DURHAM — On Saturday, September 29, Coach Sean McDonnell, his staff, and the UNH Wildcats joined over 10,200 other coaches in the country to participate in Coach to Cure (www.coachtocuremd.org), a partnership between the American Football Coaches Association and Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, to raise funds and awareness of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, the most common fatal genetic disorder of children.
On Saturday, coaches from all over America wore armbands to encourage others to learn more about Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and to donate money toward finding a cure.
One reason the American Football Coaches Association was drawn to Coach To Cure MD was because of the unique parallels between Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a disorder which robs young men and boys of precious muscle strength and college football, a game where young men are at the peak of their muscle strength.
Duchenne is the most common fatal genetic disorder diagnosed during early childhood. A progressive muscle disorder that causes loss of muscle function and independence. To date, there is no cure.
Duchenne affects approximately one out of every 3,500 boys and 20,000 babies born each year worldwide. The disorder manifests primarily in boys because the affected gene is found on the X-chromosome. Duchenne knows no other boundaries, touching all races and cultures.
On Saturday, the UNH wildcats tackled Duchenne head-on by urging spectators to text the word "cure" to 90999 to donate to Coach to Cure. And in an effort to bring the initiative closer to home, invited Lucas Currier from Newfields to participate in their practice on Friday night and to start the game off with the coin flip. Lucas is a 10-year-old avid sportsman with DMD. The Wildcats also gave Lucas an authentic UNH Wildcats shirt and a Wildcats football.
For more information or to donate to find a cure, go to www.coachtocuremd.org or www.parentprojectmd.org