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4th annual Coaches vs. Cancer basketball game to take place
Credit: Courtesy of Amanda Cosenza
WHS’ Girls Basketball team presents a check of $4,391 to the American Cancer Society. “We sell t-shirts for 10 dollars to raise money for the Coaches vs. Cancer program, and all of the money goes to the American Cancer Society,” Cosenza said.
January 13, 2017
This coming Friday, Wayland will be hosting the fourth annual Coaches vs. Cancer Basketball game against Weston High School. It is an event that has attained great success in past years, and organizers hope that this year’s will be even better than last.
The goal of the Coaches vs. Cancer Basketball game is to fundraise for the American Cancer Society. The Coaches vs. Cancer association is a nationwide program that involves both the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches, and Wayland is just one of the towns they collaborate with. Coach Amanda Cosenza, the girls’ basketball coach, has been a chief organizer of this event since the beginning.
“We sell t-shirts for 10 dollars to raise money for the Coaches vs. Cancer program, and all of the money goes to the American Cancer Society,” Cosenza said.
There are games between the girls’ and boys’ JV and varsity teams, each at different times. JV girls will play at 4:00 PM, varsity girls will play at 5:30, and varsity boys will play at 7:00. During warmups for the games, players from the teams will wear the t-shirts in order to encourage spectators to buy their own and help the cause.
In addition to the t-shirts, the school also donates profits from the school store and the concession stand.
“Our goal this year is to raise around 2,000 dollars,” Cosenza said.
This high bar is set not only to aid the fight against cancer, but also to pay tribute to Wayland’s own Jim Griffin.
“[The t-shirt] has the initials JG on it. That’s for Jim Griffin. He was a Wayland guidance counselor, and a girls’ basketball coach,” Cosenza said. “He passed away 5 years ago today from pancreatic cancer.”
In fact, it was in honor of Griffin that the event began, according to Cosenza. Every year since the events creation, the t-shirts have included Griffin’s initials, and in some years larger dedication ceremonies were held in his honor.
Cosenza plans on keeping the tradition going after this year. She recalls that prior events have been successful, as alumni and the greater Wayland community have contributed towards their charitable fund. Cosenza hopes the event will perform just as well as those preceding it, but says that plans for the future won’t hinge on this year’s success.
