tough boys. They are not taught to be feelers and sensers. They are taught to work through the pain.”

The freshmen can often come in weighed down like veterans.

Since they were 6 years old, they’ve practiced, hour after hour, working on weekends, on Christmas and other holidays. Sometimes they feel lost. Clary wants them to know they are found.

“I begin to challenge them to use the platform they have for something other than Saturday night in Tiger Stadium,” he says.

If you get right with God, he tells these young athletes, that may not mean you score more on the field or get more playing time or accolades. But it does mean you’ll be a more complete person. You’ll be whole.