Should athletes pray to win a game? A praying, preaching, putting Minnesota pastor answers.

When we heard that Bethel University’s men’s golf coach was just named lead campus pastor for the Christian college, our first thought was: Has he ever prayed to make a putt?

Nick Cocalis, 39, is a former pro golfer who once played on the PGA Tour Latin America. He was named head coach of the men’s golf program at Bethel in 2019, leading the team to win its second Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship title in 2023 and was last season men’s golf coach of the year for the conference.

This summer, he was also named lead campus pastor at the Arden Hills school, preaching twice a week in the campus chapel.

“From chipping and putting to preaching and prayer, Nick Cocalis can do it all,” is the way a university news release described the coaching pastor, who is finishing up his master of divinity degree at Bethel Seminary.

We talked with Cocalis about the role of religion and sports and whether God will hear our prayers that the Vikings will finally win a Super Bowl. This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Q: What are the similarities or differences between being a pastor and being a coach?

A: I think there are more similarities than differences, that’s for sure. I see my role in both roles is to walk alongside young men and young women here and get the best out of them. I believe God has created everyone for a purpose, and my role as a coach or my role as a pastor is to walk alongside these young men and women at Bethel and help them understand and then achieve that best, that greatness of what God has for them.

Q: You sometimes see athletes or teams praying before a game. What are they praying for? What should they be praying for?

A: Our ultimate goal is not to win. Our ultimate goal is to be at our best. When we are at our best, we are living in freedom that comes from Christ. When you see a group of Bethel athletes praying before a game, we’re praying for things like, “God, give us the freedom to compete. God, give us peace of mind so that we can be at our best. God, give us wisdom so that we can use our minds. God, give us grace so we can be great teammates and great competitors.”

Ultimately, I would say our prayer is prayer of gratitude and thankfulness that we’ve been given the gifts to compete. What a gift. What an honor. And I pray that we don’t take that lightly.

Q: Is it OK for a fan to ask God to finally let the Vikings win a Super Bowl? Does God care about something like that?

A: I think God cares about everything because he cares about us, for his children. I would ask a father of a child, does that father care if his child wins his game? Yeah, I think he cares. But he also has a perspective that it’s not everything. I think God looks at us the same way.

I think God cares a lot more about how we handle that win or loss, how we honor him in that, how we represent him in that, how others are drawn closer to him because of winning or losing. I think God, ultimately, he wants to hear from us. He wants to hear our voice.

I think it’s a beautiful thing to pray about anything. Whether or not God’s plan falls in line with our plan for victory, that’s another question. That’s where our faith and trust comes in, that his plan and desire for us might be slightly different than ours.

Q: Have you ever prayed to sink a putt?

A: I have, yeah.

I remember when I was playing at a high level, competing at a professional level, wanting to win so badly, understanding what it might mean for success, for my life. I remember losing a ball over in the right rough, and my caddie and I were looking for it. At the time, you had five minutes to find your ball. And the clock is going down. Four minutes. Three minutes. Two minutes. And I remember I started praying. Man, I was praying. “God, help me find this ball. Lead me to it. Show it to me. Let me find this ball.” And we did find it.

I was reflecting on that later that night, and I just felt so convicted that if I prayed for people that were hurting, if I prayed for people that were hungry, if I prayed for people that didn’t know my God and my savior like I prayed for that lost golf ball, man, I feel like I could have more impact in the world than finding that silly white ball.

Q: Sometimes after a win you see athletes thanking God for their victory. Is that the right thing to do?

A: I would say it’s the right thing to do to acknowledge God in victory or defeat. When I watch those interviews on TV, there’s a difference between saying, “God, thank you that I won,” and “God, thank you that you gave me this opportunity and today I happened to win.” It’s a small difference, but I think it’s a significant difference.

I think God is a part of both victory and failure on the course or in a game, and I really respect athletes that are able to acknowledge that they wouldn’t be there without God, who’s blessed them and provided them with the gifts and talents to be there.