Tanner’s school colors are green and black. But Friday night, the Rattlers colors changed to pink for one game, as the Tanner boys soccer team honored breast cancer survivors as well as those who have succumbed to the disease.

Tanner boys soccer coach Matt Smith had the idea to sport the pink uniforms to raise breast cancer awareness, especially since his mother died of breast cancer in 2014 not long after he took the Tanner soccer coaching job.

“This is something I’ve felt passionate about for a while now,” Smith said. “Ever since my mom passed away from breast cancer in 2014, I’ve been a big advocate for breast cancer awareness. That was my first year of coaching soccer, and I didn’t get to finish out coaching the last two playoff games that year because of her diagnosis. She was diagnosed March 11 and passed away May 1. That’s something I’ll always remember. With that and soccer being tied together, it just seemed right.”

Smith said he plans to have Tanner wear the pink uniforms twice a year, at the first and last home games of the season.

The pink uniforms are also a tribute to two women who have gone through the breast cancer fight, Regina Smith and Stephanie Newton.

Newton, whose children, nephews and nieces all went to Tanner, is currently fighting breast cancer while Smith, who has been taking photos at Tanner sporting events for more than 10 years, has been cancer free for three years.

Both of the women were recognized before Fridays game and had their picture taken with the team wearing their pink uniforms.

“Miss Stephanie’s kids are Emily Lewter, who is the resource officer at Clements, and her son is Christopher Newton, who has got his own plumbing business,” Smith said. “I’ve known them my whole life and known their mom my whole life. And Regina is everybody’s aunt. Everybody loves Miss Regina. She takes great pictures of everybody. This is a way for the boys soccer team to give back to the community and say we stand with them and we appreciate everything they’ve done.”

Smith said she was touched by the team’s gesture.

“I always think it’s nice when someone honors someone that’s been through breast cancer or going through breast cancer, because it’s really, really hard on the person and their families,” Regina Smith said. “Chemo is definitely hard, because it’s a drug you take to kill the cancer, but it destroys a lot of other things in the body too. You lose all your hair, and it got go where I didn’t want to eat anything because you lose all your taste buds. But the days I felt well I still took pictures because giving up wasn’t an option for me.”

Regina Smith said the Tanner school and community stood with her during her cancer fight, which, along with her faith in God, helped her stay strong in her darker days.

“I had so much support from the community when I found out I had breast cancer,” Regina Smith said. “The school and community supported me so much, and I appreciate that.”

That support is still being shown through tributes like the pink uniforms.

“We want to spread awareness, and the best way we knew how was to wear the pink uniforms,” Matt Smith said. “We want to let everybody know how much we appreciate these two ladies.”