HS BASKETBALL: Coaches vs. Cancer Media Day unofficial start to season

SCRANTON — New venue. Same purpose.

On Sunday, the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Northeast Pennsylvania Media Day was held at the Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium for the first time. It was announced that the historic venue will continue to host the event every year Sunday before Thanksgiving.

Girls and boys teams from the Wyoming Valley Conference and Lackawanna League, as well as Pocono Mountain West, were on hand to interact with each other, take pictures for social media and do interviews for the upcoming season, which tips off Friday.

A 3-point shooting contest also was held. Jordan Shaffer of Abington Heights was the boys winner with 20 and Riverside’s Kylie Williams was the girls winner with 12.

More importantly, their attendance was to learn what they and their schools can do to continue the initiative started here years ago by former Scranton Prep coach Andrew Kettel.

“It’s a great event, but an even better cause,” Scranton Prep player Packy Doherty said. “It’s a great thing to have all these teams come together to kick off the year and learn more about Coaches vs. Cancer and all that it brings. It’s great to see kids that I’m going to be playing against and building better bonds with them.”

This area leads the way in fundraising efforts for Coaches vs. Cancer. Six of the top 10 high schools in the nation are from District 2, with Valley View ranked No. 1. Dunmore and Scranton were again ranked and this year they were joined by Susquehanna, Montrose and the annual Pink Game between Abington Heights and North Pocono.

“First of all, you need some great coaches and teachers involved,” Valley View principal and former boys basketball coach Larry Pegula said. “We have our school nurses who help us and a great committee that has already had a few meetings this year trying to plan our Coaches vs. Cancer event that goes on for two weeks. So really it’s getting everyone involved. Not only our athletes, but the entire Valley View community.”

Heather Winn, a teacher at Montrose, was the force behind her school making the national top 10. She walked into her principal’s office last year with the lofty goal of raising $5,000.

“That amount went on everything we did. Every announcement, every poster,” Winn said. “We involved the whole school. We got people to donate coins. We got pledges for rebounds, a quarter per rebound, which sounds like nothing but it really does add up. We had students play penny wars and games.

“The goal was high, and I wasn’t sure we were going to make it. But our coaches and athletes assured me, ‘Mrs. Winn, we’re going to make the money,’ and they did. And we had a good time.”

This year, the hope of the local initiative is to try to have the national top 10 be all schools from Northeast Pennsylvania.

Mike Joseph, former Hazleton Area coach and current Coaches vs. Cancer NEPA board member, said he can understand why coaches might be hesitant to get involved. But he insists it is easy; that no idea is a bad idea and every dollar amount matters.

“Early in the season, coaches are worried about scrimmages, the beginning of the season. It’s a little intimidating that this is something they have to put on their plate,” Joseph said. “But lean on people you can trust to carry out what you want done, whether it’s selling T-shirts, collecting money at a game — get the cheerleaders involved. You could have car washes, you could have raffles. And don’t try to raise $20,000 the first year. Two-hundred dollars, $500, $1,000. My first year we raised $181. Every little bit helps.

“Look at what Northeastern Pennsylvania has done. We’ve become spotlighted because of the money raised for this.”

Joseph added that everybody has a different reason for getting involved or knows someone who has been affected by cancer.

Mid Valley was affected in October when former athlete Eddie Kaufman died at age 20 after a one-year battle with leukemia. So this year’s Coaches vs. Cancer initiative has a little more meaning.

“He was a great role model to everybody and it was terrible to see him go through something like that,” Mid Valley girls basketball player Parker Bennett said. “So I think this is a great way to raise money and it’s super easy. We do raffles and make announcements over the loud speaker at school, just telling everybody to show up and come out and support. Posting on Facebook and Instagram is a really big thing that we do, too.”

Once again, a Suits and Sneakers Week will be held Jan. 26 to Feb. 1. However, schools can choose any game throughout the season and designate it as a Coaches vs. Cancer game.