Lax community shows up for MILLERSTRONG Classic

by Aaron Gray
agray@digitalsports.com

(Picture slide show and 30 video clips below)

Sarah Miller put together the plans for the MILLERSTRONG Lacrosse Classic in a mere two months, which spoke volumes of her effort considering the great turnout and overall success for the inaugural event at Crofton Park (Md.) on Sunday.

Miller's son, Matt, just graduated from DeMatha Catholic High School, was a standout lacrosse goalkeeper and recently overcome testicular cancer. Along with Matt's stepfather, Alan Jacobson, the trio set out to raise funds and awareness for cancer and tapped the local lacrosse community for a helping hand.

They responded in numbers.

"I didn't expect these many people to show up," said Matt Miller, 17, who last week picked up a lacrosse stick for the first time since completing nine grueling months of chemotherapy and numerous surgeries.

"It means a lot. For all these lacrosse players to take time out of their schedule -- I know lots of people had (Major League Lacrosse) games and summer games. We raised a lot of money for the foundation and brought some awareness to the cause so it was a great time."

Over 500 paid spectators attended the event, which was run by over 100 tireless volunteers. The main spectacle was the 60+ lacrosse players on the field, a group that included Division I collegiate and professionals players. Before the game, during a special tribute, each player took a knee after the name of the "cancer warrior" they were playing in honor of was announced.

"It really puts things into perspective," said recent Severn School graduate Nick Elsmo, who led the Team USA under-19 squad to a world title this summer and will play at Virginia next year.

"We're all out here having fun and at the same time, we remembering all those who we wish were still out here playing."

It was an inspiring event that players and coaches from across the country wanted to be a part of, Susan Miller said. She only had 50 jerseys made for the game but was overwhelmed with the response from players wanting to show their support.

"We knew the power of the lacrosse community and how awesome it is," she said. "We thought, let's take that and use it. So after Matt's second surgery, we knew we wanted to have a game to give these top players the opportunity to honor those people they know who have gone through cancer. But we also wanted to bring awareness."

Testicular cancer is the No. 1 cancer for men 15 to 39 years old. Each year, approximately 7,000 to 8,000 new cases are diagnosed in the United States and about 400 men die. The number of new cases diagnosed annually in the United States has doubled among white men over the past two decades, the cause of which is unknown. The good news is that testicular cancer is one of the most curable forms of cancer.

Yet, among teens and young adults -- which is the age group Miller's "We Believe" Foundation focuses on -- there has not been an increase in cancer survivorship for the last 20 years.

"One of the big reasons for that is not getting a check-up," Sarah Miller said. "The reason why the survivorship doesn't increase is because the detection doesn't happen until later down the road. When we're young, unfortunately, we think we're invincible. They key is to get that check-up on a regular basis and hopefully, we can catch it early."

One of the main goals for the "We Believe" Foundation is to raise funds in order to provide financial support for people fighting cancer.

Each player started the game with special yellow sticks that were auctioned off at halftime, just one of the many fund raisers that countless people took part in during the event.

"This event is just going to get bigger and bigger," said Southern coach Brendan Brace, who helped coach one of the teams in the exhibition. "It was pretty cool to see this amount of kids show up to something like this. So many people showed up to give their time and effort."

The game attracted players from 22 different college programs along with close to 10 players with professional experience. Once again, it was the whole idea of "community" that cut potential vacations short, altered other game schedules and brought these special players together.

"I think the great thing about it was that players from all across the area wanted to help out and contribute to a great cause," said Harry Alford, a former standout goalkeeper at Maryland, who also played professionally in the MLL. "We're here for the kids and the cancer survivors. It's been a blast."

When the auction winners were called, Susan Miller, the MC at the event, asked if they wanted to take home one of the commemorative sticks or if they wanted to actually play in the game with a collection of some the best talent in the country. Most of the younger kids jumped at the amazing opportunity to compete with the country's elite players while the older winners just stuck with the souvenir.

Some of the youngsters also warmed up with the players before the game, competed in the speed shot and got autographs during lulls in the action.

"Oh yeah, that's a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing for those kids," said Matt Miller, who will attend Drexel University in the fall and hopes to play lacrosse there.

Miller played the whole second quarter for his team -- despite his mother's vocal request for him to take a breather with about a minute left -- and was just happy to be in front of the cage again.

"It felt really good especially considering I haven't been doing much since my surgery," said Matt, who officially made his lacrosse return last week when he helped out at a camp. "Just to be in a lacrosse atmosphere again meant a lot to me."

Matt summed up the past year of his life as a "crazy experience." While DeMatha went undefeated in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and took home the league title, Miller suited up in white hospital clothes instead of his goalkeeper pads.

"In a sense, it's sort of been a bad and a good thing," the Bowie, Md. resident said. "We've created this huge foundation but I had to suffer, too."

Before he went back to the game, Miller offered some advice to other cancer patients who are currently in the fight for their lives.

"Just don't let the whole thought of cancer get your positive thinking down," he said. "I just kept thinking I could make it through this and here I am today, trucking along."