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EAGLES’ PRIDE
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2015-2016
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For more than a decade, St.
Thomas Rugby has stood as the
state’s standard for championship
performance ... and championship
spirit and class whenever the
Eagles were involved.
What Assistant Coach Brett Mills
calls “the program’s signature
event” came on Round-Up Sunday,
just a half dozen games into the
regular season, when the Eagles
once again played proud in pink.
The annual Lady Hager Cup
resumed when STH hosted
Philadelphia St. Joseph’s Prep
at Hotze Field inside Granger
Stadium, the seventh year the
program has helped raise valuable
dollars and create much needed
awareness for the fight against
breast cancer.
“It has become a tradition of
who we are. Not so much about
St. Thomas rugby ... something
bigger than St. Thomas rugby. It’s
a great way to give back to our
community,” Mills said.
The Lady Hager Cup is a tribute
to Mills’ grandmother, Bernice
Hager, who was stricken with the
disease and passed in 2007. Mills
was traveling with the U.S. national
team in London and heard of
Newcastle United FC adopting
pink jerseys to support the
campaign against breast cancer.
In recent years, professional
leagues across the globe and
assorted NCAA programs have
continued a strong “think pink”
trend that STH Rugby had already
embraced.
“It was sitting in the back of my
head for awhile. I just thought it
would be a way to honor not just
my family but a great way for the
guys to learn empathy for a disease
that affects so many lives,” Mills
said.
Many Eagle players purchased
their jerseys from the game as
a contribution to the ongoing
fight. Other STH gear made
available through the school’s
Eagle Store, along with the sale
of commemorative t-shirts and
additional outside fundraising,
grew the 2015 contribution to
$2,000. There also is the priceless
dividend that spreads throughout
the program.
“This brings our boys and their
mothers closer together. We’ll
see grandmothers and aunts at
the game. It’s a special night for
St. Thomas for so many reasons,”
Mills said.
Among those who have felt the
ugly effects of breast cancer is
Mills’s coaching compadre Jim
Wolfinger, whose mother was
diagnosed twice. Since 2008, the
Lady Hager Cup has generated
more than $70,000 through the
consistent efforts of coaches, staff
and supporters.
Breast cancer deaths in the United
States have dropped dramatically
in the past two decades - the result
of advanced treatment, earlier
detection ... and greater awareness.
“Brilliant idea by Brett. Young
men doing selfless things for
others. What’s great is how the
guys have really responded. They
look forward to this game as much
as any we will play all season. It’s
service. And any contribution to
help find a cure, make someone’s
life just a little bit better, is a great
lesson to learn,” Wolfinger said.
Lady Hager Cup Again
R
aises Dollars and Awareness
in Fight Against Breast Cancer
INSIDE EAGLE ATHLETICS
Photos courtesy of Elizabeth Pardee