“Everyone has a cancer story and it touches everyone,” said Head Girls Basketball Coach Jeff Stanek.  This Friday, both Centennial and the David Douglas Scots will be wearing pink T shirts; the Eagles will also be wearing pink uniforms.

About six or seven years ago, Oregonian Mark Elmblade had a set of pink basketball uniforms made for boys and girls in honor of a loved one he lost to cancer.  Emblade has no connection to any high school; he just wanted to raise awareness.

He made these uniforms available for schools who sign up for them. These uniforms have been all around the state. To use them, coaches sign up, wash them, and send them to the next school.

This year, a local T-shirt company made 180 pink shirts for athletes to warm-up in and for students/parents to buy and wear to the game. During the game buckets will be passed around for people to donate money and that money will be donated to a cancer society.

Stanek started doing this 8 or 10 years ago right after his mom passed from cancer. His sister came to some of the pink out games right before she passed four years ago, and she loved it.

This pink out game is going to be a very emotional one. Many people, like Stanek said, have a cancer story and having both teams honor and play for people with or for people who have passed from cancer, no matter how long ago or how recent, is a very remarkable thing.

¨I think it’s important for kids to know the signs,¨ said Stanek.  “This is an emotional night for me, but it’s important.”

The pink out game is this Friday.  Shirts will be sold at the student store during all three lunches.