Springfield Connection

The West Springfield High School Spartans’ usual orange and blue were replaced by a sea of pink during the girls’ volleyball game against Centreville on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at West Springfield High School.

The team organized a Dig Pink event to raise awareness for breast cancer. The Spartans and their supporters donned sartorial pink shirts and outfits and organized a raffle and bake sale themed with the emblematic color for breast cancer awareness.

Dig Pink is the fundraising event of The Side-Out Foundation, whose mission is to make significant and identifiable difference to breast cancer patients and families by supporting clinical trials, increasing patient support services, and educating communities.

Freshman coach Bruce Stewart, of Springfield, extolled the girls’ charitable efforts in decorating the school and contributing to the bake sale. He wore a bright pink shirt and garland. “It’s for the girls,” he said.

The team did a lot of legwork for the event, from making posters to having a carwash and to spreading the word through the team’s Twitter account, said varsity player senior Taylor Betts.

Varsity player Sophie Stonelake said that the Dig Pink event gets players to think outside of themselves. “It raises awareness. It draws a really large crowd in all the schools that do it.”

The team also presented flowers to members of the audience whose lives were touched by cancer. Michelle Peters, of Arlington, wiped away tears after receiving a bouquet from her goddaughter Sydney Trotto, who plays on the Spartan JV squad. Peters lost her mother to breast cancer in 1994. She said events like this raise awareness and morale. “When it affects the woman, it affects the family,” and everyone should be aware, she said.

Dig Pink and the Side-Out Foundation started at West Springfield High School in 2004. Founder Rick Dunetz suddenly found himself the head coach of the Spartans volleyball team after its previous coach abruptly resigned. Meanwhile, he was dealing with the recurrence of his mother Gloria’s breast cancer.

Former Spartans co-captain Jessica Slezak remembered the time Dunetz pulled the team aside back in 2004 in her junior year. “He was wearing a Livestrong bracelet and he explained to us what that meant to him,” she said.

Amanda Hayes was a sophomore in 2004. “At first I didn’t think we really understood the significance of it,” she said. It was more a fun thing they did for their coach and his family. “And now to see it turn into a large nationwide event, it’s been really cool to just continue to see it grow throughout the years,” she said.

Dunetz, who came back for the 10th anniversary, addressed the crowd and thanked the 2004 team and the entire West Springfield High School community. He said 2004 changed his life and the life of his family. “You’re my heroes.”

Dunetz said that in 2004 he felt that the team did not need him to teach them to play. Being suddenly without a coach, “They just needed to know somebody was behind them,” he said. The mutual support between team and coach led to winning the district championship during his first year as head coach.

The money raised by the event, $1,654.10, will be donated in full to breast cancer charities.