From Performance to Purpose: Competing with Freedom in Christ

In this episode, Zach Vogel is joined by guest cohost and Lipscomb University Woman’s golf coach, Shannon O’Brien. The two sit down with Brooke Riley, assistant women’s golf coach at Stanford University, to talk about faith, identity, and competing with freedom.While faith was present early on, God often sat on the back burner, and Brooke’s identity became rooted in being a “Christian athlete” rather than fully walking with Christ.Everything began to shift during her freshman year of college. After not making the starting lineup her first semester, her identity was stripped away, exposing how much she depended on performance and affirmation. Through discipleship and getting into the Word, Brooke realized what was missing in her relationship with the Lord. By the end of January of her freshman year, she fully surrendered her life to Christ.Now as a coach, Brooke shares how she lives out her faith through the way she loves and leads her players, and how to compete from a place of being loved rather than defined by performance. We also talk about navigating constant evaluation, freedom in Christ, and how rest itself is an act of worship.This episode is a powerful reminder that we can pursue excellence, compete to win, and remain fully Christ-centered.