By STEVEN CALHOUN/Staff Writer

The Clanton Orange youth football league has alternate black and pink uniforms for the month of October to support breast cancer awareness.

The president of the league, Jason Coates, said he had always wanted to do an alternate jersey for away games. This year, the idea struck him to go all out and order a matching uniform set in black and pink for breast cancer awareness.

The leadership of the league kept it quiet while raising funds. When they unveiled the new uniforms, Coates said the reaction was priceless.

“Kids and adults went crazy over them,” said Coates.

He said many parents and members of the community donated to help get the new uniforms.

It is not just the jerseys that are black and pink; the pants, socks, armbands, and eye black all go with the theme. Some players even bought pink shoestrings for their shoes.

All age groups of the league got the new uniforms. According to Coates, teams have worn the breast cancer awareness uniforms twice so far: once on Oct. 1 and again on Saturday, Oct. 10.

“We’ll get at least four games out of them,” said Coates.

Parents, players and even other teams’ reactions were so good that the league will continue using the alternate uniforms every year, according to Coates. The leadership of the league has agreed to make it a tradition. Players who want can reuse theirs when they return next year, and the league will order new uniforms for players who need them.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. To learn more about the breast cancer cause, go to cancer.org.