Players competing in this week's NAIA Region I softball tournament hosted by OIT will be wearing pink ribbons like this as a way of supporting College of Idaho softball player Amy Rhoades, who is redshirting this season while battling breast cancer.
Softball Players Supporting One of Their Own
A College of Idaho Student's 'Rhoades' to Recovery
PORTLAND, Ore. – Players and coaches participating in this weekend’s Region I softball tournament in Klamath Falls will have a lot more on their minds than just trying to earn a spot in the NAIA’s national championship field.
They’ll also be thinking of a fellow Cascade Collegiate Conference student-athlete, College of Idaho’s Amy Rhoades, who is redshirting this season after being diagnosed with breast cancer last fall.
According to Concordia coach Carrie Kosderka-Farrell, players from all four teams involved in this weekend’s regional – host Oregon Tech, College of Idaho, Simon Fraser and Concordia – have agreed to wear pink ribbons as a sign of support to Rhoades and as a way to raise awareness and money for her medical expenses. In addition, the souvenir Region I T-shirts will include a silkscreen of the pink ribbon which has become synonymous with the Komen Foundation and its race for a cure.
“During the course of the season a number of the softball coaches in the Cascade Conference started discussing ways we could help Amy through this difficult time,” said Kosderka-Farrell. “We really wanted to do something in a physical way to show our support for her. We arrived at the idea of pink hair ribbons, and we received 100 percent support from the coaches in this week’s Region I tournament.”
During the two-day tournament, which gets underway Thursday at 9:30 a.m., Oregon Tech officials will be accepting donations to help offset Rhoades' medical expenses.