The Little Things That Matter in the Big Game
Specific Things Any Young Person Can Do
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It was a Friday night in February. I was sitting about seven rows up at mid court with my mother. My husband, Steve, was in the front row with his brother and sister-in-law. We were watching as the Varsity Boys Basketball coach, Dan Harwood, stood with our son, Patrick, at center court. I looked around the gym as the entire crowd erupted in thunderous applause. Then the chanting started… “Patrick…Patrick…Patrick…” That moment will remain frozen in my memory forever. My heart swelled in that moment. But, Patrick had not made the game winning shot. He was not named MVP of the game. In fact, Patrick was only nine at the time. He was a nine year old with cancer. So, how did we get to that moment?
This is going to be a story with a lot of main characters. There is an entire Varsity basketball team along with coaches and families. But this is not really a story about basketball. Then there is Patrick. At the time, he was in the middle of a long and rigorous chemotherapy regimen to treat Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. But this is not really a story about a little boy’s battle with cancer. This is a story about how 13 extraordinary young men along with their exceptional coaches and families changed our son’s life and ours as well. They asked for nothing in return.
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About the Book
What did a high school varsity basketball team and a nine-year-old boy with cancer have to do with each other during the 2010–2011 season? The basketball team encouraged and lifted up the nine-year-old. The nine-year-old encouraged and lifted up the basketball team. This is the story of how a local high school basketball team helped my son, Patrick, through the difficult chemotherapy he was receiving to treat stage three acute lymphoblastic lymphoma. They didn’t know anything about Patrick other than that he was a big fan when the season started. As the season went on, all thirteen players began to reach out to Patrick; eventually he became part of the team. Their interactions and support gave Patrick windows of time when he was not a cancer patient. He was a fan and a teammate. Patrick served as an example to the team that there is more to life than basketball. He showed them that life is “The Big Game” and that the little things really do matter. “I think this is a great story, and all young athletes should read this. It reminds us all that there is always somebody watching you and you are making a difference in their life, one way or another.” —Dan Harwood, teacher and basketball coach at Magruder High School
About the Author
Kathy Boehlert is a wife and the mother of three boys. When her youngest son, Patrick, was diagnosed with lymphoma at the age of nine, her family began a journey of heartache and fear. It was also a journey of incredible inspiration and support. Kathy and Patrick lived this story along with the rest of their family. They decided to share their account with everyone. The Boehlert family resides, attends school, works, and supports the Magruder Colonels in Montgomery County, Maryland.