Think Pink Week

Say that 10 times fast!!

As my Mom and Steph were sitting in chemo last week, Steph was contacted by a reporter for the Springfield News-Leader about a campaign that she is heading up. Here is a copy of the article and here is the link http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080211/SPORTS0102/802110343 Steph came up with the slogan and Jarad (my brother) did a great job with the shirts. They look great! I can't wait for next year because Steph has already picked a slogan and it's even better! So enjoy the article and ladies, take a minute to check your breasts! It could be fun!

Local teams join cancer fightGirls' basketball teams from area high schools to wear pink this week to promote awareness.

Michael Stacy News-Leader

It might be difficult to distinguish between different girls' basketball teams around town during warm-ups this week, because several of them will be sporting the same shirts.

The girls' teams at Central, Glendale, Hillcrest, Kickapoo and Parkview — and a handful of their opponents — will don pink gameday T-shirts in conjunction with the "Think Pink" initiative, a national effort sponsored by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research.

Kickapoo coach Stephanie Phillips is spearheading the local effort. Diagnosed with colon cancer in August, Phillips has continued to teach and coach while fighting the disease.

When Phillips suggested the pink shirts to her fellow coaches, they jumped at the opportunity to support the cause and show solidarity with Phillips — even if, for some, it meant compromising their sense of style.

"I'll be honest with you, I hate pink," said Central coach Dan Stander, who will join his players in sporting a pink shirt. "But I can't think of a better time to wear it."
Like Stander, Parkview coach Keri Nichols was eager to support the effort. Nichols, in her first year at Parkview, said she is impressed with the way the city coaches have come together for a common cause.

"It's a true testament to how the coaches are a great group of people whose first concern is helping kids have great character and become successful people," Nichols said. "(It's) showing them that there's other things out there that we can do to help make our community better."

Proceeds from T-shirt sales will be donated to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.
But financial support for the battle against breast cancer is only part of the equation this week; raising awareness is just as important as raising funds. The T-shirts shed light on the significance of such awareness. Emblazoned with the slogan "Hand Checks Allowed," the shirts make a humorous allusion to a very serious subject --the importance of vigilance in the fight against cancer.

"It's really important to raise awareness about taking care of your body and getting things checked out," Phillips said. "If it causes one person to go get checked out that wouldn't have, we've made a difference." Such vigilance is important, Phillips said, because nobody is immune from the impact of cancer; everyone has been touched by the disease in some way.
Indeed, in talking about the "Think Pink" promotion, Nichols mentioned her mom, Evelyn, a breast cancer survivor. Stander spoke of an aunt whom he lost to cancer and a cousin who beat cancer and will likely be in attendance as the Lady Bulldogs don pink this week.

And then, of course, there's Phillips.

"I think it puts a whole new perspective on life and... just how valuable that is," Glendale coach Renee Temple said.

The national "Think Pink" effort was inspired in large part by another basketball coach who, like Phillips, is fighting cancer. North Carolina State women's coach Kay Yow is currently battling breast cancer for the third time.

"I can't imagine being her and being that strong and that tough," Phillips said. "She's still coaching; that's really motivation for me, because this is just my first time."
While Phillips finds inspiration in the example set by Yow, other coaches look no further for inspiration than the Kickapoo coach.

"Even though she's sick, she's still out there trying to beat (cancer) for other people," Stander said. "I get my strength in coaching from Stephanie Phillips."