By Joe Hickman
URBANA, Mo. (KY3) – The Skyline girls volleyball team is heading to the Final Four for the first time in school history this weekend in Cape Girardeau.
But their excitement is tempered by the absence of a key team member who’s never even been on the court.
A 70 year-old man.
Lawrence Green is definitely the Tigers number one fan and the team’s part-time bus driver who the Tigers came to know and love as a good luck charm during past playoff runs. But in the early part of this year it was discovered that Green had lung cancer and by August he was given just six months to live after the cancer metastasized to his bones and brain.
Yet even as his health has deteriorated, Green has been around for the volleyball program’s historical run this season and although he is certainly unable to set a ball or deliver a game-changing spike, the man on the sideline in the wheelchair with the oxygen tank is considered an important part of the Tiger team.
“I feel like Lawrence is definitely the reason for our season,” said Skyline Head Volleyball Coach Shawna Bybee.
“He’s probably the main reason we’ve made it this far,” added senior player Jorden Hodges.
“They show so much respect,” Green said when asked about his reaction to the team’s support. “I mean here they are, teenagers, and I’m 70 years-old. They don’t have to care about me. But they do.”
Boy, do they.
You can feel the love every time the team is around him including a send-off pep rally for the Tigers on Thursday when the entire squad walked one-at-a-time up to Green and presented him with a hug and his favorite treats, Whoppers Malted Milk Balls. It’s just one of the many things the team does for Green.
“They’ll be bags of treats and green balloons on the porch when we come home from doctor’s appointments,” said his wife Tina.
And although Skyline’s school colors are red and black, the Tigers refer to themselves as “Team Green” as a tribute to Green.
Their Final Four shirts are green. They bought green shoes that Green autographed with his name on the soles and he bought them green flowers when the playoffs started.
“I just kept telling our team this is more than a game to us,” Bybee said. “This is someone’s life. We knew he wasn’t going to be around for much longer and we wanted one more smile on his face and provide that for him.”
“I really never cared for volleyball that much until I met these girls and started taking them to their volleyball games,” Green said.
And while the team considered him their good luck charm, the bond with their bus driver goes much deeper than that.
“This year I feel that the girls have really become attached to him,” Bybee said. “It’s just his energy.”
“He’s there for us whenever anyone needs him,” added senior player Jadyn Foster. “And we try to do the same for him.”
“I can’t put it into words what these girls mean to me,” Green said. “And they feel the same way because they know that next year I probably won’t be around.”
The community has also responded by raising money for Green and his family to go to Wrigley Field for a series between the Cardinals and Cubs. That took place in September to celebrate his 70th birthday.
“It was absolutely amazing,” Green said, adding that the Cardinals won both games he attended.
So maybe he was a good luck charm for the Redbirds as well?
“I could be….for everybody,” he replied with a smile.
At the end of Thursday’s pep rally Green was given a standing ovation by the students and faculty in attendance and as he raised his hands and shed some tears in soaking up the adulation, you could tell he was counting his blessings and not his hardships.
“Without all this I’d probably be a basket case,” he said of the public support. “This just helps immensely. I’m ready to go as long as I’ve got God. And if I need anything God’s gonna see that I have it through these people.”
As the team got ready to board the bus, each player came by to give Green one more hug.
“Just win and I’ll be good,” he told them. “If you lose, I’ll be good too.”
“I look at Lawrence as a gift to life,” Bybee said. “No matter what he feels like he will have a smile on his face and be a joy for the girls. I really hope my girls will use that in life knowing there’s somebody else dealing with something tougher so why don’t they try to put a smile on their face and make them feel special.”
As the team bus pulled away from the high school headed to Cape Girardeau, Green waved at them and yelled, “I wanna go with ‘em!”
But Lawrence Green is with them….in their hearts.
Junior player Grace Edge put it best.
“There will never be another Lawrence.”
