Campus Crusade For Christ & Jonathan Thie

The Christian faith is extremely important to Jonathan Thie, and always has been.  That’s why it should come as no surprise that Thie joined Campus Crusade for Christ when he first went off to college in 2001.

Passionate about his belief in Christ, Thie joined Campus Crusade for Christ (often referred to as ‘Cru’).  Cru’s mission statement is to share Christianity with others, both on campus and throughout the rest of the world.  For someone so passionate as Jonathan Thie, Campus Crusade for Christ was the perfect opportunity.

Jonathan Thie was an active member of Campus Crusade for Christ from 2001 to 2006, and then again in 2010, four years after he graduated from South Dakota State University.  Now, Jonathan Thie is involved in academics and faith once again, working as Head Coach of the men’s tennis team at St. Thomas More, a Catholic high school in South Dakota.

Jonathan Thie believes that his experience at Campus Crusade for Christ during his college years was instrumental in strengthening his faith in Christ.  Today, he’s a man who loves others, and loves serving them – at least that’s always his aim. Jonathan Thie is passionate and dedicated to making a difference in the world.  His deepest desire is to leave an impact on those around him, and to change the circumstances of the less fortunate in the world.

If you’re a college student now, Jonathan Thie seriously urges you to consider joining Campus Crusade for Christ.  For him, it was a life-changing experience, and he knows that many others felt the same way about it. Jonathan Thie believes that joining Campus Crusade for Christ can give you more strength about your faith, as well as a strong network of fellow Christians that you can have for support.  Even now, years later, Jonathan Thie is still friends with many of his old Cru friends.

Jonathan Thie: Long-time Member of FCA

Jonathan Thie has spent seven years of his life as an active member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA).  Throughout his high school years and a portion of his college years, Jonathan Thie was an active member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

For those who aren’t familiar with FCA, it’s a nationwide organization that focuses on promoting Christianity and Christian values (like good sportsmanship, honesty, and integrity).  Students typically meet once a week to hear a speaker or to worship together.

Like many of his high school peers, Jonathan Thie wasn’t only a member of FCA.  He also became a member of Campus Crusade for Christ in 2001, as he entered college.  Thie’s experience with Campus Crusade for Christ was another important experience in his college career.

FCA was an integral part of Thie’s high school and college experience.  He volunteered with the organization, regularly participated as a member, and also made many friends through the group.  It seems that not too much has changed for Jonathan Thie, who is still an athlete and at a Christian school today.

Jonathan Thie is currently the Head Coach of the men’s tennis team at St. Thomas More, a Catholic high school in South Dakota.  As the head coach, Jonathan Thie doesn’t just try to make his players better tennis players, he also tries to push them to become better people.

Jonathan Thie thinks that his years of experience in FCA have helped him understand just a little bit more of what it means to be a great athlete and a strong Christian.  He hopes to inspire his students to not only be better tennis players, but also to hold themselves to higher principles and standards of integrity, honesty, and sportsmanship.

Jonathan Thie – The Importance of Volunteering

Despite his busy life as a professional tennis instructor and coach, Jonathan Thie is an avid volunteer.  Thie believes that few things in life are more important than giving back to others with your time, money, and energy.  As a Christian, he believes that he’s called to constantly love and give of himself to others.

Most recently, Jonathan Thie volunteered in Sioux Falls at a banquet, which was an ecumenical meal service for the poor.  However, he’s also volunteered as a Christian Service Volunteer at O’Gorman High School, where he worked with grade school children in the Catholic School System.

However, the most impressive activities on Thie’s volunteer resume date back to a little over 10 years ago.  In 1999 and 2000, Jonathan Thie participated in a major volunteer project.  He collected athletic shoes and all kinds of sports equipment through Catholic Relief Services.  The equipment that Jonathan Thie and friends collected was then shipped to children in the Dominican Republic.

Jonathan Thie received a Prudential Public Service Award for his impressive efforts.  At the time, he was only 17 years old.  Though that particular act of volunteering was mainly independent, Jonathan Thie has also volunteered through two organizations that have been major parts of his life: Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Campus Crusade for Christ.

If you’re interested in volunteering, Jonathan Thie has these tips to help you get started:

• Pick something your passionate about.  It will make the experience more rewarding.
• Start small, and don’t over commit.  You can always increase your hours later.
• Look for ways you can take on more responsibility with the volunteer organization.  Everyone’s on a different path, but Jonathan Thie has found that the more responsibility he had, the more he enjoyed the role.
• Remember to have fun!

Working in the Country Club: Jonathan Thie

Jonathan Thie learned a lot of life lessons at the country club.  No, not lessons about lounging poolside or spending 63 consecutive days on the greens.  Rather, Jonathan Thie grew up working for his local country club.  At the young age of 14, got his first country club job.  He continued working, learning the ropes of the business until he went away to college.

While studying at South Dakota State University, Jonathan Thie decided to major in Family Consumer Sciences and Hotel/Restaurant Management.  He graduated with his Bachelor of Science degree in 2006.

His background and experience at the local country club helped spur him onward to becoming a customer service professional. Jonathan Thie then spent two and a half years after graduating working in the hotel and restaurant management business.  The work was challenging, but Jonathan Thie was up for it.

