Today, September 30th 2020, Alex’s Army is proud to announce the start of our Green & Gold Athletic Spirit Scholarship in loving memory of two incredible athletes, George Mason University All-American center fielder Nakoma Sours (#3) and our own Alex Green (#41 / #52). Nakoma and Alex continue to inspire our community and this scholarship will honor their shared love for athletics and competition.
While today marks the end of the nationally recognized Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Alex’s Army is honored and incredibly proud to announce the start of this new endeavor to make a difference in the lives of families and youth athletes impacted by a childhood cancer diagnosis.
Through our Alex’s battle with cancer, we were always amazed at how he persevered with incredible determination, strength, and courage. From an early age Alex was motivated by competition and was a natural athlete in every sport he tried. Whether it was soccer, flag football, basketball, or t-ball (and he tried them all), he never ceased to amaze those around him at how natural of an athlete he was. After his paralysis at the age of 7, one of the first things he did when he arrived at the rehabilitation hospital was get in a sled to test out sled hockey. In rehab, he was introduced to adult rugby, lacrosse, sled hockey and wheelchair basketball – pretty much anything they could offer he wanted to do it but he had an undeniable passion for sled hockey and wheelchair basketball. He competed in National Tournaments and traveled with his teams to New York, Kentucky, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and several other neighboring states for competition. Often, sports were his motivation through treatment. Whether it was scheduling chemotherapy treatments early so he could make basketball in the afternoon, or setting his alarm to do 20 pushups every day to keep in shape so he could compete – Alex had an incredible athletic spirit, a love for sports and his teammates which was evident to everyone who met him.
Nakoma Dawn Sours, an American Indian from the Chickahominy Indian Tribe, also lived her life with a passion for competition and an unbreakable will to push towards excellence — always striving to be the best on and off the field. As a star player on the George Mason University women’s softball team, she inspired others to be better and pushed her teammates to excel. Nakoma achieved many accolades as a GMU Patriot – to this day she holds the single season record in runs scored and walks, as well as placing 2nd in on-base percentage and 3rd in slugging percentage. Despite playing only two seasons at GMU, Nakoma is 4th in school history in career stolen bases. Nakoma was ranked amongst the Nation’s Top 5 all-time in stolen bases and had National honors in on-base percentage.
We are announcing the launch of the annual Green & Gold Athletic Spirit Scholarship today in loving memory of Nakoma on the 25th anniversary of her passing in a tragic car accident. Alex’s Army will continue awarding this scholarship each year in remembrance of our Alex whose passion for sports and incredible determination inspired all those who knew him. The scholarship will recognize athletes whose lives are forever changed by a childhood cancer diagnosis but who inspire those around them every step of the way through their love for sport, their determination, strength, courage, and athletic spirit.
-More details will follow regarding scholarship application specifics