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MAYODAN — It’s not hard to get little girls to wear pink — but boys?

It turns out that they don’t mind so much if it’s for a good cause.

And it was.

This season, the Lawn Stars, 5- and 6-year-olds who were part of the Madison/Mayodan Recreation Department’s youth soccer league, wore pink uniforms to raise cancer awareness.

It started last year, when a request was made to members of the league to wear pink socks to raise awareness for breast cancer.

Coach Eric Whitten talked to his team about cancer and how important it is to find new ways to fight the disease. He was surprised that, even at their young ages, the kids were familiar with cancer and most knew someone who had battled the disease.

One of those was their goalie, Cameron Smith. His grandfather had lung cancer.

So, the pink socks were an easy sell.

“They thought it was pretty cool since NFL players were wearing pink socks, too,” says Whitten.

At the end of the season in 2010, the kids came up with the idea to wear pink uniforms the next year.

And that’s what they did.

“Team Lawn Stars Kicking Cancer” became their theme.

The parents and grandparents got into it, too. They had pink shirts printed with that slogan and the names of people the kids knew who had cancer.

The parents also agreed to make a donation to a cancer philanthropy every time the kids scored a goal. When the season ended on Oct. 25, they’d raised more than $850, which they’ll donate to the American Cancer Society.

“Every time they scored, they knew that meant more money was going to fight cancer,” says Whitten, who believes it was a good lesson in helping others and made the kids focus more on raising money than winning games.

Near the end of the season, the kids got another lesson — a difficult one.

Cameron’s grandfather died.

Around the same time, the Lawn Stars lost their first game of the season.

But their purpose became even more important. At the next game, each team member presented Cameron with a pink balloon. He released them on the field as a memorial to his grandfather.

“It was really special,” Whitten says.

The team finished the season with seven wins, one loss and two ties.

But ask the kids how they did, and it won’t be stats and scores they’ll tell you about.

They’ll remember their season in pink — the year Team Lawn Stars did something on the field that really made a difference.

Contact Myla Barnhardt at 627-4881, Ext. 116, or myla.barnhardt@news-record.com.