Tide Coaches Help Start Coaches Fighting Cancer Golf Tournament
8/16/2002 12:00:00 AM | General
TUSCALOOSA - Cancer is a disease that can strike anyone, no matter how healthy a lifestyle they've led. Several members of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide's coaching staff know that fact all too well. Cancer has touched their lives and their teams first hand. That's why they've banded together for the first in what will be an annual "Coaches Fighting Cancer" event.
The golf tournament will be held September 30, 2002 at North River Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa. Alabama head basketball coach Mark Gottfried, head women's basketball coach Rick Moody, head baseball coach Jim Wells, head gymnastics coach Sarah Patterson and her assistant head coach David Patterson, and head women's golf coach Betty Palmer are all serving as co-hosts for the event.
Palmer is a cancer survivor as is David Patterson. Moody's wife, Sandra, is a cancer survivor. And Gottfried lost his assistant coach Robert Scott to cancer while Scott was a member of his coaching staff.
"And we're just the tip of the iceberg," said Gottfried. "We've lost two other members of our athletics department, Kermit Koenig and Jewell Gaston to this disease all in the last couple of years. I think you can go into any office in our department or ask any athlete on our team, and each one has a story about how someone they know or love has been affected by cancer. It's a very personal battle for Betty and David and their families even though they are cancer free now. They went through some very difficult times in winning their battles.
"Rick came up with this idea and approached us about taking part in it, and we all knew immediately it was something we wanted to be involved with. We're hoping that by banding together as head coaches, it will bring more attention to our cause. One of the keys in prevention is knowledge. We want people to be aware of the signs, to be aware of the preventions, to be aware that it can strike anyone and, most importantly, that it can be defeated."
The format of the golf tournament begins with lunch at 11:30 a.m. and a 12:30-1:00 shotgun start. The practice tee will open around 9:30 or 10 a.m. that morning. The proceeds from the event go to the American Cancer Society. The entry fee is $1,000 a team or $250 per individual on the four man scramble. To enter or obtain more information, call Jim Smith, locally in the Tuscaloosa area at (205) 752-9798 or, toll free at 888-574-7575. The address is Coaches Fighting Cancer, c/o Dr. Golf, 711 15th Street East, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401.
