Ashley Holcombe Honors Friend With Ribbon
5/4/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ?? Crimson Tide sophomore Ashley Holcombe pays tribute to a friend of hers from high school who died from cancer by wearing a white or crimson ribbon in her hair during every game the No. 1 University of Alabama team plays.
Holcombe, a catcher from Fayetteville, Ga., wanted to honor her former teammate, Stephanie Phillips, in some way. She originally tried a sweatband but didn’t like it so her mother, Vickey Holcombe, bought her a ribbon to wear in her hair. On one side Ashley wrote her name and the number six for her own number and on the other side she wrote Stephanie and the number eight, which is the number Stephanie wore in high school.
“Stephanie Phillips is my friend who I played softball with since I was probably 10,” said Holcombe. “She was a year older than me and she died my senior year of high school from cancer. My mom got the ribbon made for me. I wear it as a way to remember her.”
Ashley and her friend Stephanie had always played together but it wasn’t until high school when the two started to become closer friends.
“She was in one of my classes and we became closer,” said Ashley. “She also played on my high school team and was a really good pitcher.”
Holcombe admits that it was hard for her and her teammates to watch their friend go through so much while battling cancer. Stephanie first got cancer when she was 12 years old. She battled it and it went away twice but came back a third time when she was in high school.
“It was hard when you see somebody who is so healthy and so young get cancer,” said Holcombe. “I mean she was 12 years old when she got cancer. She would go to chemotherapy and then come play in a tournament with us.”
Despite her efforts to try and keep playing while going through treatments, Stephanie was forced to end her junior season after sectionals as the treatments were too hard on her. Her team would go on to honor her by winning the 2002 Georgia High School Association 5A State Championship.
“We didn’t really lose very many games all season,” said Ashley. “We only lost two games that year. In the state tournament we had only lost one game at the time so we decided we were going to lose the first game of the championship series. We were in the winner’s bracket. Stephanie wasn’t there so the joke was we were waiting for her to get there to win it for her. She came from the hospital and we ended up winning it when she was there.”
Ashley also said that Stephanie brought a gift for all of the girls on the team. Even though she had just gone through treatments, she was thinking about others. She brought 18 candy ring pops to symbolize championship rings for the team winning the state championship.
“She brought us all those ring pops because teams get rings when they when championships,” said Holcombe. “She knew we were going to win so she brought us all a ring pop as our temporary championship rings.”
During Ashley’s senior year in high school, Stephanie passed away. The previous year she had graduated from high school but lost her third battle with cancer on Feb. 8, 2005.
“It was real hard when she died,” said Ashley. “I haven’t really gotten over it I guess but I realize that everything happens for a reason.”
Although she may never get over the loss of her friend, her positive attitude on and off the field has helped lead the Crimson Tide to a 50-4 record this season. In her two years at the University of Alabama, she has been an excellent role model for all the Tide’s fans, including her younger brother, Justin, who was born with Down Syndrome and comes to most of the home games.
“He always says he doesn’t want to come but once he gets here he loves it,” said Ashley. “He is really special to me. We argue a lot but I love him to death. I am glad he gets to come every weekend and be here with my parents (Wayne and Vickey Holcombe).”
Justin is a star in the Challenger Division Little League in Fayetteville, Ga. just like his sister is for the Crimson Tide. In fact from watching Ashley play, Justin picks up on some of the things she does and emulates them when he is on the field.
“My mom says you think he is not paying attention but when he goes to play in his Challenger League he does a lot of stuff I do when I am batting like picking up dirt or when I was younger I used to dig my cleats in to the batters box and he will do that. I guess he pays attention even though we don’t think he does.”
Watching his older sister has paid off for Justin as he recently hit six home runs over the fence in three games. Ashley has hit five this season and eight in her two-year career for the Tide.
“Maybe I should take some batting lessons from him,” said Holcombe. “He is good. He doesn’t have a set position. They just kind of rotate where they play each inning. He is a good hitter.”
Justin hasn’t always enjoyed playing baseball but has started to like it more and more as time goes on. He also enjoys competing in other sports as well.
“He started playing when they began developing the Challenger League,” said Ashley. “He didn’t like it at first and would sit down on the field. He likes it now. He is really involved with the Special Olympics. I think he is doing roller hockey too. He tried basketball but that didn’t work out but he really likes baseball.”
Every year Justin competes in the Special Olympics. The Special Olympics Georgia provides year-round sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. There are 23 different sports offered for the athletes to experience ranging from badminton, swimming, soccer and gymnastics.
“He normally wins the running events and the softball throw so he is good at those,” said Ashley. “It is fun to see him compete because I know he always watches me compete. I am glad there is something out there like the Special Olympics for people who have disabilities.”
When Justin comes to Tuscaloosa to watch his sister play he usually just takes it all in. He will occasionally let out a cheer for his sister to do well.
“He usually is just watching and doesn’t really say too much,” said Ashley. “He will say ??lets go Ashley’ every once in a while but usually he is just observing what is going on.”
One of the things that makes Ashley happy is seeing how her teammates treat her family. The coaching staff preaches to the players about surrounding themselves with good people and good things will come to them. All 18 players treat each other’s family like they would their own.
“We are all really big on family,” said Holcombe. “Whenever we see somebody else’s parents it is not like we have to go up and give them a hug but everybody does it because we feel like they are part of our family too. Everybody welcomes us into their home and would do anything for any of girls on the team.”
Holcombe and the Crimson Tide will compete for the SEC Championship this weekend when they play the final regular season series in Knoxville, Tenn. against the second ranked Tennessee Lady Vols. The first game of Saturday’s doubleheader will by televised by ESPN2 at 1 p.m. (ET) and the series finale will be shown on ESPN beginning at 1 p.m. (ET) on Sunday.
