With most all of last years seniors already headed out of town, and into their bright future, I enlisted the last one here, Gracie McDermott, to "tap out a few paragraphs" about what Jam the Gym means.

She blew me away with this response.  Thank you Gracie, best of luck at West Chester!

     With only a little bit of time left before I start my years as a college student, I've spent the past couple of days stuffing my life into suitcases. One of those (to my mother's discontent) is filled to the brim with T-shirts. These tightly folded layers of colorful cotton don't seem like a big deal, but they define my high school career. A peek into the suitcase would reveal a navy shirt with white angel wings, a white one that shows a woman in a teal shirt, and a few that advertise three words: Jam

the Gym. Since I'll be going to a school so far removed from the big KA, I can already assume that new friends will be asking what my shirts mean. "What's a Jam the Gym?" "Who's Jaime?" "What does this all mean?" As a proud KAVB alum, I'll say just what those three words mean to me. And it'll sound a little something like this:

      Jam the Gym means purple and orange ribbons tied into my best friends' ponytails. It means teams from all over the area joining mine on the court for the National Anthem. It means support; it means community. Jam the Gym means being recognized for our struggle, and more importantly, our relentless fight. It means remembering Jaime, our inspiration. It means remembering Jenna, our faith. Jam the Gym means bleachers full of peers letting us know we aren't alone. Jam the Gym means Ellen Toy, the survivor. It means cancer doesn't stand a chance against our coach. It means being brave. Jam the Gym means heartfelt opening remarks by Tim Toy. It means gazing into the stands and nervously squeezing the hands of my teammates. It means swallowing our tears, taking a deep breath, and waiting for that first whistle. Jam the Gym, no matter the outcome of the game, means that we're stronger together than we could ever be apart. And that's absolutely beautiful. 

Gracie McDermott was the 2014 winner of the Jaime Vick Moran Scholarship

Images.

They hold power, memories, and pieces of an incredible story.

And you probably can't see them.

I can't not see them.

Seven years ago, in the LGI room we held a meeting.  Ellen was the new volleyball coach at Kiski then, and we were meeting the team.  That night Mr. Berberich uttered the words that would become our first mantra.

"It's about to get serious"...

That was an understatement.

The very next week, at our first open gym the doors flung open and in stepped Jaime Vick.  She wanted to help...

We could never have imagined how much...

There is a place on the floor, which is usually covered by the bleachers on game night.  It's where Jaime was showing an exercise, and where she first suspected something was wrong, and the place up in the very corner of the gym, right of the press box where she was projected, larger than life on the wall, from her hospital room at Jam the Gym 4 Jaime.

A bus pulled out from here, in the athletic circle.  Before that bus reached its destination, 15 miles away at Franklin Regional, news would reach through a cell phone and change our lives.  Ellen Toy had Gastric Cancer.

In this lobby, we gathered to sign volleyballs.  First for our beloved Asst. Coach Jaime, and then for our lovely friend Jenna.  A coach and an athlete gone way too soon.  

Not long after, we met in the cafeteria, under the guise of a birthday celebration for Ellen.  It was February 25th, 2013.

The real purpose was to tell the team that Ellen's Cancer had returned, and that Dan Clair and Maggie Jones would coach the following season.  The team had become leery of these types of meetings.  Who could blame them?

This year, Jam the Gym turns 5.  We wish to make an image that lasts that night, as Dan hands the clipboard back to Ellen, and Ellen returns to our sideline.  Please consider joining us that night.  Help us wipe away some of these images, and replace them with one of victory.  

Jam the Gym is September 3rd, starting at 5:30 with Ellen's return to coach against Plum, followed by a great college match featuring Point Park and Carlow.  It promises to be an evening to remember!