Playing for Something Bigger

There is a certain routine to a gameday. Players donning their uniforms and slipping on their cleats. The Oklahoma wind blowing through the stadium. Crimson-and-Cream clad fans entering John Crain Field to cheer on their Sooners. The excitement in the air as the whistle blows and the match gets underway.

But sometimes, the game of soccer is about more than just a game. It's about a greater cause and supporting a teammate through a difficult time. It's about playing for something bigger, something more.

On Friday, when Oklahoma takes the pitch against in-conference foe West Virginia in its “Kick for a Cure” game, there will be a lot more than soccer on the minds of the Sooners. Instead, they will be thinking of one of their teammates and her mom's battle with breast cancer.

A LIGHT

Becky Saliba was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer in July 2010. Madison Saliba, OU junior midfielder/forward, says she remembers the day when her mom sat her and her two older sisters down to explain what was happening. From that point on, her mom put up a fight against the disease, eventually losing the battle on Aug. 12, 2014.

“Up until those last few months, you wouldn't even have known it (that she had cancer),” Madison shares. “She still ran, she still was one of the happiest, most optimistic people, and that was always something that people respected about her and loved about her because, like I said, you really wouldn't have even known it, except for obviously some of the physical aspects.”

Two of Madison's oldest friends are currently with her on the OU squad in midfielder Shiloh Price and junior forward Liz Keester. Price and Keester both fondly remember Becky and her kind spirit.

“Becky was like a second mom” Price shares. “She would always want to have us over to hang out and spend time with their family, this made our friend group very close with her. She was very easy to talk to about anything that we were going through and she always had some kind of advice to give. She would always make us all laugh as well! She was very enjoyable to be around, comforting, beautiful and strong!”

“She (Becky) fought the hard fight and had amazing strength to persevere through the toughest times. I will always remember the way her smile could brighten a room and her incredible capacity to love.”
— Liz Keester

Keester echoes this sentiment, recalling how Becky loved her family with all her heart and treated her daughter's friends as family, always welcoming them into her home with open arms.

“She was one of those people that you met that instantly made an impression on you,” Keester says. “She held her daughters to the highest of expectations and helped them grow into the wonderful individuals they are today. Despite her battle with breast cancer she had an unwavering faith in God and His goodness.

“She fought the hard fight and had amazing strength to persevere through the toughest times,” Keester continues. “I will always remember the way her smile could brighten a room and her incredible capacity to love. Becky was truly as tough as they come and raised three beautiful girls who carry her spunky-personality with them every day. They exemplify the very characteristics their momma showed and continually lead a life that would make Becky smile.”

When Becky passed away, she left an impact on her family and friends, showing them how to face difficult times, Price says.

“I believe that Becky showed a great faith in God when she was going through her toughest days. She showed obedience and grace when finding the strength to fight for her life each and every day,” Price explains. “This meant that when she was gone, she left values to live by for her family and friends to fight our toughest battles with strength and dignity! … Becky was and always will have a special place in my heart because of the way she wanted to live and express herself!”

Soccer was something Becky and Madison did together, something they always shared. Now, even though Becky is not physically in the stands at John Crain Field cheering on her daughter and the Sooners, Madison knows she is watching.

“She was there for every (thing), she traveled all those places with me growing up and was my biggest fan,” Madison recalls. “Every time we play, every time something good happens, she's the first person I think of. As much as I would love to see her up here in the stands, I know she's watching, and I just have to remind myself of that.”

A SUPPORT SYSTEM

After Madison lost her mom, the OU soccer team became her rock and like a second family, helping Madison through the difficult experience. Even though not all of her teammates knew her mom as well as others, they all knew how close the pair was and made sure they were there for Madison.

“(They were) a group of people to be around every day and lift me up when I needed it,” Madison shares. “People that don't have that, I can't even imagine. I did have that. Your family, when something like that happens, they're grieving it, too, dealing with it in their own way, so that I had a group of people outside of that definitely helped.”

For a while, during her mom's final days and following her passing last August, Madison was not sure when she would be returning to Norman and the sport of soccer. Madison missed the entire preseason, and there were talks of redshirting and possibly staying in Tulsa with her family and mom for as long as they had left together. But that is not what Becky wanted her youngest daughter to do.

“She wanted me to go on and do the things that I love to do and that we love to do together and obviously school. She didn't want me to miss a beat on that and soccer. She knew how important soccer was to me. It's always been an outlet, and I think that obviously she knew that wasn't going to change, and I was going to need that outlet… She was the one who said, 'you're going back to school.”

