HISTORY OF ATHLETE OUTREACH
Founder - Dr. Bruce Engelman
Bruce has traveled throughout America transforming losing or mediocre athletic programs into state champions on the high school level and national champions on the college level. He also works with Major League Baseball as well as wrestling, hockey, soccer and basketball on the high school and college level. Dr. Engelman has been a part of Athlete Outreach for 42 years.
Our Story
Athlete Outreach Int. was born one fall evening in 1981. It was past midnight on a Friday, and Bruce Engelman was driving home to see his family in western Pennsylvania. Bruce was working at a Youngstown, Ohio, television station, and the drive would typically take about
2 1/2 hours from Youngstown to Home, Pennsylvania.
Just outside of Butler, PA, about an hour into the drive, Bruce witnessed a large flume of smoke and a cloud of dust rise up from the roadway ahead of him on Route 422 East. As he approached the scene, he quickly ascertained that a very bad accident had just occurred.
There were no cell phones and no other cars had stopped to help. It was a little town called Mount Chestnut, and as he stopped to render assistance, he noticed that a car with three teenage boys had hit a tanker truck head-on. Bruce crawled into the car to help, and observed there were beer cans all over the back seat and on the floor boards. By the time the ambulance and state police arrived, he was drenched in blood.
It was this experience that God used to ignite the Athlete Outreach Ministry. Bruce’s heart broke for these three teenaged-boys whose lives had been altered forever by alcohol.
A year later the Lord allowed Bruce to speak to the number one state high school football team in Struthers, Ohio. 31 football players trusted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, and the team made the play-offs for the first time in years. The following year, 35 players at Griffith High School in Indiana were saved under legendary head coach Les Thornton. They, too made the play-offs. Bruce would then go on to speak to two high school football teams in Chicago, and Athlete Outreach was born.
Now, three decades later, we have spoken and ministered to high school, college, and professional teams in 39 states and several foreign countries. Literally thousands of athletes have been saved through trusting Christ and making Him Lord of their lives.