After being a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes since sophomore year, senior Sam Baer feels like she is a part of a tight-knit community.

“I think our bond has become a lot tighter and people feel more in a safe environment to talk and share their opinion and I think it’s just been more meaningful as we’ve met more,” Baer said.

Baer said Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) allowed her to connect her faith and her sports together.

“(FCA) has taught me a lot about how I can use my faith in my sports and I think what’s helped me the most is seeing other high schoolers who have this want or desire for their sports and their faith to be together,” Baer said. “It’s helped me connect to people on a deeper meaning and get farther and accomplish more in my sports.”

According to former FCA adviser Tim Sension, Baer role modeled a balance of sports and faith for other students in the club.

“One of the things that always impressed me about Sammi is her commitment to being great as an athlete,” Sension said. “She also kept it in perspective in that she knew sports were just one part of her life and it certainly wasn’t the most important part.”

Sension said he believes FCA helped club members create a bond with other students of the same faith.

“I know that for her and the others, just to have that support group was very helpful — to be able to know that not only are there other Christian kids but Christian athletes in St. Louis Park, and to be able to support each other,” Sension said.

According to Baer, FCA allows high schoolers to relate to each other through faith and sports.

“It’s a place where I can talk and learn from other people who are my age about what they’re doing to grow within their faith in sports and how they see that aspect of their life,” Baer said.

Baer said she feels sad FCA hasn’t been able to meet yet without an adviser, but she wants to be patient in order to find the right fit for the club.

“I’d like to be meeting with (the new adviser) and getting to talk about (faith and sports), but I think it’s really important to find the right adviser, and I wouldn’t want to rush it,” Baer said. “I would rather have it be a safe environment than have an adviser who doesn’t want to be there and isn’t comfortable with it.”

Sension said he hopes the club can get up and running soon.

“Hopefully they can get things going right away again and get the kids back meeting again and get them back where they can (meet in the morning and) start their day out again on a great note,” Sension said.

Baer said she’s looking forward to starting meetings once an adviser is found.

“I’m actually really excited to have a new adviser. I loved our old one, but I think just hearing another person’s perspective will really help us all,” Baer said.