Valkyries Basketball Celebrates Cancer Survivors with Think Pink Game Feb. 14

Pull out your PINK and join the Valkyries basketball team for their THINK PINK game recognizing cancer survivors on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 2 PM in Hannah Gym! First-season coach Beth Couture is a breast cancer survivor and a passionate advocate for awareness, and Saturday’s game marks her first face-off against her own alma mater, Erskine College, where she is a Hall of Fame inductee. “To be able to play my alma mater on the breast cancer day is very special,” she said. “I hope it will be a very competitive and exciting game for our fans to watch!”

“When a team shares personal experiences and challenges of any kind, it draws them closer as a family.”

The Valkyries will sport pink uniforms for the game, and have a few surprises up their sleeve for cancer survivors who attend. Coach Couture will give a brief talk before tip-off. “Breast cancer has touched one out of every eight women. For the community to come out and honor and support not only the two teams but also cancer survivors will be a special day that I hope they will want to take part in,” she says. “We want to see the stands filled with pink support!”

Couture was diagnosed with breast cancer in March of 2009. “I started chemotherapy at the end of April and continued through the beginning of August, then had a mastectomy in the beginning of September followed by 36 radiation treatments. These ended on the day of my first exhibition game for the 2009-2010 season. Last April was the celebration of my being cancer free for five years.”

A four-time honorary chair for the Saint Vincent Breast Cancer Walk, Couture has also been a speaker for the American Cancer Society among other organizations, and has shared her story with many sports teams prior to their pink games. “Breast cancer changed my life in many ways, such as setting priorities, living with no regrets, and understanding how fragile life truly is,” she says. “I feel like it is a privilege to be an advocate for breast cancer and it is definitely something I will continue for the rest of my life.”

Couture says sharing experiences like this create personal connections that help coach and team build trust and cohesiveness, which is particularly valuable during her first season. “I think it is important for them to hear the challenges that I went through since one in eight women will experience this. When a team shares personal experiences and challenges of any kind, it draws them closer as a family.”

That kind of connection is one of the things Couture enjoys most about her new role. “The Converse community has been great. I love being part of the family atmosphere at Converse.”