Wednesday, October 3, 2007

This season, six area football teams have black "SS" stickers on their helmets. What does the "SS" stand for?

"A way of giving people life," Richardson Berkner coach Jim Ledford will tell you. He just might not want to tell you more because, well, football guys aren't supposed to get emotional.

The story starts in August, when Berkner held a three-day football camp for stars of the future. Stars of the distant future, such as 6-year-old Spencer Squire.

Spencer was one of the campers running around, having fun, dreaming of being a football player. On the final day of camp, he gave the coach a gift.

"He comes up and hands me a little Sonic gift card," Ledford said, "and tells me that he had a great time."

That was Aug. 3, a typically sports-filled day for the sports-fanatic Spencer.

The next day, he slipped into a coma. Four days later, Spencer died.

The cause was an aggressive form of brain cancer that nobody knew Spencer had.

There were no symptoms, no warning signs. But maybe that was a blessing.

"He didn't have any pain," said his mother, Anna Squire.

The pain was left for those who knew Spencer. And they decided to deal with the loss by emphasizing what could be gained from his life. Patrick and Anna Squire started by donating their son's organs.

Then they created a scholarship in Spencer's name at Texas A&M, where both are alums, and set up an account to fund a playground at his school, Boon Elementary in Allen. They're also organizing a book drive in Allen to help underprivileged kids.

"From grief to purpose," Anna Squire said. It reminds people how Spencer liked to help others.

Berkner remembered Spencer during a pregame ceremony Sept. 7, presenting the Squire family with a helmet, game ball and a jersey with Spencer's name on it. And now, Spencer is remembered on the helmets of Berkner, Allen, Plano East, Wylie, Plano and Lake Highlands.

The sticker idea came from Berkner assistant Dave Handal, who is friends with the Squires and whose son, Kasen, was one of Spencer's best buddies. The Squire family, which includes Spencer's 3-year-old brother, Ryan, lives in Allen. The Plano East connection comes from coach Johnny Ringo's sister, a close friend of Anna Squire. Wylie, Plano and Lake Highlands coaches simply heard the story and wanted to join in.

So Ledford had six sets of stickers made.

"It's to promote organ donation awareness," Anna Squire said, "and remember how Spencer lived life to the fullest."

Spencer certainly did. He traveled to Hawaii, London and Walt Disney World. He ran the bases at Texas A&M's Olsen Field, presented a game ball at Texas A&M's Reed Arena and even visited Fenway Park.

He was full of life.

"I was just so distraught about it," Ledford said, "because you see him running around, and then he's not there anymore. It just doesn't seem fair."

Not fair at all. But although Spencer's life was short, it was complete.

"Life is a circle. And circles come in different sizes," began his obituary, written by his parents. "Although Spencer's circle was small, it was complete, whole and fulfilled."

And his legacy lives on. Spencer's liver was donated to a 45-year-old woman who was so petite that she needed a child-sized liver. She has one adult child, Anna Squire was told, and two grandchildren – one of whom is Spencer's age.

It makes Spencer's life more of a blessing, his mom said.

"He truly captured life and enjoyed life to the fullest, helping others and always smiling," she said. "Spencer gave us the gift of love, and he gave the gift of life."