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Boardman High School golf team pays tribute to coach battling ALS
BOARDMAN
When Brian Terlesky showed up at Mill Creek Golf Course on Thursday to coach the Spartan girls at their final home match of the season, he was surprised and maybe even a little peeved.
The girls weren’t wearing their uniforms, or even Spartan maroon and white.
Instead, the group donned bright-blue shirts.
They weren’t disrespecting their school; they were displaying their respect for Christine, Brian’s wife who, until symptoms from ALS forced her to stop, coached the team with him.
Christine is a beloved former Boardman High School teacher and coach – and mother of three – who in 2013 was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease that, within two to five years, robs its victims of the ability to walk, talk, eat and, eventually, to breathe. Blue is the color associated with “Chip In For Chris,” a community fundraising effort (information for which is available on Facebook) to help defer the cost of Christine’s medical treatment.
“This was a shock, a total surprise,” said Brian of the girls’ tribute. “She has no idea. I had no idea.”
Brian offered an update on her condition Thursday, saying she’s “hanging in there.”
“The last report we got, her breathing was steady. ... But she’s in a wheelchair for good now,” he said. “But she’s a fighter. No doubt about it.”
The girls varsity team – Tori Augustine, Britney Jonda, Maya Stinson, Emily Jackson, Kathrin Ritz, Jacinta Pikunas and Jenna Vivo, who is Christine’s niece – say they just wanted to do something to honor Christine since it was their final home game (their record was 14-1 going into it), and she coached them all at one point.
Gathered at the range before their match against Lakeside High School, the girls shared some of their favorite memories of Christine and lessons they’ve learned from her.
They recalled her jokingly egging them on at practice, times when she’d bring her young daughter to the course, pushing them to be better and inspiring them in ways that extended far beyond the swing of their clubs.
“Whenever I go out to play, I play for her,” said Vivo.
“She was always looking out for our needs, not just in golf,” said Pikunas. “I learned you have to take advantage of every opportunity you’re given.”
“Because it goes by fast,” Augustine added.
It’s these moments, Brian said, that Christine misses the most – interaction with the kids she coached and taught for so many years.
But he fully expected to report back to her about the game that night.
“We still talk when I get home. She still yells at me – that hasn’t changed,” he said, smiling.