Charlie Denny Soccer Fest
San Diego Youth Soccer Community Comes Together To Help 13 Year Old Fight Brain Cancer
Youth soccer is usually highly competitive with strong rivalries between local youth soccer clubs – and these rivalries often pit coach and coach and club against club. Today, two of San Diego’s youth soccer clubs are joining forces to help one youth player in the fight of his life. Without hesitation, these clubs worked together to create the Charlie Denny Soccer Fest, setting a great example of how the business of soccer can be put aside for the greater good of building community support.
Ann and Paul Denny and the entire Denny family are soccer lovers and strong supporters of youth soccer. Now the youth soccer community is coming together to support their 13-year-old son, Charlie Denny, as he fights brain cancer.
Charlie Denny is a bright eyed, soccer-loving kid growing up playing soccer in Southern California. First playing for San Diego Soccer Club (SDSC) and then later joining San Diego Surf Soccer Club, Charlie Denny has played the game he loves so much for years.
Working behind the scenes to arrange the Charlie Denny Soccer Fest on November 23rd, Brian Quinn, Director of Younger Boys Soccer at SDSC and Colin Chesters, Director of Coaching at Surf SC have joined forces to make a difference. Held at Westview High School, which is right off 56 at 13500 Camino Del Sur, San Diego, CA 92129, the Charlie Denny Soccer Fest starts at 3pm.
“There are those rare moments in sports where everyone comes together. Surf Soccer Club and the soccer community stands with the Denny family in this fight,” said Jeremy McDonald, president of San Diego Surf SC. “We all want to see Charlie back where he belongs, on the soccer field doing what he loves.”
“San Diego Soccer Club believes in supporting the families in our community. We’re all part of a big soccer community and want to support families in need whether the family is with SDSC or any other club,” said Sally Grigoriev former president of SDSC and current Operations Director. “The Denny family is living through an extremely difficult situation. Charlie is a fun loving, promising 13 year old who is fighting for his life and we want to help him win.”
With an outpouring of support from other Directors of Coaching as well as youth coaches in the area, the word has been spreading quickly about Charlie’s battle with brain cancer. With many people opening up their hearts and their wallets to contribute, the goal of raising $100,000 to help fund Charlie’s challenge of a lifetime, is making progress.
“The Denny’s are a family that are ingrained in the game and have been part of the soccer community for a long, long time,” said Quinn. “All of their three boys played for us in Rancho Bernardo and also played for Surf SC. We just want to help Charlie and his family.”
“Our hearts go out to the Denny family and we plan to help anyway we can,” said Chesters. “The Denny’s are a great soccer family and the Dad played professional soccer in England. The Mum ran Surf Cup’s Teriyaki Chicken booth for years that helped numerous kids to offset the costs of players’ soccer. The three brothers Mikey, Charlie and Jack have all sweat blood for Surf SC over the years. Charlie is such a special player with a tremendous Soccer IQ and a very bright future. For all this to happen is devastating.”
The Charlie Denny Soccer Fest should be a great success. There are three soccer matches; a girls U11 game at 3pm followed by a U14 boys match at 4:15pm and then the U18 boys. The battle of the coaches is at 6:45pm which should not be missed and promises to be a lot of fun with both Colin Chesters and Brian Quinn playing.
Originally from Ireland, Quinn is a well-known former soccer professional that played in the North American Soccer League and for the San Diego Sockers. Now, also coach for University of San Diego, Quinn looks forward to the coaches’ game. Chesters also played professional soccer in England in Derby Country and was a striker.
Although the coaches’ match may not be exactly similar to the MLS playoffs or the Champions League, it will be fun to see how the teams stack up against each other as everyone enjoys the local club rivalry.
After all, this is to help Charlie Denny and what matters most is helping fund his battle with cancer.
Paul Currie, Charlie’s coach said, “Charlie is a natural footballer who was coached by Dave Currie for three years since U8 at Surf SC and then by me at U11,12 and 13. Charlie was usually the top scorer in the team every season, he has a cannon shot with his left foot and great technique to deliver passes all over the pitch. Great lad even though he supports Chelsea! I miss seeing him on the pitch.”
Everyone should come out to watch – area youth players and parents will have fun cheering as they watch how these top club coaches perform on the field. There are many retired professional players who coach in the area who will take to the field for this match and the age range will span from twenty-year olds all the way to fifty-plus.
It is truly great to see our soccer community come together and rivalries between clubs melt away as everyone’s hearts feel the tug to help a young 13-year-old boy with his entire life ahead of him. There is even a rumor that headers will count as double points.
At the time of publishing this article, 20% of the fundraising goal of $100,000 has been reached. With just over $19,000 raised, getting the word out is important. Donating is simple and easy and can be anonymous. If everyone helps, the goal can be reached.
There will be future fundraising efforts as well. Other members of our soccer community, such as the LA Galaxy, the San Diego Sockers and one.Soccer Schools have been quick to respond with offers of silent auction items. To make a donation or find out how you can help, please email Ann Denny.
From the Help Charlie, our 13 year old son fight Brain Cancer on YouCaring.com:
Charlie is the youngest of four children, 13 years old with a heart of gold. He is funny, kind & loves life. He is a huge athlete, and has played competitive soccer since the age of five. He loves snowboarding, skateboarding, golf, and anything outside. Charlie’s smile is contagious & has a strong passion for music. On a Monday afternoon, after eight weeks of complaining of headaches, we received a phone call that would change our lives forever. Charlie was diagnosed with a Medulloblastoma, a malignant tumor of the brain. We were told that he needed brain surgery immediately, we went straight to the ER. On Tuesday morning, Charlie spent two hours in the MRI machine to check his brain stem and spine. On Wednesday morning he endured five hours of brain surgery to remove the tumor. As the tumor was located in the cerebellum, Charlie endured three straight days of vomiting and was very sick. He pulled through and so far Charlie has been so strong, like any other child going through cancer, the biggest thing to conquer is the fear. We are a strong family, but this has made us question everything we have ever believed in.
Charlie has a long, and hard path ahead of him so please help us get through this devastating time and help Charlie! Please Pray for him!
Thank you so much for your love and support,
The Denny Family
For more information or to donate to help Charlie Denny, please click here.
