Soccer, basketball fundraisers held in honor of deceased friends

When his friend Alex Kintz was suffering from a rare bone cancer, Kyle Rakos of Batavia thought it would be nice to help raise money for cancer research with a soccer tournament in his backyard.

“It's obviously progressed to a much bigger thing,” said Rakos, who along with friends John Raucci and Ryan Milligan have put together the Kicks for Cancer56 3-on-3 tournament for the past few years in memory of Alex, who passed away in May 2009.

Registration at kicksforcancer56.com is being taken through Monday for the June 25 tournament being held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the St. Charles Park District's East Side Sports Complex off Kirk Road.

Rakos estimates 50 or more teams and 100 volunteers will work to raise money for Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

Colonial Café will again provide breakfast, lunch and ice cream, with a percentage of proceeds going to the fundraiser.

Rakos, who will be a junior at Batavia High School in the fall, feels the event is mostly about keeping the memory of Alex alive.

“Alex was a great kid and his family has been very supportive and directly involved in helping,” Rakos said. “It's amazing what all of the kids have done to remember him.”

Some more 3-on-3: “Matt was a great friend to a lot of people, and everyone still misses him tremendously.”That quote about Matt Kenney from his friend Sean McCurtain, a teacher and basketball coach at St. Charles East High School who played hoops at Geneva High School about 11 years ago, sums up why the fifth annual 3-on-3 charity tournament in Kenney's memory has grown each year.Kenney, a 2002 Geneva graduate who joined the Air Force, died way too young when he was killed in a car accident in the fall of 2004.The tournament, scheduled for July 30 at Geneva High School, is likely to have more than 30 teams competing in the adult and youth divisions for boys and girls.#8220;It originally started out as Matt's friends, and friends of his family, being part of the teams, but it has increased each year,#8221; said McCurtain, who originally got the idea to have a 3-on-3 tournament to fund two scholarships for Geneva High School students from the Swedish Days event.Signup deadline is July 23, if teams desire tournament T-shirts, but signup continues until just a few days before the tournament. Team fee is $100 and there is a limit of five players per team. Those interested, can send an email to mattkenney3on3@yahoo.com to get a signup sheet.Run for Joplin: Runners stick together, and not just by running in a pack. When tornado devastation canceled the Boomtown Half Marathon in Joplin, Mo., those involved in the local Fox Valley Marathon set up an impromptu fundraiser.They'll host a run Saturday, with runners meeting at 6:15 a.m. at Dick Pond's in St. Charles and running the distance of their choosing. A minimum $25 donation is requested for the tornado relief. All runners receive a Boomtown Half Marathon bib and medal. Go to the FV26.com website for details.dheun@sbcglobal.net