This is an opinion piece.

How would you like to receive news on April 1 that you had been diagnosed with cancer?

That’s exactly what happened to longtime Berry High softball coach Darrell Thomas.

“I wish it had been an April Fool’s joke, but it wasn’t,” Thomas said this week. “But God is good, and everything is going to be fine. I’ve got a lot of people supporting me. A lot of people have it worse than I have it. We are going to fight, and we are going to be OK.”

The fight is underway for Thomas even as he leads his team into the regional softball tournament in Florence for the third straight year next week. The official diagnosis was Mantle Cell Lymphoma, a rare, aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that typically affects older adults, primarily men.

Thomas endured his first rounds of chemotherapy last week.

“I’m feeling stronger than ever,” he told me. “I go back every 28 days to do another round for the next six months.”

Thomas needed all his strength earlier this week.

He was in the dugout as his Berry team played 34 total innings in four games on Tuesday to win the Class 1A, Area 10 tournament. The Wildcats (21-15) will play Athens Bible at 9 a.m. Wednesday in the North Regional.

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“I had a shot Monday to boost my white blood cells,” he said. “I think it also boosted my adrenaline. Tuesday was a really strong day for me. I felt normal. We got to the park at noon for our first game at 1. We left at 10:47 p.m. my wife said. I have such good people around me. The parents were bringing me food and Gatorade in the dugout. The Berry community is just special. I didn’t grow up here, but they have accepted me with open arms since I arrived. The amount of support we’ve had has been off the charts.”

Thomas has been the Berry softball coach since 2009. He has been the principal at Berry Elementary – right across the street from the high school – since 2016 after spending a decade as the assistant principal.

His cancer fight started in March as softball season was starting to heat up.

“I had some rapid weight loss,” he said. “I lost over 30 pounds and had a nagging cough that wouldn’t go away. There was a lot of fatigue. I didn’t have any energy, especially after lunch. I had to muster up energy to do things that really aren’t that taxing physically. It’s not like I was working construction. I’m a principal.”

On March 14, on the strong advice of his wife Natalie, Thomas went to the emergency room.

“They noticed my blood levels had dropped since my checkup in December,” he said. “We went on vacation and came back, and they had dropped even further.”

The official diagnosis came a few weeks later.

Since then, Thomas has mostly stepped away from his role as principal while still coaching the softball team. He said the assistant principal, teachers, secretary and custodians have handled the workload at the elementary school in his absence.

“I’ve been communicating from home with my assistant principal and counselor,” he said. “I will stop by every now and then to do some paperwork. With this disease, your energy level is to the point where you can’t do too much more than an hour or two of work without getting tired. Doctors also were concerned about me being around a large number of people all day or even for a half day.”

While Thomas has continued to coach his team, his assistants (Rodney Naramore, Hannah Herren Howton) have handled most practices for him. He has coached the games from the dugout.

“I put a lot of sunscreen on my face,” he said of Tuesday’s marathon area tournament. “I call pitches from the dugout. I wear long sleeves and long pants and a bucket hat. Because of the chemo, they said I could burn easier.”

Berry football coach Danny Raines said Thomas’ strength through the fight has been inspiring.

“I’ve witnessed him with little to no energy, even struggling to walk,” he wrote in an email. “But he goes and coaches these girls.”

Thomas’ team has worn lime green jerseys, the color used to raise awareness and support for lymphoma patients. Thomas continues to be strengthened by his faith and supported by his wife, children, team and the community.

“We’re Christians, and we know God already knows how this is going to play out,” he said. “We believe He already has opened doors with the doctors and nurses we’ve had along the way.”

The future is promising.

Thomas said doctors have told him his cancer is treatable and, in most cases, curable with a low relapse rate. If the cancer is gone after his six months of chemotherapy, he will be on a 3–5-year maintenance plan.

Thomas started coaching softball in West Virginia in 1992.

He said he loves the competition. When his two daughters were old enough to play, he made a decision to set an example of how girls and all student athletes should be treated and how to run a program with class. He’s done that admirably.

Through his current fight, Thomas has taught us all about courage and faith.

I don’t know how Berry will fare in the regional next week, but there is no doubt the Wildcats will not stop fighting.

They learned that from their coach.

Thought for the Week

“When all I see is the battle, You see my victory.

When all I see is the mountain, You see a mountain moved.

And as I walk through the shadow, Your love surrounds me.

There’s nothing to fear now for I am safe with You.”

— Battle Belongs, Phil Wickham

Ben Thomas is the high school managing producer at AL.com. He has been named one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Follow him on twitter at @BenThomasPreps or email him at [email protected].