Arizona Tribune - Who Are You Without the Game? Pro Athletes Share What They've Learned About Faith, Pressure and Identity

SCOTTSDALE, AZ / ACCESS Newswire / August 17, 2026 / For athletes, identity can become tangled up in numbers: wins, stats, playing time, rankings and roster spots. Zach Vogel knows what happens when all of that disappears.

Vogel, executive director of Scottsdale-based nonprofit Identity Sports, is the author of "True Identity: An Athlete's Guide to Finding Peace in All Circumstances," a new 31-day Christian devotional that challenges athletes to separate who they are from how they perform.

The book brings together stories from professional and collegiate athletes across baseball, football, golf and more. Among those featured are PGA TOUR golfer and multiple major champion Scottie Scheffler, World Series champions Clayton Kershaw and Dansby Swanson, Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Cam Little, seven-time LPGA Tour winner Angela Stanford, Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray and former NFL linebacker and two-time Pro Bowler Lorenzo Alexander.

They are just a few of the athletes and sports figures whose experiences appear throughout the 31-day devotional, which also includes stories from rising players, former professionals and competitors navigating the pressures and transitions that come with life in sports. Their experiences explore a question that reaches far beyond the scoreboard: What happens when the thing you do becomes the way you define yourself?

For Vogel, that question became personal when he was young. At 8 years old, he experienced a frightening medical event on the baseball field but was initially misdiagnosed and continued playing. Two years later, at age 10, he received the diagnosis that changed everything: He was told he could no longer play sports. Baseball was more than a game. It was the future he imagined for himself. In an instant, the identity he had built around being an athlete was shaken. The years that followed brought anxiety, depression and isolation, experiences that would eventually shape both his work with Identity Sports and the message behind "True Identity."

"When baseball was taken away, it felt like my identity was taken away with it," Vogel said. "I had built everything around what I did and who I thought I was going to become. When that disappeared, I didn't know who I was anymore."

A turning point came through Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Vogel began to see the verse differently. Rather than a promise that every goal would turn out as planned, it became a reminder that faith could provide strength when circumstances did not.

That idea sits at the heart of "True Identity": A person's worth cannot rest on something as temporary as a scoreboard, starting position, career or championship.

The devotional is organized around four themes:

• Foundation: Separating identity from performance before pressure and expectations take over.

• Pressure: Navigating perfectionism, comparison, competition and the need to prove yourself.

• Adversity: Finding perspective through slumps, injuries, being benched, closed doors and unexpected endings.

• Purpose: Looking beyond achievement to understand how faith, leadership and calling shape life during and after sports.

Each day pairs an athlete story with a biblical principle, reflection questions and prayer. The stories move through nearly every stage of an athletic career, from chasing success and dealing with expectations to navigating injuries, career changes and the moment competition ends altogether.

"Understanding our identity in Christ is freedom," Vogel said. "It allows us to play like a kid again, enjoy the process and give everything we have without letting the scoreboard define us."

The message is not limited to athletes. Vogel says the same struggle can surface anywhere people begin measuring themselves by achievement, career, status or outside approval.

"I pictured myself sitting down with that 10-year-old kid in the darkness and pain and being able to tell him that he wasn't alone," Vogel said. "Every athlete and every person goes through hard things. There is power in talking about it and understanding that it is OK to not be OK."

For Identity Sports, "True Identity" is an extension of a broader mission to create conversations about faith, competition, adversity and purpose. The nonprofit reaches athletes and sports fans through live events, podcasts, digital content, devotionals and other faith-based resources.

Identity Sports also plans to launch Bible studies for different age groups and communities across the country, giving readers a way to continue exploring the themes of the book together.

For Vogel, the end goal is bigger than helping athletes handle their next win or loss. It is giving them a foundation that remains when the uniform eventually comes off.

"The game was never your identity. And it was never your final assignment," Vogel said. "God's plans for your life don't expire when your circumstances change."

"True Identity: An Athlete's Guide to Finding Peace in All Circumstances" is available on Amazon. For more information about "True Identity," upcoming Bible studies and Identity Sports, visit identitysports.com and identitysports.com/devotionals.

About Identity Sports

Identity Sports is a nonprofit Christian outreach ministry dedicated to helping athletes and sports fans find their true identity in Christ. Through live events, the Identity Sports Podcast, digital content, devotionals and faith-based resources, the organization provides athletes with a platform to share stories about competition, adversity, purpose and faith. Learn more at identitysports.com.

Media Contact Information

Holly Morgan Media
[email protected]
(480) 888-6074

SOURCE: Identity Sports

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

A.Taylor--AT