Kim Reynolds: “in sports today, words like courage and character, leadership and perseverance are used so frequently they have become…”

“in sports today, words like courage and character, leadership and perseverance are used so frequently they have become almost cliche. Sometimes, though, a story emerges that rekindles our faith in the indomitable will of the human spirit, which proves a sports figure can embody all those traits and more, and which inspires not only a team but an entire community. Such is the case in a story of Mike Fennell, coach of the McQuaid Jesuit High School baseball team in Rochester, New York. One week ago, Mike coached the Knights to their first section v baseball championship in 20 years. It was the 250th victory of his coaching career, the team's fourth championship game in 5 years, and Coach Fennell's first sectional title. Indeed, these accomplishments are worthy of note, but they are even more remarkable considering just days before the championship game in Rochester's Frontier Field, Mike Fennell was in a hospital bed recovering from yet another surgery in his valiant crusade against non-smoker's lung cancer.”