USG is able to provide all of its Academy participants with a fully-funded Impact Weekend trip. These weekends are aimed at being an opportunity for the participants to put into action everything they have been learning throughout the USG Academy, as well as providing opportunities to grow both in Christ and professionally.
This past June, USG was able to fund seventeen Academy participants to come to Minneapolis, MN for an Impact Weekend experience. Thomas Biddle and Alex Kaiser were two of the participants on the weekend. Thomas is a student at Huntington University in Indiana studying sports management and is hoping to pursue a career in the strength and conditioning field. Alex Kaiser is currently on staff with On-Location as an Event Production Coordinator. Thomas and Alex were gracious enough to share their experiences during the Minneapolis Impact Weekend earlier this summer.
"When I heard about USG I was a little hesitant because it sounded too good to be true. After meeting with the leaders on zoom for so many weeks I could tell how much the staff wanted to develop you professionally but more importantly spiritually. I think how USG focuses on keeping your faith alive in a field where temptations are so high is amazing. The integration of faith and sport is something I have always wanted to help others do and USG has made that so much easier by developing me
as a professional and spiritual leader. Throughout the Impact Weekend, we were pretty busy going from facility tour to facility tour or some kind of spiritual development experience. My personal favorite part of the trip is the community outreach, where we went and gave care packages and prayed for some of the homeless people in the area. It truly opens your eyes up to how ungrateful we may be about a lot of things in life. The best part about it though was how someone can have hardly anything physically but if they have a relationship with God they can still be some of the happiest people you’ll meet. If you want to get out of your comfort zone, meet countless people within the field of sports, and grow in your spiritual life, then USG is for YOU!"- Thomas Biddle, USG Member
"USG has always found me at the perfect time. I was struggling in my walk with Jesus in my first year working with sports and as I was making the upward turn, I discovered USG. My coach, Mikey, was like a jet pack engine for my spiritual development over the course of the eight weeks and I was better equipped to last in the industry. Because of life circumstances, I was unable to go on the impact weekend designated for my training group. In the two months in between, I moved and my lung collapsed. I hadn’t been able to establish community and combined with my health problems, I was really starting to second guess my ability to last in this industry. But then I went on the Impact Weekend. The reminder that the community of Jesus followers is always right around the corner to take you in and nourish you has given me fresh energy to take on my new Raleigh life."- Alex Kaiser, USG Member
We were grateful to have Thomas and Alex with us on the Impact Weekend this past June in Minneapolis and we look forward to having them participate in future USG member opportunities!
Do you want to have an experience like Thomas and Alex? Apply to join the USG network here!
Are you looking to learn more about our ministry? Contact a staff member here!