Football team supports coach, cancer fighting faculty

Miss-Delectable · 10-16-2009, 01:04 AM

WBIR.com | Knoxville, TN | Football team supports coach, cancer fighting faculty

Tennessee's School for the Deaf is the site of perhaps East Tennessee's quietest football field, but Thursday night it hosted one of the regions loudest calls for advocacy and support.

"Three teachers have breast cancer here on campus, including my wife. So, I thought it would be a good idea to have everyone understand breast cancer awareness month," Dick Henley, the school's head football coach and athletic director said.

Before the game, players and coaches painted two large pink ribbons at mid-field. The battle to defeat and detect breast cancer is one Henley has spent an entire season teaching his team.

As the team plays their weekly games, his wife is undergoing treatment at home.

"She lost one of her breasts and then was on chemo medicine for 3 weeks," he said. "She is doing a lot better now, she's improving very much."

It'd be tough yardage for any family to pick up. Through it all, Henley says his football family has helped make him a more supportive husband to his wife.

But Thursday, the team had one more surprise.

"Our team decided we should have pink socks and surprise the coach," Mike Carver, a senior said.

What started as one senior thinking he'd go pink alone ended up as an entire roster racing down the field with pink ankles.

"I kind of wanted us to have pink gloves, but we didn't have the money for it, so we decided socks were definitely better than nothing," Senior Dakota Thompson said.

"We'd like to show our support for him and the teachers and we're proud of what he does for us," Carver said.

Thursday night, that pride was evident in their coach's reaction.

"It really impressed me a lot," Henley said.

That admiration came before the home-team Vikings, in a flash of pink, destroyed North Carolina School for the Deaf by 37 points.

10-16-2009, 01:04 AM	#1 (permalink)
Miss-Delectable Capt Tony Nelson, Jeannie Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: No.1 Shopping Capital in Australia Posts: 10,238 Blog Entries: 3	Football team supports coach, cancer fighting faculty WBIR.com \| Knoxville, TN \| Football team supports coach, cancer fighting faculty Tennessee's School for the Deaf is the site of perhaps East Tennessee's quietest football field, but Thursday night it hosted one of the regions loudest calls for advocacy and support. "Three teachers have breast cancer here on campus, including my wife. So, I thought it would be a good idea to have everyone understand breast cancer awareness month," Dick Henley, the school's head football coach and athletic director said. Before the game, players and coaches painted two large pink ribbons at mid-field. The battle to defeat and detect breast cancer is one Henley has spent an entire season teaching his team. As the team plays their weekly games, his wife is undergoing treatment at home. "She lost one of her breasts and then was on chemo medicine for 3 weeks," he said. "She is doing a lot better now, she's improving very much." It'd be tough yardage for any family to pick up. Through it all, Henley says his football family has helped make him a more supportive husband to his wife. But Thursday, the team had one more surprise. "Our team decided we should have pink socks and surprise the coach," Mike Carver, a senior said. What started as one senior thinking he'd go pink alone ended up as an entire roster racing down the field with pink ankles. "I kind of wanted us to have pink gloves, but we didn't have the money for it, so we decided socks were definitely better than nothing," Senior Dakota Thompson said. "We'd like to show our support for him and the teachers and we're proud of what he does for us," Carver said. Thursday night, that pride was evident in their coach's reaction. "It really impressed me a lot," Henley said. That admiration came before the home-team Vikings, in a flash of pink, destroyed North Carolina School for the Deaf by 37 points. __________________

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