It has become commonplace: another regular season SoCon championship for Samford soccer. The win came Friday evening at East Tennessee State University, with a final score of 1-0. But there has been nothing common about this season. Throughout each day this fall, and stretching back several years, Coach Todd Yelton and his wife, Shauna, and their family and friends have been battling Shauna’s cancer. During her time as the director of our campus health center, Shauna provided much-needed care to hundreds of our students and employees. Now it is our turn to care for her.
In an exchange with Todd early Saturday morning, he wrote these words to me: “This has been a tough journey. However, the Almighty continues to show up in our desperation. We often speak of family. It has become a cliché in sports. However, this team, the athletic department and the Samford community have demonstrated that we really do love one another. I am humbled by the love that our team and their families have demonstrated to us. We often speak of how much we love and care for one another. To this group it's much more than a cliché as they demonstrate that daily. I am moved beyond being able to express how proud I am of this group.”
The world is better because of Shauna and Todd Yelton.