Goal is money for cancer research
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, June 9, 2005
EVERETT – On June 8, 2004, Kyle Suits lost his fishing buddy.
That day, Gerald Stevenson, Suits’ father-in-law, finally succumbed to his three-year struggle against colon cancer. He was 60.
Just a few months later Suits watched another family member – this time his uncle – pass away. Once again, the cause was colon cancer.
“To watch people slowly die was a pretty awakening experience,” Suits said Thursday. “You start considering your own health and how tenuous life really is.”
And, if you’re Suits, you find a way to help.
Melding two of his greatest passions, Suits, the head boys soccer coach at Marysville-Pilchuck High School, put together the first annual Sno-King All-Star Boys Soccer Game. Held Thursday night at Everett Memorial Stadium, the contest was a spirited clash between members of the All-Wesco North and South first teams. In addition, at least one player from every Western Conference squad participated.
Mike De Simone, a senior from Mariner High, scored two goals and had an assist to lead the South to a 5-2 victory. Snohomish’s Taylor Cochran scored twice for the North. Both standouts will play for the University of Washington. Facing a frequent flurry of shots, goalkeeper Kaleb Kuehn of Marysville-Pilchuck made eight saves for the North.
Thanks to Suits, the $500 raised at the game will go to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Sponsors of the event included Whitfield’s United Insurance Agencies, Inc. and Dwayne Lane’s Family of Auto Centers. The officials – Dan Anderson, Rich Barnett and Clyde Jelinek – donated their fee to the cause.
“I’m big on developing community … It’s just one more way to bring a community together,” Suits said of the event, which he hopes to expand to a doubleheader by adding a girls game next year.
Three generations of Suits’ extended family volunteered at the event, including his wife. Also helping out in the ticket booth was Linda Stevenson, Suits’ mother-in-law and Gerald Stevenson’s widow.
“I think it’s great. I love being involved,” said Linda Stevenson, 60, of south Everett.
Besides her husband, cancer also claimed the life of her mother-in-law in 2004. The harsh reality of the disease first hit Stevenson hard in 1989, when her mother died of colon cancer.
Stevenson said she hopes events like Thursday’s will help lead to a cure. She urged people to overcome the societal stigma of colon cancer and get regular checkups.
Besides generating money for cancer research, Thursday’s game provided a long-awaited return for local all-star soccer action. Teddy Mitalas, who coached the South squad Thursday and recently guided Shorecrest to the Class 3A state title, praised Suits for organizing the event. From 1992-1994 Mitalas helped coordinate an all-star boys soccer game that matched the area’s top seniors against players from Seattle’s Metro league. But because of sponsorship issues, there hadn’t been a similar event since – until Thursday.
“It’s a great thing that Kyle did here,” Mitalas said. “It’s nice to have it back again.”
At Everett
Goals-South: M. De Simone 2, North own goal, Oliviera, Gold. North: Cochran 2. Assists-South: M. De Simone. North: Fakkema 2. Goalkeepers-South: Hawkins, Tasche. North: Kuehn.
