Let It Grow
By Tammy Thornton
Friends and family remembered Aisling Cooke in a way they knew would make her proud—with a highly competitive soccer game. The fourth Annual Aisling Cooke Alumni game was held at the All Wars Memorial Field in Linwood on July 7, 2021. Former players from the boys’ and girls’ Mainland Regional High School’s Soccer teams gathered on the steamy July evening to remember and honor their former teammate and friend. The standout soccer player and her teammates were on their way to a charity soccer tournament at St. Augustine Prep in Buena, when their car was struck in a tragic accident. Aisling died on September 3, 2014, as a result of the accident. The Mainland community came together after the tragedy to show their love for Aisling and support of her parents, Hugh and Deirdre Cooke, and younger brother Colin. In the summer of 2018, the first alumni game honoring Aisling was held and the event has grown ever since.
Among others, 2018 Mainland Regional High School graduates Keegan Ford, Jules Cino, and Georgia Schoen helped organize the alumni game. They had also been Mainland soccer players and had gone to school with Aisling since kindergarten. Keegan’s dad, Eric Ford, is proud of how the group has come together and said, “These kids have this special bond no matter how much time has passed. It is a cool way to honor her and a night for the community to come together. I love it!” Prior to the start of the game, the players gathered at the center of the field for a moment of silence to remember Aisling. A green heart (representing Mainland Regional’s school color) and Aisling’s soccer jersey “#4” have become symbols for remembering the 14-year-old student that was just entering her freshman year at the high school. After the game, family, friends, and alumni gathered around a large green heart painted on the grass and the bench that has been placed at the field in her memory.
Each year, the alumni game has grown. This year the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (GCADA) supported the event by supplying T-shirts for the players. Linwood resident and GCADA Community Alliance Coordinator Lisa Pilli commented, “Along with the community, the committee is so pleased to support this healthy initiative and supply resources for the prevention of substance abuse so that tragedies like this do not happen.” The alumni group plans to continue the tradition and hopes to see it continue to grow.
Tammy Thornton is a mom of four, a substitute teacher, and a Sunday school teacher. She is passionate about gardening and cooking, and loves the beach.
