FCA Hockey moving its headquarters from Minnesota to Lynchburg in September

Gallery: (6-11-2024) FCA Hockey camps at Liberty

The connection between Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Hockey and Liberty University has served the Flames' Division I, II, and III men's hockey and Lady Flames' Division I and II women's hockey teams well in recent years, with approximately 40 recruits to the five teams having trained and elevated their games through the FCA ranks.

In early September, after being based out of Alexandria, Minn., for the past six years, FCA Hockey and its five full-time staff will move the organization's headquarters to the Greater Lynchburg FCA offices on Timberlake Road, where Tim Hill, who earned his M.Ed. in Education from Liberty in 1999, is entering his 25th year as director.

"It's a very exciting opportunity for us," Liberty Division I men's hockey Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "FCA Hockey has a staff of guys who want to disciple hockey players, and they're going to bring hundreds of players a year into Lynchburg. The byproduct of it will be kids who have been discipled and want to make a difference in the lives of (others)."

FCA Hockey Director Rick Randazzo founded FCA Hockey in 2008, along with his wife, Shannan. He played hockey for Army at West Point, N.Y., before going on to coach the men's hockey team at the Naval Academy for eight years as well as the Team USA squad in Austria in 2004. His staff is led by Tim Jackman, the lead on-ice instructor who played eight seasons in the NHL, and Josh Freitas, its strength and conditioning coach. It also includes Jackson Vercellono, a graduate forward on Liberty's DI men's team, who serves as a representative after first participating in an FCA Hockey camp when he was 14.

"We see that in Lynchburg there's a big need for hockey coaches and training, and we are excited to come alongside the (Lynchburg Coyotes) youth hockey association there and help them grow their numbers," Randazzo said. "The hope is that, in the future, we'll have an arena and our own FCA Hockey offices in Lynchburg at some point. We think there's going to be a huge opportunity for us as a ministry to expand and to reach a whole lot more families and coaches to help them grow in their faith and to introduce them to Liberty Hockey."

Hill noted that having FCA Hockey as part of the Greater Lynchburg FCA will increase opportunities "to share and expose the Gospel to families here and to help reach that mission of leading every coach and athlete into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church."

Freitas said the Lord guided Randazzo and his staff to make the move to Lynchburg.

"In praying about where the Lord was leading us and where we would launch our headquarters, we wanted to have a great support system, and that starts with the FCA team and Tim Hill, who is an awesome leader and super excited to serve alongside us," he said. "Kirk Handy has been involved in our ministry for a number of years and has been a big proponent for bringing FCA Hockey to Lynchburg, seeing the need to bring the Gospel to the hockey world down there. We will be bringing some people who are passionate about the game of hockey, but even more passionate about the love of Christ."

From May 23-26, more than 60 youth participated in Team FCA (for players ages 14-19) and Junior Team FCA (for players ages 8-13) Hockey Camps at the LaHaye Ice Center after previously conducting them in Lynchburg for the first time in 2016. Similar FCA Hockey camps are ongoing this summer in Minnesota, North Dakota, Texas, and Nebraska, leading up to the Chowder Cup tournaments in Boston from July 9-28.

"It was awesome," Randazzo said of the Lynchburg camps. "It was a great camp. We bring in a lot of volunteers at all different levels, and 22 staff who served as coaches flew in from all over the country. We do the same thing for our Warrior Fellowship programs, working with one of our Army Ranger instructors and a group of volunteers that are heavily engaged."

In 2016 and 2017, the Flames' DI men's hockey and men's lacrosse teams benefited from the Warrior Fellowship training program, an intensive weekend-long test of players' physical, mental, and spiritual fortitude started by a former U.S. Army Ranger and conducted by former military personnel, sports psychology coaches, and collegiate and professional players and coaches.

When FCA Hockey was in its early stages of development, the Randazzo's traveled around the nation living for 30 days in all 50 of the United States to establish a nationwide presence. Since setting up headquarters in Minnesota in 2018, the organization has focused on running camps and building teams in the Midwest, with a total of 20 boys and girls teams featuring players from 16 different states competing in up to four offseason tournaments held in the spring, summer, and fall. Another six boys' teams and one girls' team will compete in the Chowder Cup.

FCA Hockey is a family affair for the Randazzo's. Aaron Randazzo, the second-oldest son who played goalie at the Air Force Academy for one year, serves as the goalies coach. He is currently at Marine Corps Officer's Candidate School and is enrolled in Liberty's School of Aeronautics.

Additionally, Addison Randazzo, who earned his associate's and bachelor's degrees online through Liberty and previously taught Liberty University Online Academy classes for FCA Hockey Academy players for four years, delayed plans to travel as a missionary in Papua, New Guinea, this summer to serve as an intern and help with the FCA Hockey's transition from Minnesota to Virginia, where he may join the staff full-time.

"It has been a family ministry from the time it started," Rick Randazzo said. "All of our kids serve big-time, which is something we've ingrained into them. We are a family of servants, as we have trained them since they were young on how to serve the hockey community."

The Randazzo's oldest son, Alex, graduated from Liberty University's Online Programs with a BFA in Film Production & Creative Development. He wrote the screenplay – and played the lead role – for the movie "Lonesome Soldier" that was released worldwide in November.

Next summer, from June 29-July 3, 2025, the Greater Lynchburg FCA will host a Mid-Atlantic multi-sport camp at Liberty for the first time, drawing participants from throughout Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, North Carolina, and West Virginia. The camps will utilize Liberty's facilities for basketball, football, baseball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and volleyball. FCA Hockey has yet to finalize its 2025 camp schedules but could potentially offer a camp that week as well.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer

FCA Hockey moving its headquarters from Minnesota to Lynchburg in September

Players Mentioned

Jackson Vercellono

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