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Kicks against Breast Cancer © Women's Soccer World July /August 1997
By Charles Isenhart

The international game of soccer has traditionally given its participants a chance to be part of something bigger than themselves. Witness the regular fixtures organized by FIFA to benefit the United Nation's children's fund or Julie Foudy's journey to Pakistan. Before endorsing Reebok, the U.S. national team player vetted the company by ensuring for herself that child labor did not figure into its ball-manufacturing process.

Eight NCAA Division I women's teams advanced this consciousness on behalf of the common good by participating in a Kicks Against Breast Cancer tournament hosted by the University of Maryland, April 19-20, 1997. Maryland was joined by George Mason, George Washington, Old Dominion, Rutgers, Navy, Kansas and South Carolina Universities in raising more than $30,000 for the Claudia Mayer Cancer Resource and Image Center at Maryland's Howard County General Hospital.

George Mason defeated Rutgers on kicks from the penalty spot to win the championship, while Maryland defeated Navy in a similar fashion for third place. Maryland coach Alan Kirkup praised the tournament as a unique opportunity to expose players to a significant amount of high-level spring competition, which the NCAA limits to five "dates." Each team fit four games of 35-minute halves into the two days of the event. Kirkup said the tourney gave him and other coaches a chance to test younger players who tasted little regular-season action. "This tournament had some spice," he said. "We're very pleased with what it offered, not only in the way of competition, but also for the charity aspect."

A youth clinic featuring U.S. internationals Carin (Jennings) Gabarra and Shannon Higgins-Cirovski exposed more than 50 youngsters to workouts like those they run for the teams they coach: Navy and George Washington respectively.

The event was organized by Louise Waxler, a board member for Maryland Youth Soccer, a member of USSF and chair of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America women's committee. The tournament honored her friend and well-known soccer supporter Claudia Mayer, who died of breast cancer November 1 at age 47. Mayer's life was recalled for the "indomitable courage and spirit that made her concerned for others until the day she died." The Mayer Center will serve as an information clearinghouse on breast cancer and provide a consulting service to help women with cancer enhance their appearance.

"The response we received from the coaches and players was overwhelming, especially after the Saturday evening banquet," Waxler said. "I believe that everybody in the room was touched by the significance of the weekend." Waxler said the soccer games were secondary to the cause, so her goal is to make the event an annual one. "Maybe we (the women's soccer community) can make a difference and aid in the research to save lives."

Mayer's husband, Dr. William Mayer - a practicing gynecologist and obstetrician - spoke passionately at the tournament banquet about the ravages of breast cancer. He pointed out that as many as one in eight of the women players in the room may some day come down with the disease.

U.S. national team assistant coach Lauren Gregg was also on hand to lend moral support to the effort and reinforce the message. "What's important is how we're coming together in communion, with our love for soccer and hope for the future," Gregg said. "You have a responsibility to give back to the sport," she observed, specially challenging the players who have won a college education through soccer. "The irony of giving is that the gifts keep coming back to you."

Gregg continued: "The most important thing in life is who you are while you do what you're doing. What makes players great is what you do in those little moments when no one is watching you. This is the lesson national team players had to learn, and they're trying to teach about these choices as coaches. Instead of throwing that away, I want that to become part of our fabric."

Gregg had put together a highlight tape of the U.S. women's Olympic team victories, which mesmerized the banquet attendees.

Other sponsors of the tournament included the Baltimore and Capital Area referee associations, Maryland State Youth Soccer and the Washington Area Girls Soccer League. Following the banquet, which was as much a celebration as it was a memorial, Women's Soccer World selected the University of Kansas players as the best dancers and the Naval Academy women in their white uniforms as the best-dressed.