Lake Villa Timberwolves 'Think Pink' for breast cancer awareness

When the Lake Villa Timberwolves suit up for their football games Sunday, they'll be strapping on the essential gear.

Helmets, shoulder pads, mouth guards, thigh pads, cleats and pink socks.

Timeout. Pink socks?

Yep, and maybe pink shoelaces, too.

The rough and tumble players will be showing their feminine side as they don pink to raise awareness about breast cancer, and money for research.

In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, football players and cheerleaders in the recreational league are pinking themselves up for the second week in a row.

Cheerleaders will be sporting pink gloves, pink headbands, pink ribbons tied to ponytails and pink bracelets.

Cheerleading director Kimberly Zielinski said folks are enthusiastic about the effort. "The fans, parents, players and cheerleaders are all getting involved. It's great to see the effort," she said.

The idea was kicked off by football player Alec Foster Lively. The 14-year-old Lindenhurst boy wanted to honor his grandmother, a 12-year breast cancer survivor.

In addition to wearing pink, the field was striped in pink chalk last Saturday, and football players put pink stickers on their helmets. The cheerleaders sold pink bracelets and raised $330 to be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Zielinski said.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, except for skin cancers, according to the American Cancer Society. The chances of developing breast cancer at some time in a woman's life are about 1 in 8. An estimated 190,000 new cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2009. About 41,000 women will die.

The Timberwolves organization started in 1995 and has 400 football players and 100 cheerleaders, Zielinski said. Kids from kindergarten to eighth grade participate in the program.

They compete in the Lake Zurich-based Chicagoland Youth Football League. With teams from Crystal Lake to Plainfield, it's one of the largest independent tackle football leagues in the country, according to league officials.

Sunday's games will be played at Grayslake North High School, 1925 N. Route 83, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Zielinksi is hoping for a great turnout. "This thing has caught on like wildfire," she said. "It's so good to see how many people have embraced this."