Youth football team rallies support to find coach a transplant match

BOLTON, Mass. — No matter how many times he sees it, Coach John Snoonian gets choked up when he watches a video made by his football team.

“I watched the video repeatedly and I still get a tug from just the effort that was put into it," he told Boston 25 News.

In the last year, Coach Snoonian has been sidelined by end stage renal disease.

He coaches his two sons and also has twin daughters. His wife, Susan, is also a coach, and says they're all part of the home team, which extends to the whole Nashoba Youth Football and Cheer Organization.

“You are with these kids three seasons long, so you become a family,” John said.

When he was accepted into an organ transplant program with more than 100,000 people on a waiting list, many in the community were screened looking for a match. So far, there hasn't been a perfect fit. So the team stepped up to create a video in the hope that more people will be screened and their coach will find a donor.

“I'm proud of every one of them,” he told Boston 25 News.

Susan says she wants people to know that the screening process is not painful and all donor costs are covered by insurance.

They're hoping when people learn more about the donation process, they'll come forward to be tested and her husband will get the transplant he so desperately needs.

You can find out more at SaveOurCoach.org.

Cox Media Group