Kicks for the cure

   The memory is still fresh. One day grandma is doing fine helping out with Thanksgiving dinner or getting the decorations ready for the Christmas tree. The next she is coughing up blood and being diagnosed with cancer.
   For Head Coach Jose Vasquez his grandmother was the first in his family to be stricken with the disease.
   “In the last five years I lost my grandma, I lost my uncle to lung cancer, then my cousin died from bone cancer,” said Vasquez. “It was a domino effect.”
   The next domino fell when his wife went in for a routine checkup. Vasquez and his wife were planning their third child when doctors discovered something wrong and diagnosed her with cancer.
   “I was in shock when I found out she was diagnosed,” said Vasquez. “I thought about having to be a single father.”
   His wife, Roxanne, overcame her illness. With the help and support of family and her husband close by her side, she survived. Even with her survival, the thought of the cancer returning is still in the back of Vasquez’s mind.
   “To this day we haven’t tried for our third child. We are scared that she might have it again next checkup, scared that they will tell her that she might not have that much time to live,” Vasquez said.
   In response, the coach started putting together an idea that he had when he was a pro. After talking to SAC Sports Information Coordinator Jason Kehler and Women’s Head Coach Jodi Coffman, the plan was underway for the first Kicks for the Cure doubleheader.
   With every seat filled and the crowd cheering, both teams put on pink gear in support of cancer awareness.
   For one player, defender Sidney Corbin,
it brought back memories of when his mother battled breast cancer. Corbin slipped on his pink cleats and stepped on the field playing in honor of his mother.
   “When she had cancer I was scared because I loved her,” Corbin said. His mother survived and is alive today.
   During the doubleheader the women’s team dominated the Hornets 6-0 while the men shut out Fullerton College 2-0. However, the scoreboard didn’t tell the whole story. After the game, Vasquez went straight to Roxanne and held her close.
   There is a plan underway for Kicks for the Cure to return next year with the entire Orange Empire Conference participating.
   Coach Vasquez knew his grandma was watching down on him from heaven. She can smile, proud of her grandson. Vasquez can smile knowing he paid tribute to her and others stricken by cancer.