Kenny Salyer once struggled with his spirituality while playing baseball at San Jose State University. It was the when his friend Daniel Benton introduced him to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), a sports organization which encourages athletes to make a difference for Christ, that Salyer found solace at school and on the field.

“When I was a freshman at San Jose State, I felt lost. The F.C.A helped me focus,” Salyer, a senior, said. “At times I was struggling with my spiritual side, and by joining the group, I was able to figure it out by talking to others who were going through the same thing.”

Salyer, 23, transferred to SF State last spring and is currently working on bringing an FCA chapter to SF State.

According to its Website, the FCA, “since 1954, has been challenging coaches and athletes on the professional, college, high school, junior high and youth levels to use the powerful medium of athletics to impact the world for Jesus Christ.”

Salyer, a criminal justice major, said that the meetings don’t just bring together Christians or Catholics, but athletes of all denominations saying that God is the unifying theme. The FCA is also the largest Christian sports organization in the country.

“It really was just a place for discussing anything from drugs and addiction, to issues one may be having with a coach or teammate, to the temptation and social pressures of everyday college life,” Salyer said.

Salyer said that he has yet to talk to school officials about the group, but that he has posed the idea to fellow athletes resulting in positive feedback.

SF State athletic director, Michael Simpson, said that the FCA does not have anything to do with the administration’s opinion or rules, and that participation is completely voluntarily.

“I need to spread the word to see if more people are interested, but from what I have seen so far, it looks like some athletes I have talked to are interested,” Simpson said.

Soccer player Candice Silva is one of them.

“I hope it gets started because that’s something right up my alley,” Silva, 21, said.

Silva said that she wants to be more active in the faith community and that this would be a great opportunity for that.

“I know a lot of other people who would be down to do it too,” she said of her fellow teammates.

Salyer has talked to the Bay Area representative, Rigo Lopez, who said he would help Salyer start the chapter at SF State.

Lopez, a former baseball coach at the University of San Francisco, now looks over about 20 schools for the FCA including the University of San Francisco.

“We work on three areas: mind, body and spirit, and if you work on all three, you become a more complete person,” Lopez said.

Lopez also said that Salyer has taken the initiative and now just has to work on getting the word out to prepare for the spring semester, which is when Salyer hopes it will launch.

According to Salyer, in a regular meeting the group will come together and start with an opening prayer and an ice breaker. Next, they will talk about any issues or topics that athletes may or may not be struggling with, using a specially made Christian bible that lists readings under certain topics.

Lopez said that he also enlists guest speakers some weeks, including former San Francisco 49er Guy McIntyre.

“I had a calling,” Lopez said, as to why he went from coaching to becoming a full-time FCA employee. “Sports and faith are my two biggest passions, so this was what I had to do.”