However, great customer service wasn’t the only lifelong skill that Jonathan Thie learned while working at the country club.  He also was able to improve his tennis game with his spare time. Jonathan Thie became quite the talented tennis player, and was recognized for his skill.

He started playing more seriously at college, earning a spot on the NAIA National Team at University of Sioux Falls in 2003.  Then, a few years later in 2006, Jonathan Thie was a Division 1 Tennis Player at South Dakota State University.

Today, Jonathan Thie isn’t still working at the country club.  However, he’s still hard at work playing tennis.  And, also, he’s literally “at work.” Jonathan Thie is the Head Coach for the men’s tennis team at St. Thomas More, a private Catholic high school in South Dakota.

Jonathan Thie thinks that his years of work and experience with the local country club were exactly what he needed to make the achievements that he’s now celebrating in life.

Leading By Example: Jonathan Thie

Jonathan Thie is a tennis instructor and coach.  However, he’s also a strong, Christian man who cares about others, and is interested in loving and serving them at all times. Jonathan Thie is committed to making a difference in the world, and wants to have an impact on those around him (including his students), as well as those who are less fortunate than himself.

Though Jonathan Thie believes charity is a good way to show this love to others (he’s an active volunteer, himself), he believes that leading by example is the best way to show others love, and encourage them to act similarly.

Working as a tennis coach, Jonathan Thie knows that his actions have a significant impact upon the students he spends so much of his time with.  Thie believes that if he really wants to make a difference in the world, the most important thing he can do is to spend his time actively making a difference in the lives of his athletes.  This is done by leading by example.

Questions to Ask As You Lead By Example

Jonathan Thie tries to ask himself the following questions as he makes decisions and leads by example in front of his students…

How would this action be interpreted by a student who witnessed it out of context?

How would a parent feel about this action?  Positive, negative, or neutral?

What would our team be like if every single player made the decision I’m making right now?

How could I make this moment into a teaching moment – without lecturing?

Am I taking the higher road right now, or am I acting childish?

These are just a few of the questions Jonathan Thie tries to ask himself before making important decisions in front of his athletes.  By thinking through the answers, Jonathan Thie hopes that he will be able to lead by example in a mature way, thereby making his athletes not just better players, but better people.

St. Thomas More Tennis With Coach Jonathan Thie

Jonathan Thie is the Head Coach of the Men’s tennis team at St. Thomas More, a private Catholic high school in South Dakota.  He recently led the team to earning 12^th place at the South Dakota State Tournament.  The year before he took this position, Jonathan Thie was the Assistant Women’s Coach.  In 2011, he helped the women’s team earn 6^th place at the South Dakota State Tournament.

For Jonathan Thie, coaching tennis on a high school level has been a challenging, but invigorating, experience. Jonathan Thie had experience teaching children ages ten and under, as well as coaching a Junior Tennis team.  However, he had never coached high school prior to taking on these two coaching positions at St. Thomas More. 

Coaching high school students in tennis presented Jonathan Thie with some totally unique challenges that he had never faced before.  When tennis players reach high school age, some of them are at the level where they could potentially go professional.  Their physical condition and mental understanding of the game has finally reached a point where – talent and training provided – they could become professional tennis players.  Of course, the “talent and training provided” caveat is a critical one.  Nevertheless, it makes the significance of the coach’s role more important than ever.

Jonathan Thie loves this fact about his job as Head Coach at St. Thomas More.  He hasn’t turned any players pro yet, but he hopes that when the right set of players come along he’ll be able to take the team to being the very best in the state, and beyond!

Additionally, Jonathan Thie has been so successful with St. Thomas More because of his various forms of certification.  Thie is certified by the Professional Tennis Registry and the United States Professional Tennis Association as a “Certified Tennis Professional.”

Jonathan Thie – Tennis Instructor for Autistic Children (2011)

Jonathan Thie is proud to have been a tennis instructor for autistic children in 2011.  The position pushed the tennis coach and instructor to be better than ever before.  It challenged him as a tennis player, coach, and person, but also came along with its own set of rewards that he wouldn’t have been able to imagine prior to taking the position.

Though Jonathan Thie would never recommend that every teacher take on this unique challenge, he believes it was the best thing for him to do at the time.  At that point in his career as a tennis instructor, Thie had experience in teaching children ages ten and under.  He had been teaching that age group for two years when he agreed to begin teaching autistic children.

When he started, Jonathan Thie believes he didn’t quite have a good idea of what he was getting into.  At first, Jonathan Thie thought that teaching autistic children would present an exciting new challenge that would push him as a teacher.  However, he quickly realized that teaching autistic children was a much more strenuous challenge than he first expected.

In many cases, Jonathan Thie struggled with a communication barrier.  Because some autistic children are very quiet, it can be difficult to get feedback on understanding concepts.  This forced Jonathan Thie to change his teaching style from one that was rooted in verbal communication to one that relied heavily on demonstration and physical repetition.

As Jonathan Thie began reconstructing his teaching methods during 2011, he found that some of the same principles were applicable in the other classes he taught.  Today, as Head Coach of the men’s tennis team at St. Thomas More, Jonathan Thie is using some techniques that he learned as a teacher of autistic children.