Today, April 8, 2021, Alex’s Army is proud to announce the winners 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). These scholarships recognize athletes whose lives were 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 – just as Alex and Nakoma did throughout their lives.
On our Alex’s 17th birthday, Alex’s Army is honored and incredibly proud to announce we have selected three (3) scholarship award winners for 2021. Alex’s Army will award scholarships totaling $4,800 to Samuel Becker, Justin Brown and Devin Hutcheson — three athletes whose lives were impacted by a childhood cancer diagnosis, but continue to mentor, inspire, and make a positive impact on the community around them.
About the Scholarship Recipients:
Samuel Becker is a Senior at Sherwood High School. He was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in October 2013 when he was 10 years old.
Prior to his diagnosis, Sam was an avid soccer player that loved the spirit of competition. After undergoing cancer treatments and suffering through several serious complications, Sam was unable to compete in the same way with his peers on the soccer field. Through over seven years of hospital visits, recovery and physical therapy, Sam bonded with his family and friends by watching hockey and cheering on the Washington Capitals but was missing the opportunity to play sports. Soon he was introduced to the dynamic and challenging sport of sled hockey, where he rekindled his competitive nature and discovered a supportive community of fellow athletes.
Sam has developed into a leader on and off the ice and hopes to continue competing in sled hockey as he goes on to college.
Justin Brown is a Senior at Battlefield High School. Justin’s diagnosis of Craniopharyngioma Brain Tumor came at the age of 2 in February 2005.
Justin’s passion for baseball began when he was adopted by the James Madison Baseball team through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation. As a crafty sidearm pitcher, Justin played baseball for 15 seasons in the Gainesville Haymarket Baseball League. In addition, Justin has been a member of the Archery teams at Ronald Reagan Middle School and Battlefield High School, including being a part of State, National and World Championship archery teams.
Justin has suffered through many serious complications since his cancer diagnosis, but has remained an inspiration to his family, friends, and teammates.
Devin Hutcheson is a Freshman at Messiah University. Devin was diagnosed with Stage 3 T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma in December 2016 at the age of 16.
Devin played soccer for Battlefield High School his freshman year and was on the team the next three years but his on-field impact was limited due to ongoing effects of his treatments. However, he inspired his teammates by enduring many cold days on the sideline suffering from chemotherapy treatments to be there in support of his team.
Because Devin’s dream to play college soccer was taken from him, he pursued another passion, art. Devin’s work has been featured in the Piedmont Lifestyle Publication, “Spray Painting a Reimagined Life” and at the Haymarket Medical Center Community Gallery.
Devin is a very talented up and coming artist that is currently majoring in Studio Art with a concentration in two-dimensional painting.
About the Scholarship
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 chemo 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.
25 years ago, on September 30th, the George Mason University women’s softball team tragically lost one of their players in a car accident. Nakoma Dawn Sours 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. 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, she sits second in on-base percentage and 3rd in slugging percentage. After only playing 2 seasons at GMU, Nakoma is 4th in cumulative steals against women who have competed all four years. Nakoma was ranked amongst the Nation’s Top 5 all-time in steals and had National honors in on-base percentage.
We announced the start of the Green & Gold Athletic Spirit Scholarship in loving memory of Nakoma on the 25th anniversary of her passing and Alex’s Army will continue awarding this scholarship each year in remembrance of our Alex –on his birthday–whose passion for sports and incredible determination inspired all those who knew him.
The scholarship recognizes 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.
Thank you to all who applied and congratulations again to our 2021 recipients. We will begin accepting applications for our 2022 Scholarships in February. Check back on this page for future announcements and for next years application guidelines.