Battling a rare form of pediatric brain cancer, 7-year-old Liam Bascle always wanted to be a soccer player. Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation — an official Division II partner since 2003 — Saint Anselm made that dream come true.
What started out as a team-only event turned into much more after an email went viral on campus and set the stage for a perfect day for Liam, the latest addition to the Saint Anselm men's soccer team.
On Aug. 31, Liam was brought in a limo to campus. There was a National Letter of Intent ceremony. Head coach Bruno Victal and his entire team cheered on their new addition. Then, a special moment occurred. A golf cart was waiting outside the facility to take Liam to the team's field and locker room. To everyone's surprise, what felt like the entire campus community was there to cheer him on.
"There was, at least, like 1,000 people there, and it was kind of mind-blowing," senior Zach Elliot said.
An email had been sent out earlier in the week to various people on campus asking those who could join to do so. The event was scheduled for late in the afternoon, when classes would be going on, and a huge turnout was not expected. Well, most people on campus and the entire athletics department stopped what they were doing to line the streets for Liam's event.
Saint Anselm students, teams and faculty flooded the streets to cheer on Liam on his parade route to the soccer field
"It's all about working as a team, giving back to the community, being engaged and helping others," Victal said. "That's what it's all about. We're talking about impacting people's lives and supporting the ones in need."
Elliot added of the turnout, "It was just incredible. That's what our school's all about, community, coming together. We're like a family."
When Liam walked into the locker room, it became even more obvious he was part of this new family. From the moment players found out about Liam, they started thinking of ways to make the day special. They even connected with his teacher to find out everything he liked and then came up with ways to add to the day.
His locker contained his favorite candy and drinks, gear for his favorite soccer teams (Manchester City and Chelsea), toys from Disney's "Cars" movie series and a soccer ball signed by the entire team. The team pooled money together to buy the items. After learning Liam is a big Mario Kart fan, players made sure there was a game system ready in the locker room for him to play it. Two players dressed up as Mario and Luigi, too.
Saint Anselm men's soccer players pooled together money and ideas to make Liam's day as special as possible. The team bought Liam jerseys, toys, snacks and a soccer ball everyone signed.
"They all bought into it right away," Victal said of his players. "The day was a perfect day."
The day ended with Liam taking the field with his new team. This, to Victal, was the highlight of the event. Seeing Liam's face light up as he kicked the soccer ball around, living out his dream while battling what most would consider a nightmare, is a moment the sixth-year head coach will never forget.
"Liam's mother and father, we were having a conversation as the boys were kicking it around with Liam, and she told me that since he had his most recent surgery, she hasn't seen him running and moving around that much," Victal said. "He gets tired pretty quick, but it was clear that his love for soccer, the love for the game kept him going, and he couldn't stop. For me, that impacted me the most, how the love for soccer, the love for the game made a child move around like he did that day."
Weeks after the event, Victal still gets texts about it. Some come from friends as far away as Brazil, his home country, who have seen the videos. University staff who have worked there for upward of 40 years told him they'd never seen anything like it on campus before. It became obvious Liam left as large an impact on the Saint Anselm community as it did on him.
Liam takes a shot on goal during his Make-A-Wish experience with the Saint Anselm men's soccer team.
"Liam did more for us than we did for him. We made his day, but having him on campus opened our eyes and made us appreciate what we have," Elliot said. "Also, knowing that we can come together and change a kid's situation … just knowing that we can have that impact on somebody, that was really special. That definitely has paid off on the field. We used that as motivation, something to rally around, and I think it definitely made us better."
It also reminded Elliot of why he chose to play at Saint Anselm. While Liam's day started as a men's soccer event, it quickly became a communitywide effort.
"I'm just really grateful that we had the opportunity to do this, and I'm also super grateful for our school, our classmates that came out, other sports teams, the staff, the faculty, people from the community that came to show support to Liam," Elliot said. "Even though they didn't get to interact with him really, just them lining the streets, making signs, cheering him on, I'll forever be grateful for that because that was one of the most special moments I'll ever experience in my life."
To learn more about Liam's journey, which most recently included a paid trip to England to watch Manchester City and Chelsea, check out his family's blog.
Liam is welcomed by the entire Saint Anselm men's soccer team for his Make-A-Wish event.
