The Nicholls State University baseball team is prepared to battle for a conference championship and have recently joined the battle against childhood cancer in the process.

As you walk around campus, you may see a new look for the Colonels baseball team. A noticeable fresh, low haircut, but the new look isn’t a fashion trend amongst the squad. The team took to clippers and shaved their heads in support of the Vs. Cancer Foundation. The team dedicated the haircuts to children who are battling cancer and inspiring others to be aware of the cause.

Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children under the age of 15 in the United States. In 2015, it is expected that overall, 1 in 285 children will be diagnosed with cancer before the age of 20. About 46 children and adolescents are diagnosed a day, and the average age at diagnosis is six years old. The childhood cancer incident has increased to 29 percent in the past 20 years. The disease occurs regularly and randomly. It spares no ethnic group, socioeconomic class or geographic region.

The decision to do something as a team to show awareness for childhood cancer came one afternoon during practice, and the team was on board right away. Junior infielder Kyle Reese weighed in on the team’s recent haircuts and what it means to him.

“Coach came to us with the idea and how it was for a good cause, and everyone was on board,” Reese said. “Anytime we can help a good cause, it’s a good thing. We always want to represent the team and the University in positive ways. It feels right to know we did it for kids with much bigger obstacles.”

The team decided to cut their hair a week in advance. Some of the players were a bit skeptical about the cut at first, but ultimately the team understood that it wasn’t about them, but the cause.

“At first I was a bit skeptical because it was my hair, but [the haircut] turned out just fine,” senior outfielder Darius Knight said. “It’s hard to turn away from supporting children.”

As the team continues to look forward to conference play, Colonel baseball players will be able to look at themselves and understand the opportunity they are getting each day to do what they love.

“Shaving our hair should reflect on this team in a positive way, but that’s really not why we did it,” Knight said. “We did it more to show awareness, our support in the fight against childhood cancer and all cancer. Personally, I’m very proud of myself and my teammates.”