An Avon Grove High School junior has had an unconventional athletic journey. Gavin Picard started playing football in the third grade, writes Isabella DiAmore for The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Picard was a key player on the school’s football team and his grades put him near the top of his class.  

Everything changed when he woke up with a sore throat in October. His mother, Beth, noticed he had a lump on the side of his neck. She’s been a pediatric nurse for twenty years and expected the worst. Picard was later diagnosed with stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  

He spent the next six months battling the disease so he could get back on the field. But it wasn’t easy, and he and his family had to deal with the emotional turbulency that comes with cancer treatment.  

Luckily, Picard finished his treatment in March. He’s been named co-captain for his senior year and is looking forward to getting back in the game.  

“I don’t want to forget about what happened; it’s obviously a part of me now. But it’s not the only thing that I have to offer to talk about. I had a life before this, I have stuff that I’m doing now. It’s not the only thing that makes me,” said Picard. 

Read more about the Avon Grove High School junior in The Philadelphia Inquirer.  

Avon Grove and Coatesville unite to show solidarity for Gavin Picard.