At each Grandparents’ Day mass, Father Flood, the Dowling Chaplin, captivates the audience with a personal story about his youngest sister. As he stands confidently on the podium, all people listen intently to the steps his family took over the years to raise a newly adopted baby girl. He speaks about the adventures he and his sister experienced growing up together and the ways he saw God work through her. This past year, Father Flood ended his absorbing narrative with a happier ending than past masses, for he shared the news of another addition to the family, this time a brother. His sister was soon to be married to Coach Adam VanErsvelde of Dowling, a good friend of Father Flood. Reflecting on the homily, a theme emerges as Father Flood shared this good news; family runs deeper than blood.
Rewind back to the year the beloved Coach VanErsvelde came to Dowling Catholic High School.
It was the year of Covid, and he was looking to continue his strength and conditioning coaching expertise with highschoolers. His experience working in fitness and aiding college athletes from the University of Northern Iowa has proven his quality experience. “Coach V is a relational coach who pushes his students to the best of their abilities,” says Annalise Grant, Dowling athlete.
A lifting session in his early days here seemed to kick start the friendship between VanErsvelde and Father Flood in the Dowling weight room. VanErsvelde recalls Father Flood saying to him, “there’s a good chance that I’ll throw up, but I’ll finish.” This quote made VanErsvelde laugh then and still does to this day. He knew by that comment that they shared a similar mindset and would make for close friends.
The faith aspect here at Dowling especially piqued VanErsvelde’s interest in his beginning months. The spiritual component at Dowling was what drew him closer to not only God, but to a community and family. He began to flourish, and his preconceived notions that faith was a one-man journey were proven wrong. He never would have thought he would find a brotherhood to join him in mass, reconciliation, and push him to try new things. VanErsvelde immersed himself into faith activities at Dowling and is also a proud mentor for the admired Ut Fidem faith club.
The summer of 2023 brought a spontaneous pilgrimage to Italy for VanErsvelde, Father Flood, and other Dowling staff. VanErsvelde states the expedition was met with many challenges, but that was expected, and they were ready to take it on. Even with excessive amounts of turbulence and heat, VanErsvelde claims he “knew he was going there for a reason.” The team went to adoration daily, having God and a brotherhood to lean on in the face of hardships in a foreign place. One day, a papal mass with the Pope of Rome was taking place inside the beautiful Saint Peter’s Basilica. The determined group of men managed to slip inside the Basilica for mass, despite the overcrowdedness. VanErsvelde says this was a highlight of the trip.
The friendship between Father Flood and VanErsvelde extended outside school and into family bonfires. Father Flood was a natural wingman for VanErsvelde, persuading him to reach out to the youngest Flood sister. VanErsvelde says from then on, “it was history.” This past summer, VanErsvelde and his match celebrated their wedding inside a local church in Des Moines. Sure enough, Father Flood and his brothers played a huge part in the wedding and celebrated mass for the couple.
VanErsvelde claims that everything in his life has seamlessly come together since starting his journey at Dowling. Each day, he is surrounded by people who inspire him, like the Flood family, who serve in the halls of Dowling Catholic High School. VanErsvelde hopes to “focus on his faith, family, friends, and fitness to create the best future possible” while he continues his career as a teacher, leader, and husband.
