- The P.K. Yonge volleyball team hosted a Lung Cancer Awareness fundraiser honoring former alum Jeremy Martin who died from Stage 4 cancer in 2014 at age 29.
- Jeremy Martin was an athlete at P.K. Yonge who played basketball and football and was diagnosed with advanced cancer after unexplained body pains shortly before his 29th birthday.
- Proceeds from the fundraiser were donated to the LUNGgevity Foundation to support lung cancer research and the Martin family received a framed jersey commemorating Jeremy's legacy.
This past summer, the P.K. Yonge volleyball team and former Gator Taurean Green partnered for a charity golf event to support youth development, academics, athletics, leadership and mentorship opportunities.
On Tuesday night, PKY head coach Chancie Vice and her team hosted a special Lung Cancer Awareness fundraiser prior to their sweep of Eastside. It was in honor of P.K. Yonge lifer Jeremy Martin, a 2003 graduate who played basketball and football for the Blue Wave.
Martin was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer 12 years ago and passed away just seven months later on Sept. 21, 2014, at the age of 29.
His passing was tragic and unexpected.
“He was extremely healthy his whole life,” said his mom, Sally Martin, who noted that her son continued to play sports long after he had graduated. “But then one day before his 29th birthday, he went to the doctor because he kept complaining of pains in different parts of his body, like his hip or his shoulder, when they were playing golf, but nobody knew what was going on because that was his only symptom, just sharp pains.”
Jeremy Martin went to the emergency room, and they were going to send him away, but there happened to be a girl working there who had also gone to P.K. Yonge.
“And she looked at him and said, ‘No, I know this guy. There’s something wrong for him to be here,’ and they went in and took all the X-rays and everything, and the doctor said, ‘I’m not going out there and telling this kid what’s wrong with him,’ and this poor girl, who I wish I knew who it was, had to go in and tell him that he had Stage 4 cancer,” Sally Martin said. “I mean, it was just a shock. It was a shock to everybody.”
His mom said that Jeremy had just gone snowboarding with his girlfriend and didn’t know anything was wrong with him.
The doctor told him he would make it for a week, but he didn’t pass away for seven months.
“He just was a great kid,” Sally Martin said. “He had a very good attitude. He was a great leader, and he was very upbeat to the day he died, really…after all the stuff he went through and everything, he still believed up until really the very last day.”
That’s why Tuesday’s tribute was special. His life may have ended, but his legacy continues.
Vice took the microphone before the varsity game to address those in attendance.
“Jeremy was a big fan of life, a basketball player, football player, twin, a brother, an uncle, a son, a friend, and someone who left an impression on people fortunate enough to know him,” she said. “And if you knew Jeremy, you knew that he had a way of lighting up a room when he walked into it. He loved life. He loved his family. He loved this school. He loved sports and he had a presence that people remembered.”
Jeremy played sports with his twin brother, Elliott, who now resides in Louisville, Kentucky. Their older brother James also played at PKY.
“I’ve been around the Martin family since Jeremy was five or six,” said PKY Assistant Athletics Director Rob Cox. “I had them in after school when we started doing flag football with them, and I’ve just always been around the family for all these years. I’m still really close with James. I’ve always been connected with him.”
Their niece, Addison, is a sixth grader who plays for the P.K. Yonge Middle School volleyball team.
Jeremy’s dad, Sidney, passed away on Feb. 3, 2010, four years before Jeremy, and the Sidney Martin Developmental Research School Act was named after him. The Florida statute (Section 1002.32) officially establishes and regulates developmental research public schools, which are commonly referred to as “lab schools,” and outlines how these specialized K-12 public institutions operate in partnership with Florida’s university system.
“Sports have a way of creating family,” Vice said during the tribute. “They connect generations. They create relationships that last long after the final whistle. They teach our kids how to compete, how to persevere, how to fight through hard things and most importantly, how to love what they are fortunate enough to do. That is something we try to embody every day in PK Yonge volleyball, because this is bigger than volleyball.”
Jeremy and Elliott played basketball for Mark Griseck at P.K. Yonge. During their sophomore season (2000-2001), the Blue Wave advanced to the FHSAA Class 3A state semifinals and finished 25-9. In their senior season (2002-2003), P.K. Yonge lost to Florida Air (Melbourne), 51-46, in the Class 2A state championship game and finished 23-10.
“Jeremy started playing basketball and football when he was in middle school, and he was the point guard for the basketball team and wound up being the quarterback for the football team, and he led his teams,” said Sally Martin, whose family was presented with a check from funds raised by the volleyball team. “I would like to give a plug to the Boys and Girls Club because he started there playing flag football when he was six.”
All proceeds donated through the fundraiser were presented to the LUNGgevity Foundation in Jeremy’s honor and memory to support lung cancer research, including earlier detection and more effective treatments.
Martin’s family was also presented with a framed No. 10 jersey in honor of the number he wore during his time with the Blue Wave.
“Philanthropy is a really big pillar of our program and having the opportunity to do something that is so close to home, I think, is really valuable,” Vice said. “Being able to honor his mother and his niece, which is really special that she’s a part of our volleyball program and also show the girls that what you do matters, and the legacy that you leave here matters.”