CHICAGO- Saint Xavier University's women's soccer team has put forth effort the past 3 years, to promote breast cancer awareness and raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Each year, the team creates a T-shirt design, and sells the T-shirts in the cafeteria a few weeks before the game. At the game, T-shirt sales continue, along with a raffle table of prizes such as signed Chicago White Sox baseballs, or signed pictures from the Chicago Bears, and other homemade items or other prizes that parents of the team donate. This past year, the Men's Soccer team and the Football team also joined forces, and participated in the day's events as well, wearing pink sweat bands and pink athletic tape in their home games that day as well. All the proceeds that the team makes goes to the Susan G. Komen foundation, and so far, the team has raised over $10,000!
The idea for this event actually came from the team's assistance coach, Evan Strehlau: "I was watching a White Sox game on TV and they were using pink bats, for breast cancer awareness. and I also heard about teams wearing pink jerseys in other sports, for breast cancer month (October). So I thought, why don’t we (SXU WSOC) do something like that. I have an aunt that survived breast cancer and a grandma who at the time had breast cancer, and last July past away from it. I knew other players on our team knew many who had/have breast cancer or other forms of cancer, so it would hit home. I brought the idea to Coach Ekeler, and he didn’t think twice about it. My idea was just to wear pink jersey, but it snowballed into raising money, selling t-shirts, wristbands, raffles, etc.. All the credit goes to the girls and their parents; they came up with all the ideas on how to raise money and putting the things together. I also have to give credit to A&R Screen Printing, cause every year they donate all our jerseys the team wears."
The Cougars also invite a deserving member of the community to be the honorary captain for the game. Two years, they invited a girl still in high school, Julia Janes, who had played soccer her entire life until she found out that she had cancer in her knee. The next year, she came back, cancer free, and was honored again at the game again. This event is a main way that the team demonstrates it's family atmosphere. The whole team helps with sales and promotion, and the parents also are there before and after the game to help set up and sell raffle tickets.
"I think Cougs Kick Cancer is the best thing our program does, the best thing I've been involved in as a coach, and as good as any event put on by our athletic teams" says head coach, Jeremy Ekeler. "In some ways I think it's greater than winning championships because we're fighting something that affects so much of society and we're doing it in a way that represents SXU and our community in a positive light. I think it's so important for college students to be involved in something like this. Cougs Kick Cancer has become our calling card. It's the thing recruits ask me about, it's the T-shirt people all over the area are wearing, and it's contributed an impressive amount of money to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. One day when breast cancer is eradicated, we'll be proud to say, 'We were a part of that fight. We are a part of this victory.'"
Click Here for more information on Saint Xavier Women's Soccer.
The idea for this event actually came from the team's assistance coach, Evan Strehlau: "I was watching a White Sox game on TV and they were using pink bats, for breast cancer awareness. and I also heard about teams wearing pink jerseys in other sports, for breast cancer month (October). So I thought, why don’t we (SXU WSOC) do something like that. I have an aunt that survived breast cancer and a grandma who at the time had breast cancer, and last July past away from it. I knew other players on our team knew many who had/have breast cancer or other forms of cancer, so it would hit home. I brought the idea to Coach Ekeler, and he didn’t think twice about it. My idea was just to wear pink jersey, but it snowballed into raising money, selling t-shirts, wristbands, raffles, etc.. All the credit goes to the girls and their parents; they came up with all the ideas on how to raise money and putting the things together. I also have to give credit to A&R Screen Printing, cause every year they donate all our jerseys the team wears."
The Cougars also invite a deserving member of the community to be the honorary captain for the game. Two years, they invited a girl still in high school, Julia Janes, who had played soccer her entire life until she found out that she had cancer in her knee. The next year, she came back, cancer free, and was honored again at the game again. This event is a main way that the team demonstrates it's family atmosphere. The whole team helps with sales and promotion, and the parents also are there before and after the game to help set up and sell raffle tickets.
"I think Cougs Kick Cancer is the best thing our program does, the best thing I've been involved in as a coach, and as good as any event put on by our athletic teams" says head coach, Jeremy Ekeler. "In some ways I think it's greater than winning championships because we're fighting something that affects so much of society and we're doing it in a way that represents SXU and our community in a positive light. I think it's so important for college students to be involved in something like this. Cougs Kick Cancer has become our calling card. It's the thing recruits ask me about, it's the T-shirt people all over the area are wearing, and it's contributed an impressive amount of money to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. One day when breast cancer is eradicated, we'll be proud to say, 'We were a part of that fight. We are a part of this victory.'"
Click Here for more information on Saint Xavier Women's Soccer.
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