Hokie kicking cancer in memory of his brother

Virginia Tech kicker Joey Slye is no stranger to the pressure of hitting a game winning field goal, but it’s an extra inspiration off the field that he credits with giving him even more determination.

His older brother A.J. passed away in 2014 after a battle with leukemia. The younger Slye was diagnosed during his freshman year at Salisbury University, where he was playing football. He spent over a year battling the disease—all while Joey watched.

A.J. received a stem cell transplant from his mother, and for a while it looked like it might work. Multiple surgeries started to take a toll on A.J.’s body, and he slowly became too weak to fight back.

While his brother’s death hurt, it also inspired him. Joey is determined to kick cancer. He has said while other kickers try to clear their heads before making the kick on the field, he looks to his brother for some extra strength.

Last year, Joey was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza award, which recognizes the nation’s top kicker. He was 20 of 27 on field goals and 58 of 59 PATs.

Both brothers played football at North Stafford High School. A.J. fought the disease with everything he had learned on the football field, but it wasn’t enough.

Through his brother’s struggle, Slye learned football is not as big of a deal as he once thought it was.

“There is no comparison. Football, as much of my life as it takes up, is just a game. My brother’s fight took more than just grit, toughness or strength. It is different when the adversity faced can mean your life instead of a bowl bid or even a Commonwealth Cup,” he said. “The things my brother had to deal with on a daily basis is truly immeasurable to a game winning kick or something of that pressure. He was in pain constantly; to the point where we truly didn’t know, because he would hide is so that we wouldn’t worry about him. If I miss a kick, it’s not gonna kill me. When something went wrong with him, his life was truly put in danger.”

“There is no comparison. Football, as much of my life as it takes up, is just a game. My brother’s fight took more than just grit, toughness or strength. It is different when the adversity faced can mean your life instead of a bowl bid or even a Commonwealth Cup,” he said. “The things my brother had to deal with on a daily basis is truly immeasurable to a game winning kick or something of that pressure. He was in pain constantly; to the point where we truly didn’t know, because he would hide is so that we wouldn’t worry about him. If I miss a kick, it’s not gonna kill me. When something went wrong with him, his life was truly put in danger.”

A.J. is always with the Hokie kicker. Joey wears a necklace while playing that has a pendant with the image of A.J.’s tombstone, another one with A.J.’s fingerprint, a cross his brother wore while going through the stem cell procedure and a pendant that A.J. wore while spending month’s at the St. Jude Hospital.

The Virginia Tech senior admits watching his brother’s fight was very emotional and in many ways left him with a hopeless feeling.

“I couldn’t help him and that hurt the most. He was my brother and whenever something was wrong or if we had gotten in trouble, I was there to help and support him, but nothing I could do could really to save his life,” he said.

A.J.’s family started the Slyestrong6 Foundation a short time after his death to honor him while bringing awareness to the disease and raising money for a fight that doesn’t have a helmet or shoulder pads.

“He was an amazing kid, and I’m not just saying that because he was my brother. He was going to do something with his life and be a leader in our society. He worked too hard to have his legacy and impact be cut short, and for me, my life is dedicated to making sure that he is given the honor and glory he would have worked for,” Slye said

The Foundation’s goal is to provide academic scholarships to graduating seniors in all five of Stafford County’s public schools, raise money to support medical research in the fight to cure cancer, promoting awareness of the disease and providing comfort to those living with cancer.

One of the items available from the foundation is a “playbook of recovery,” which was used during A.J.’s battle. It provides information for families going through similar battles on how to deal with the emotional stress and also notes from doctors and other service providers that can be shared with other medical personnel during the fight.

This past fall, the foundation donated four tablets and a DVD player to the Outpatient Infusion Center at Mary Washington Healthcare Regional Cancer Center.

There was also a campaign that took its cue from the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. The “Selfless Selfie Campaign” was a social media movement encouraging people to simply do a kind deed for someone, write it down with the phrase “I honored A.J. Slye by…” and then take a selfie photo and post it with the hash tag #SelflessSelfie or #slyestrong6.

The campaign was ruled a complete success and continues to this day. Slye said he learned from his brother’s fight that first God has a plan for life.

“He loves and cares so much for me that he used my brother to reach me. Second is that tomorrow is never truly promised,” he said.

His effort has gotten him some attention on the national stage. Slye has been nominated for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s “Man of the Year” honor. Every dollar raised in his name till May 20 counts as a vote.

To support Slye in his man of the year campaign, go to www.mwoy.org. For more information on Slye’s foundation, visit www.facebook.com/Slyestrong6foundation.

The FarmHouse fraternity at Virginia Tech has partnered with Slye to raise money for LLS, holding a mud run earlier today in Blacksburg.