Heroic football coach to speak at Orange Bowl Prayer Breakfast

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes will honor student-athletes, coaches and communities that are committed to making a difference in young people’s lives through faith and fellowship at its 44th annual Orange Bowl Prayer Breakfast.

Sponsored by Baptist Health South Florida, the prayer breakfast will take place on Monday, Dec. 29, 7:30 a.m., at Jungle Island, 1111 Parrot Jungle Trail. Players and coaches from Mississippi State and Georgia Tech, the teams playing in this year’s Capital One Orange Bowl game, are scheduled to attend.

The event will feature keynote speaker Coach Frank Hall, a teacher and football coach who helped to chase away an active shooter at Chardon High School in Ohio and saved countless lives. In addition, Michael Barrow, a former University of Miami Hurricanes Football player who went on to play 13 seasons in the NFL and was inducted into the UM Sports Hall of Fame in 2005, also will make remarks.

In one defining moment on Feb. 27, 2012, a student armed with a semiautomatic gun opened fire on classmates in the school cafeteria where Mr. Hall was monitoring study hall. Upon hearing what he initially thought to be firecrackers, he jumped to his feet and chased the gunman out of the building. Then, he returned to the cafeteria to comfort and pray for those who were hanging on to life.

Three students died and several others were injured that day, but many more lives were protected because of the courage of Coach Hall. Although not in the Cleveland Browns uniform he had dreamed he’d be wearing as a child, Mr. Hall was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in June 2013 in an article titled “A Coach’s Courage.” He has also been featured on 60 Minutes on CBS.

After leaving Chardon that year, Hall became head coach at Lakeside High School in his hometown of Ashtabula, OH. Hall and his wife, Ashley, along with their six sons, live in Jefferson, OH.

The event is open to the public. Tickets for the Baptist Health Orange Bowl Prayer Breakfast are $30 each and sponsorships for tables of 10 start at $500. For ticket information, call 786-752-0845 or send email to NWilbanks@fca.org. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The event also will feature raffles for exclusive travel and leisure prizes.


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