And while the support of her teammates was impactful to Madison, they were also impacted by her.

“Madi has this little light inside and she's letting it shine in spite of what she's had to endure. It's truly inspiring.”
— Rachel Ressler

As Madison was dealing with illness and eventual loss of her mother, she showed continuous strength. Madison supported her sisters and father through the difficult time and demonstrated incredible amounts of courage when making the decision to resume classes and return to playing soccer while dealing with sadness and the distance away from her family, Keester says.

“I am continually in awe of the courageousness Madison has shown,” Keester shares. “She personifies a woman of high character and every day continually strives to be better than she was the day before. She works so hard on and off the soccer field, and the incredible amounts of strength and courage she has shown makes me feel honored to call her one of my best friends.”

Even through the struggles in her life, Madison has always had a smile on her face, something that has not gone unnoticed by her friends.

“Madi showed that even during the hard times, you can still find a reason to smile,” Price says. “She carried on with school and soccer almost immediately after her mom passed and that in itself shows great strength to carry on as she knew her mom wanted her to.”

Junior defender Rachel Ressler explains that Madison showed all kinds of strengths through the loss of her mom and continues to exhibit that characteristic to this day.

“After losing your mother, your person, your best friend, I believe it takes great strength to continue on with your life without that person you shared everything with every day; Madi has that strength,” Ressler states. “Although she had her good days and her bad days, she stayed positive when it was easy not to be. Madi has this little light inside and she's letting it shine in spite of what she's had to endure. It's truly inspiring.”

That strength may have very well come from Becky as Madison says she draws “everything” from her mother's attitude and outlook on life, trying to live with the same spirit that she did.

“Everyone wants to be like that - a word I use is a light,” Saliba shares. “I feel like she was just a light for people, and she always talked about how much she loved life, and she really lived her life like that. She tried to look for the good in every situation, every person, and always believed God had a plan. She never turned away from that at any point. It's just amazing to me still.”

NOT JUST A GAME

For the Sooners, having a teammate and friend who was affected by cancer completely changes the way they see the Kick for a Cure game.

Having watched her and her family struggle through Becky's passing, Madison says she thinks her teammates understand what Friday's game really means.

“It (cancer) changes people's lives. It's important to be aware of how important it (the game and awareness) is,” Madison says. “Something we always talk about is playing for something bigger than yourself. I think it's a good opportunity for every one of us to do that.”

The theme of “playing for something bigger than yourself” is one Madison's teammates and others within the OU soccer program take to heart, recognizing that although their sport is a key part of their lives, there is so much more to it than that.

“For our team, this game means so much. We always say play for something bigger than yourself and having the opportunity to honor such an amazing woman like Becky Saliba through our game makes it that much more meaningful,” Keester explains. “Becky was always full of energy on the sidelines during our club games and I can still hear her cheering for Madi and our team. Knowing I have the opportunity to honor her puts fire under my feet and determination in my heart. Becky was a fighter and if we come out with even the smallest percent of the fight she showed, we will come out on top.”

“Just don't take advantage of things, your family, the people you have. I would try to tell people to never ever take advantage of it because you don't get that time back. Love life like my mom always did.”
— Madison Saliba

For Ressler, it is a “game changer” having a close friend who was touched by breast cancer.

“The Kick for a Cure game is a chance to fight for something much bigger than yourself or the team,” Ressler explains. “It's a chance to fight for the lives that have been affected. This game is for you, Becky Lou, and your family.”

While he and his squad cannot fully comprehend what Madison and her family have gone through on a personal level, fourth-year OU head coach Matt Potter says that he hopes Friday's game honors them and others who have had struggles with breast cancer.

“Madison's resilience and courage never cease to amaze me,” Potter explains. “She's contributing on the field right now but obviously sometimes the game of soccer is second to life and it's important to remember all those that have gone through difficult times with this disease. This game has a special part in all of our hearts here because Madison is an important team member and obviously we hope to honor her and her mom in a way that makes everybody proud.”

Madison hopes her family's story and Friday's Kick for a Cure match will bring not only awareness but also a different perspective on and approach to life.

“Just don't take advantage of things, your family, the people you have. I would try to tell people to never ever take advantage of it because you don't get that time back,” Madison explains. “Love life like my mom always did.”

A LIGHT

A SUPPORT SYSTEM

NOT JUST A GAME

Players Mentioned

Liz Keester

Shiloh Price

Shiloh Price

Rachel Ressler

Madison Saliba

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics