Club Details

• Meetings are held most Fridays throughout the school year from 6:30-8:00 PM at St Timothy School. The main focus is developing virtue and friendship with Christ.

• The boys are divided into Juniors (2-4th grade) and regular Club Members (5-8th grade). Each group is led by a high school age leader and supervised by a Virtus-trained adult.

• The meeting consists of :
  
  • Sports
    
    • During nice weather, members play soccer, kickball, football, manhunt (a tag variation), or volleyball on the sports fields behind the school. Juniors either join in the main sport or use the playground.
    • In colder/wetter weather, we use the gym for basketball, dodge-ball, etc.
    • Although there is a healthy sense of competition, the older boys set an excellent tone by encouraging and instructing their fellow club members.
  • Faith Formation
    
    • Club Members-One of the high school leaders will go over a gospel reading and reflection and give a short talk on a specific virtue and our friendship with Christ. Collectively, the members will decide on a specific practice to reinforce this over the following week (helping with chores, practicing acts of kindness with siblings, saying extra prayers, examination of conscience, etc).
    • Juniors-Their leader presents a saint story, frequently stopping to review the facts of the story and awarding “points” for paying attention, good behavior and correct answers. “Virtue cards” are used to motivate the Juniors to work on obedience, friendship, charity, etc. throughout the week. Parents review the cards each night and award points for successful practice of the virtue. The cards are reviewed at the meetings by the adult.
  • Dynamic Activities
    
    • Club Members-This portion of the meeting is aimed at reinforcing a virtue and knowledge of our faith. Examples include skits, “catechism baseball”, preparing for an upcoming apostolic activity (posters, retreat prep, etc.), guest speakers, adoration, games and the like.
    • Juniors-crafts, skits, a snack, and age appropriate games
  • Mentoring
    
    • At some meetings, Virtus-trained Brothers or Priests from the Legionaries of Christ are present to participate in sports and other activities with the club. Their presence gives the boys examples of young, joyful men who have dedicated their lives to serving God.
    • The Legionary brothers and other adult leaders also offer mentoring in the form of brief, informal one-on-one conversations with club members. These conversations, although private, take place in the same public areas where the rest of the club is meeting and are aimed at encouraging the boys to live virtuous lives, particularly by fostering holy relationships with parents, siblings, and friends: helping them grow in friendship with Jesus Christ.

Conquest prepares boys for Christian adulthood by showing them ways to live out their faith through service to others. These Apostolic works usually take place outside of regular club meetings and have included:

• Halloween for the Hungry
• Faith Surveys
• Nursing Home visits
• Helping the CCD office with the First Communion Retreat
• Conducting an annual Good Friday Retreat for K-3rd graders
• Father-Son Movie Night
• St Vincent de Paul Food Drive

These fun activities help the boys strengthen their friendships. (Most of these involve little or no additional member expense as the membership fees are used to subsidize the cost.)

• Bowling
• Laser Tag
• Faith based movies
• End of year picnic

• Legionary Brothers and other adults from Mission Network, a youth apostolate of Regnum Christi, offer several programs that bring other Conquest clubs together from the region. This is a unique aspect of the program that is very popular with the club members. Although the club experience is complete without participating in these regional activities, most club members attend at least some of them. Many deep friendships have developed during these programs, particularly friendship with Christ!

• Many of these programs take place at Camp Castleton, a rural retreat/camp located a little over an hour away in Amissville, VA. (directions) The grounds include a small house with a chapel, sleeping areas for adults and a large kitchen, a pavilion with cots for the boys to sleep in, fields for tent camping, sports fields, bonfire pit, outdoor mass area and even trenches for outdoor battle games.

• Conquest Summer Day Camp at St Timothy
  
  • Every summer, the Conquest boys club sponsors an exciting week of sports, water balloons, and above all, becoming better friends with Christ!
• Weekend Retreats at Castleton
  
  • Boys in 5th-8th grades, dads are welcome. There is also an annual father-son campout for boys in 2nd grade and up and their dads.
  • Retreats begin Friday night at 7:00 PM and end at 12:00 PM on Sunday.
  • Activities include Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, virtue talks and games, sports, public speaking activities, team competitions, obstacle course, outdoor laser tag, bonfire with s’mores, and much more!
• Conquest Cup
  
  • Friday PM-Sunday at Castleton in late May/early June.
  • Culmination of the club year. Throughout the year clubs have accumulated points for meeting attendance and apostolic and integration activities. During this weekend, a sports tournament rewards final points, followed by a ceremony at Our Lady of Bethesda where clubs and individual are recognized with awards.
  • Sports Tournament, Mass, Adoration, Talks, Water Slide, Bonfire, etc.
• ECYD Summer Camp
  
  • Week long camp for boys ages 10-13 at Castleton
  • Daily Mass, Confession, Paintball, Sports Tournament, Formation Talks, Faith Survey in DC, Operation Bluemantle (Scavenger Hunt/Group Problem Solving)
• High School Retreats–Weekend Retreats for club leaders-focus on leadership.

• Ignition-An amazing 4 day high school retreat over New Years in New York.

• An updated Calendar.
• Email reminders are sent regularly with club news and updates. Sign up by sending an email to Sam Kanazeh.
• A parent information meeting is held the first meeting of the school year.

• Club Dues are approximately $90 per member per year (to be determined for 2015-2016)
• Dues include club membership, t-shirt and club kit
• Dues subsidize many of the integration activities, resulting in no nominal fees for these.
• Additional fees for retreats and other Mission Network Activities are paid directly to MNA
• The club makes an annual donation to the Legionary brothers to support their participation in the club.

• The Club is run by high school members with adult supervision
• All adult (18 and older) volunteers must be Virtus trained
• Fathers are encouraged to participate in the supervision of the club. Not only is this necessary for safe club operation, but it sets an essential example of the importance of the father’s faith in the eyes of the club members.
• The Club President is Sam Kanazeh, 703-994-5159.