Aidan Roy’s grandfather is currently in the hospital battling lung cancer.
So for the Holliston High senior soccer player to be invited to participate in the inaugural A Shot For Life Courage Cup, a hybrid event that involves raising money for cancer research and a soccer game, was an honor.
“To be able to help raise the amount of money I did and help people in the future is huge,” said Roy, a goalkeeper. “Especially with the type of cancer treatment we (raised) money for being so successful – it looks as if progress is coming.”
Like Roy, Marco Perugini and his family have been negatively affected by cancer.
When the Medway High senior was invited to play in the ASFL Courage Cup this past weekend at Union Point Sports Complex in Weymouth, Perugini didn’t hesitate.
“ASFL is an amazing program (that) does so much good for the community,” said Perugini. “When they invited me, it was a no-brainer to join the family.”
A Shot For Life (ASFL) came to life after Mike Slonina set a world record by shooting a basketball for 24 straight hours in 2011 – a year after his mother, Betsy Cullen, was falsely diagnosed with a brain tumor. Slonina, ASFL’s founder and CEO, created the non-profit organization to raise funds for health and cancer research initiatives.
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The ASFL Courage Cup is the soccer sibling to other sporting events like the ASFL Challenge (Basketball), ASFL Baseball/Softball Home Run Derby and Pitchers Challenge, and the ASFL Clash Against Cancer (Lacrosse).
“They are a hybrid between a fundraiser and a competitive athletic event,” Slonina wrote in an email. “These initiatives started in 2013 and are unique, talent-based fundraising initiatives where players go through a scouting and interview process before they are selected.
“Each of our athletes (are) representing our organization on and off the field, and character is equally important to talent in the selection process.”
On Saturday, high school boys’ soccer players from across the commonwealth participated in a star-studded game that raised over $75,000 for brain cancer research at Massachusetts General Hospital.
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Team Gray won the inaugural match, 6-3. But winning or losing was the farthest thing from everyone’s mind.
“(It was an) absolutely amazing experience being able to play in a game that had a greater meaning behind it,” said Perugini, a Daily News All-Star and Union College commit who scored two goals for Team Gray. “I was able to play with some of my lifelong friends and it was all for a good cause.”
“I had a great time at the game,” said Framingham High senior Ben Sharon, also a Daily News All-Star for soccer this fall. “It was such an honor playing alongside such incredible players and even more of an honor to play for such an important cause.”
On Jan. 28, ASFL will host the first-ever girls’ soccer event. For Nipmuc Regional High School senior Josie Hayes, a goaltender like Roy whose grandmother is battling lymphoma and breast cancer, it was a privilege to make it through the ASFL’s scouting and interview process, and become part of the organization’s extended family.
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“My favorite part about ASFL is how enthusiastic they are about helping others,” said Hayes, who will play soccer at Siena College. “They use their passion – sports – to raise money and awareness for the cancer research done at Mass General. ASFL is not just a team or a charity organization, it’s a family.”
For Slonina, it’s a family he started 13 years ago. And he’s happy to expand it into a new arena this year: soccer.
“ASFL Soccer has been in the works for a long time and we’re excited to roll the ball out and bring it to life,” Slonina said. “… Like any new initiative, we’re looking for a strong first step. I know our incoming ASFL soccer players are very excited about being the beginning of a new tradition in Massachusetts. Everything that ASFL Soccer accomplishes moving forward will be because of what our current players are doing now.
“We are very proud that they are the beginning of a new ASFL chapter.”
Tommy Cassell is a senior multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @tommycassell44.
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