OHS soccer team makes statement with pink socks for breast cancer awareness

OWATONNA-October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the Owatonna boys soccer team made a striking fashion statement in their final two road games of the season: high pink socks for breast cancer awareness.

While various sports teams often have designated cancer games, this gesture was unique in that it was utterly organic, driven by the players, not "the higher-ups," said Bob Waypa, the team's head coach. "It meant a lot to them," as many of the players know someone who has battled breast cancer in the past or is currently fighting the disease.

"I was impressed by how they understood the meaning of the socks," he added. "They knew exactly why they wore them, and they could tell you someone they know battling breast cancer."

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in American women, except for skin cancers, with roughly one-in-eight women developing it at some point in their lives, according to the American Cancer Society. Roughly 250,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, approximately 40,000 of whom will die.

Breast cancer is the second-deadliest cancer for women, behind only lung cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Fortunately, the death rate from female cancer dropped 40 percent between 1989 and 2015 due to the combination of increased screenings, more awareness, and improved treatments.

Senior captain Ryley Glynn was a catalyst for the pink-socks effort, and the defender knows "more than most" the pernicious reach of cancer, Waypa said. If anyone had a right to bemoan the "hand dealt to him," it's Glynn, "but we've had him two years, and he never complains."

Glynn is completely blind in his left eye due to Retinoblastoma, a rare cancer found mostly in young children that begins in the retina. Fortunately for Glynn, doctors caught the disease early, when he was only two-and though the cancerous eye was removed, leaving him with a glass eye, he sustained no further damage to his body.

He began playing soccer at age five and has been on defense his entire career, joining Owatonna's varsity squad last year as a junior. Waypa initially had him on the wrong side of the field-the right side of the back row-because he was unaware of his left-eye blindness, but when Waypa learned of it, he moved him to the left side, and Glynn became a first-team all-conference performer on a team that reached the state tournament.

Glynn will learn Sunday at a banquet in the Twin Cities whether he made first-team all-state this season or second-team, a pivotal difference as first-team selections play in an all-star game in the metro, Waypa said. "I hope he makes it," because Glynn could be such a positive role model for others, as he has not just "overcome" his disability, but "excelled."

Glynn said making first-team all-state has been his goal since he was in eighth grade.

"I am so blessed to even be up for all-state," Glynn said. "It's a huge honor, and to be honest it still doesn't feel real."

"You wouldn't know" about Glynn's non-existent left-eye vision "by watching him" play soccer, as he routinely shuts down lethal strikers, Waypa added. He's also an ideal captain for his off-field demeanor, as Glynn "is always positive, smiling, and cracking jokes."

"Obviously, I think about cancer a little more than most, and I know how it changes your life," so "it was humbling to see the team come together" around wearing the socks, Glynn said. "They all really loved the idea right off the bat."

When the team-along with some parents-came to Waypa with the idea, he was "all for it," so long as the socks conformed to Minnesota State High School League regulations, and "I'm really glad we were able to do it," the coach said. Since various cancers have colors attached to them, some players mentioned to Waypa they'd like to again wear the socks next year, perhaps in a different color, and maybe pair the gesture with fundraising for cancer research too.

Waypa noted that while "teenagers sometimes do things that make you scratch your head," the entire squad embraced this initiative, and "no one said they didn't want to do it," he said. "I'm really proud of them for thinking of others more than themselves."

Indeed, the pink socks illustrated the players are concerned with more than soccer; "we are about our friends, family, and the community," Glynn said. "Other sports have cancer (nights), so I thought, 'why not us?'"

The Huskies wore the socks in a loss at AustinOctober 3 and a win at Mankato East October 5. The socks were given to them through an anonymous donor.

The players didn't give away their socks, either, following the games; instead, they're keeping them "as a symbol," Waypa said. "They weren't just socks-they were proud of them."

The entire team is grateful to the person who donated the socks, Glynn added. "Wearing them was something I'll never forget."

While a modest gesture, wearing the noticeable socks "shows people they care" and "might inspire others in their cancer fights," Waypa said. "They were thinking of others before they put the socks on, and they're still thinking about them today."

"We all knew some people who had (breast cancer) and would come support us at our soccer games over the years," Glynn said. "We thought it was time we gave back to them."