South Jersey football teams Lace Up 4 Cancer

HADDON HEIGHTS – Cameron Robertson was a little over a year old when cancer entered his life, and while he’s left it far behind, it’s something that impacted him and his family forever.

Now a senior kicker/punter for the Haddon Heights High School football team, Robertson was diagnosed at 13 months with hepatoblastoma, a rare liver cancer.

He faced 15 rounds of chemotherapy and three surgeries, the last one an 80-percent liver resection at the age of 2.

“When I was 2 years old, I was announced cancer free and I’ve been cancer free for 16 years now,” he said.

Robertson is thankful for each day. He’s also touched a handful of South Jersey football teams, including his own, participated in Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer on Thursday at their annual Thanksgiving rivalry football games.

Seven teams across the region wore the gold shoelaces Thursday to help raise money and awareness about the disease. Lace Up is a nationwide campaign started four years ago by Go4theGoal Foundation, a local nonprofit which helps raise awareness and offers financial support for children and their families battling pediatric cancers.

“I think it’s awesome,” said Robertson, whose team faced Haddonfield in its annual Turkey Day game, with the Bulldawgs also lacing up. “It really has put an impact on me seeing that all these kids want to help and wear the laces and show support. It’s (cancer) something that changes your life forever, that’s for sure.”

High school, college, professional, youth and club teams across the country are contacted and asked to wear the gold laces to raise awareness and funds. The laces are $5 a pair and only $1 is kept to cover costs.

Haddon Heights coach Ralph Schiavo was all in when he heard about it.

“Somebody had reached out to our athletic trainer and mentioned it,” Schiavo said. “They forwarded the email to me. We have a survivor on our team so it was a no-brainer for us. He was affected with some type of cancer when he was real young. He’s been cancer-free for a long time. I know his family is big into the cause so therefore we are.”

According to statistics from the Childhood Cancer Foundation, 13,500 children 19 and under are diagnosed with cancer each year in the U.S., and 74 percent of pediatric cancer survivors have long-lasting chronic illnesses associated with treatments of the disease.

Haddonfield is into the cause as well. The Bulldawgs have had players and coaches personally impacted by the disease one way or another.

Bulldawgs coach Frank DeLano said he got the call and agreed right away to lace his team up. It was an easy decision for him as well.

“We were actually approached by Haddon Heights,” DeLano said. “They reached out to us and said ‘Hey would you like to do it?’ It’s a no-brainer. It’s hit our football family more than we want it to and it’s hit families all over the world. It’s a little outreach and a little support to show signs and be supportive of families. We’re not naïve. It’s hit my own personal family. I don’t know many people who cancer hasn’t hit some way, somehow.”

Haddonfield junior tight end/defensive tackle Jason Garstkiewicz has had his own personal battle with cancer. He was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer in his right leg in early 2012 when he was in middle school. Several months after the diagnosis, he had his lower leg amputated to prevent the spread of the disease and to save his life.

Also a lacrosse standout, Garstkiewicz, 16, found his way back onto the athletic fields 10 months after his ordeal and has done very well.

Garstkiewicz said raising awareness is huge. He also knows personally it helps children fighting cancer to see how much people care.

When Jason was battling his cancer, the Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer campaign supplied thousands of the bright shoelaces that many area teams purchased and wore to support him as he went through chemotherapy back in 2012.

“It really hits home,” he said. “It’s a great cause. You hear of more people each day being affected by this so I just love to see it (wearing the laces) happening on both teams.”

He has managed to excel in athletics despite playing with a prosthetic leg.

“I really just kind of jumped back into it,” he said. “It all came back natural and the coaches and the teammates have been there for me every step of the way and helped me progress as a player and as a person.”

DeLano said Garstkiewicz is an “inspiration to all of us.”

“I wish sometimes people would have the perspective of Jay,” he said. “Where you’re sitting stressing out over a game or play or having a rough day and you look at him whose fortunate enough now to be living a normal high school life and being a major contributor on a high school football team. He’s got a lot to be proud of.”

Go4theGoal athletics coordinator Karen Flint, also the athletic trainer at Triton, expressed gratitude to all the teams participating in the Lace Up program Thursday.

“We are so grateful to the football teams from Deptford, Schalick, Cumberland, Lindenwold, Haddonfield, Haddon Heights, Cherokee and Seneca for their support in raising awareness for pediatric cancer and much needed funds,” said Flint, whose school did a Lace Up 4 Cancer event earlier in the season. “The funds raised through their participation, as well as 100 percent of donations, will go directly to benefit kids with cancer in our area.”

Lindenwold football coach Derryk Sellers was happy for his team to participate as well because “many people’s lives have been affected by cancer and we have a responsibility to all do our part.”

Schiavo said the lacing up gave the game even more meaning — as if it needed any more meaning.

“Absolutely, one of our guys has been affected and the family’s been affected so we get a little extra pep in our step,” said Schiavo, whose team colors are gold and scarlet.

Then he joked: “We have the yellow (gold) laces, which is good for us because it’s part of our uniforms but for Frank’s team, they’re red and black and it’s not going to look good at all.”

But they all felt good doing something for a worthy cause.

Celeste E. Whittaker; (856) 486-2437; cwhittaker@gannettnj.com