Kicking a habit is hard; kicking a disease is harder. Led by the pink-uniformed soccer teams and connected by the same cause, the school community rallied for Kicks Against Cancer on January 13 to do the latter.

“I’ve never seen so many people at a soccer match before,” receptionist Luanne Stanley said. The stands were filled with students, faculty, alumni, and parents in pink t-shirts, which were sold as $10 admission tickets toward varsity soccer’s fundraiser.

Despite finishing 1-2 against Pinewood, the girls played strongly and felt united by the cause. “It’s the first time we’ve played so well as a team… before, we felt kind of chopped up. I guess the whole event brought us closer together,” Siobhan Cox (9), who scored the goal, said. The boys were victorious with a 3-1 score against Crystal Springs Uplands School. Aaditya Prakash (12), Stefan Eckhart (12), and José Costa (12) scored the goals, one being a penalty kick.

At the start of the match, the players’ names were announced along with the names of the people they were playing in honor of. Pink roses and multi-colored satin ribbons were woven into the fence on Davis Field: white to honor a loved one who died from cancer, purple to celebrate cancer survivors, and pink to support the ones who are currently battling the disease.

Ashley, Dean of Studies Evan Barth’s daughter and survivor of cancer, blew the opening whistle. “For the pain that she went through, these nice little rewards are cool,” her father said.

According to girls’ soccer coach and math teacher Troy Thiele, the seed of a soccer fundraiser had been planted in the current senior players’ minds in sophomore year. They seized this year to mobilize the event. “I think I would actually like to see soccer take some ownership of this, and just pick a game every year [to do this],” Head of Upper School Butch Keller said.

Besides funds from the t-shirt sales, the breast cancer programs at South Bay’s American Red Cross will benefit from the referees’ game salaries. “I was asked to and it was an easy decision,” referee Peter Fletcher said, regarding his donation.

In addition, $150 was donated by the faculty for each Eagle goal scored. “I felt really proud of myself for scoring the goal and for doing something that would help fight cancer… I was also doing it for Mr. Near,” Prakash said.

At press time, $2500 was Thiele’s preliminary estimate for total funds raised, but he expects the final count to be a bit higher.
In the end, the efficacy of the event was due to many peoples’ personal connection to cancer according to Keller, who lost both parents to the illness. “When it hits your home, it just takes on a different level,” he said.

As a cancer survivor, Daniel Hudkins, Director of Instructional Technology, offers one piece of advice for people undergoing treatment: “Live your life. Don’t just be a host for a tumor.”