Well, last weekend another successful Lacrosse for Leukemia Tournament was held at St. Paul's School and a milestone was reached. After 11 years of holding the event, the $1 million dollar mark was reached for total giving. Orange wrist bands, commemorating the life of one young man who recently lost his battle with Leukemia, were everywhere as a reminder of how serious this fight is. The crowds were good, the weather was beautiful, the lacrosse was terrific, but the stars were the kids with Leukemia who inspired us all day long, each of them possessing more worldly maturity than most adults and carrying more than we would ever wish for a child to bear. But their disease is a fact they deal with every day (Read my previous post, which includes an interview with John Valenti, father of Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia survivor Matthew Valenti).

As far as the action went, I saw pretty good fall efforts from Delaware, St. John’s, Towson, Rutgers and UMBC, as well as the Hopkins, Maryland, Rutgers and Loyola women’s teams. I only caught a moment of the Penn State and Towson women’s teams, which was a shame. The Towson coach, Missy Foote, was instrumental in getting the women's teams involved this year from what I hear. And the women’s teams really responded to the kids there. The Loyola team warmed up in T-shirts devoted to one of the kids. The Towson team brought their honored teammate, a little girl fighting cancer, a wagon filled with gifts. Seeing her rip apart the wrapping paper on her gifts and the reactions of the Towson team gathered around was special and embodied the spirit of the event. It’s really about these kids who are at the varsity level of life’s struggle at such young ages.

While a million dollars is a lot of money, I would have thought after 11 years, we all might have raised a bit more. Lacrosse is a rich game, played by rich people. When I look at the faces of those kids and hear the words of those female lacrosse players who lost their friend to the disease (the first video below), I feel like our game as a whole could do more. I am not criticizing the charity or the teams that participate -- they are stellar and have earned my respect and gratitude for their good works. But perhaps we all could dig a bit deeper and give ‘til it hurts. Even you can still help. If you enjoy the videos below, you can still show your appreciation and give to this great cause at these links:

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Matthews Foundation

Emotional ceremony at the tournament:

Towson vs. Rutgers men's lacrosse at the tournament:

UMBC vs. Mount St. Mary's men's lacrosse at the tournament:

Delaware vs. St. John's men's lacrosse at the tournament:

Maryland vs. Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse at the tournament:

Loyola vs. Rutgers women's lacrosse at the tournament: