Drew van Esselstyn
Drew van Esselstyn
I have been on full-time staff with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes since January 2015, focusing on impacting the lives of coaches and athletes in the Capital Region of Virginia. That area extends from Hanover to Southampton counties … and everything in between.
Growing up in a military family, I spent time as a child in Virginia, South Carolina, England, Hawaii and California. Everywhere we went, the power of sport as a universal language and immediate connector was exceptional ... and incredibly formative for my life. Eventually, I played varsity tennis after maxing out as a too-small, too-slow wing player in basketball and a middling (read: bench) utility player in baseball.
I found my way to the school newspaper at James Madison University. I spent the first 20 years of my professional career as a sports journalist -- covering high school sports throughout Virginia, and then as an editor helping plan daily and long-term coverage at the Washington Post, Miami Herald and Star-Ledger.
I was drawn to FCA through a series of events that could only be from God. I wasn't involved with FCA as a kid, but I somehow knew it was absolutely the next right thing when a job opening literally dropped into my Twitter feed a few years back. That started an awesome journey that has me right here, serving Him and serving you throughout the Richmond area -- praying that our corner of the world would be transformed by Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes.
My wife, Nicole, and I have been married since August 1995. We have two children: Abby, a foster care/adoptions social worker in Henrico County, and Dalton, who lives and works in Wheaton, Ill.
