Homecoming honors cancer-stricken Plainview-Old Bethpage cheerleading coach
Former assistant cheerleading coach Stacy Brennan, left, who is battling breast cancer, and varsity cheerleading coach Gail Corbett at the Plainview-Old Bethpage Homecoming game on Friday, Oct. 16, 2015. Credit: Caitlin St John
As the sun set last Friday, the sea of pink T-shirts that filled the bleachers at Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School’s homecoming football game remained quite noticeable.
Students, facility and locals wore pink in support of breast cancer awareness and Coaches vs. Cancer, a national program that aims to encourage teams and their communities to join the fight against cancer by fundraising for the American Cancer Society.
Among those donning pink was former assistant varsity cheerleading coach and Plainview resident Stacy Brennan. The 53-year-old wife and mother of three sons -- Kevin, 18, Danny, 20, and Ryan, 24 -- is currently battling stage four breast cancer.
She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 and the cancer reappeared again three years ago.
Despite her personal struggles, Brennan stays incredibly positive.
“I see the good before the bad,” she said simply.
Brennan coached POB’s junior varsity cheerleader team for two years and began as the assistant varsity cheerleading coach last year until her battle left her unable to continue this season. But her impact on the community remains strong.
She is nothing short of “the [town] mayor,” as guidance counselor Jason Miller put it.
In the week leading up to the Coaches vs. Cancer game, POB students and staff raised money to be donated on behalf of Stacy’s Warriors, Brennan’s registered ACS team.
With a goal of $5,000 in mind, DECA members and other students sold pink T-shirts, handmade jewelry and raffle tickets, as well as aa fundraiser night at the Catch the Wave yogurt shop.
In 2014, she was awarded the Heart of the Hawk Award by POB’s athletic department due to her constant dedication to the community and fundraising for cancer research.
After the game, more than 200 of Stacy’s Warriors, including many POB athletes and students, walked in the annual ACS Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk at Jones Beach last Sunday.
During halftime Friday, Brennan thanked her tight-knit community for their support, saying “We are all friends."
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