A Shining Example of Advocating for a Cause; Zac’s Attack for a Cure

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- This past weekend, the WBA (World Baseball Academy) 9U Knights wore jerseys that read, 'ATTACK the Cure' across the chest and “BERGER” as the name on the back. This effort and gesture to help raise awareness is an amazing example of what can be done to advocate for a cure, which is something that Zac’s Attack for a Cure is always searching for … people, companies and teams to help raise awareness and fundraise for research for lymphatic malformation. Co-founder Zachary Berger suffers from lymphatic malformation (LM) and has made it his mission to “turn why me into how,” meaning instead of feeling sorry for himself, he is determined to make a difference in the lives of people who also suffer from LM.

The 9-year-old baseball team wore the jerseys during whole tournament, which included a total of 5 games over two days. They made it to the championship game but came up just short of winning it all. Director and head coach of this organization is Angel Romero and his son Sebasti?an is on the team.

Zachary and his family are grateful for the thoughtfulness and effort that went into doing this. Special thanks goes to Meghan Scank, one of the moms from the team. She donated the jerseys and helped organize everything!

Zachary’s Dad, Marc, commented, “One funny story was the unexpected part of the jerseys ... all of them had 'BERGER' on the back as their name! We did not expect that! We thought their names would be on there or no names and just their numbers. It ended up being a very cool addition that made Zachary and all of us feel really special!”

What was more impressive and touching was the attitude of the boys. They were gracious in the effort and understood that they were doing something for a cause. On top of that they were respectful of their coaches and the sport itself and they were really good baseball players!

Zachary was in the dugout for three of the games, helping them with their lineup, warm-ups, and even coached first base for an inning and made a mound visit at one point! It's only been 8 years since Zachary was in their shoes and with his involvement as a manager of The Woodlands College Park Cavaliers baseball team, he felt right at home.

With Zachary’s love for baseball, this is a perfect example of what Zac’s Attack for a Cure would love to see more of in the future. The idea of other youth tournament teams doing this, high school teams and ultimately, getting a professional MLB player to represent Zac's Attack is all in the sites of the family!

“We are consistently looking for ways to raise awareness of lymphatic
malformation. The more eyes on Zac's Attack for a Cure and the more times people learn about LM, the more energy and money will go into a cure, treatment and overall understanding,” Zachary Berger said.

Do you know of a team that would be willing to advocate? Maybe it's a jersey, or a helmet sticker or patch. Maybe it's a banner at the field. Maybe it is a specific game or tournament that includes a visit from Zachary to the team/field/game. Zac’s Attack for a Cure is committed to asking and searching for willing advocates, so kids (and adults) with lymphatic malformation will suffer less and thrive more!

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