Team Sasha launches LEGO drive at Plano Sports Authority to honor Sasha Okhotskiy
News of Team Sasha’s loving spirit reached the NFL headquarters in New York City the other day.
Bill Lively, President & CEO of the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee, was on the phone with NFL executives when he mentioned he would be attending the launch for Team Sasha’s LEGO collecting campaign.
Lively then warmed their hearts by sending them Wednesday night’s clip of the local FOX4 news story regarding the LEGO launch and the spirit of the boy behind it all.
Sasha Okhotskiy was 11 when brain cancer took him last fall after a lengthy battle. He had loved building elaborate structures with LEGOs. And he had also loved sports.
Sary Benzvi, a coach at the Plano Sports Authority, suggested that seven of Sasha’s good friends, including Sary’s son Ariel, form a basketball team in Sasha’s spirit. That team went on to win 19 consecutive games this past winter. Their lone loss in the championship game only magnified the fact that their mission was far greater, and far more beautiful, than a trophy.
A few weeks ago, Team Sasha entered the SLANT 45 service-learning initiative — a program that encourages North Texas elementary age children to give to their communities. Consisting of seven players and two cheerleaders, Team Sasha has chosen to collect new LEGO items and donate them to Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, where Sasha fought the cancer as long as possible. To maintain the hospital’s germ-free environment, those wishing to donate should be certain their LEGOs have never been opened.
Sary and his team were there at the Plano Sports Authority Thursday afternoon when Sasha’s mom, Olga, donated the first box of LEGOs — a never — opened Indiana Jones set that had been given to Sasha on a birthday.
“LEGOs brought a lot of joy into his life,” Olga said to the team and those gathered at the launch party. “We just hope these gifts will make the days of other children a little bit brighter.”
They had come to America from the Ukraine at the turn of this new century, slowly conquering the English language and their new world. Sasha jumped right into the Plano sports scene, made lasting friends in a hurry and in his own way probably helped his parents adjust.
He and his good buddy, Ariel Benzvi, did everything together. But the basketball team had broken up a couple of years earlier. Sary pulled the players together after Sasha’s passing and suggested they name a team in his honor and dedicate the season to their friend.
It might have been easier for Sasha’s parents to turn down the kind offer because memories can also be painful. But Sasha’s father, Sergei, asked the coach if every single player truly wanted to name the team in Sasha’s honor. When Coach Benzvi assured him it was so, Sergei attended every game and cheered on Team Sasha right from the bench.
“The guys gave so much effort and hard work on the court,” Sergei said. “They were smaller than everyone they played, and they won so many games.”
He smiled and sincerely added, “And we feel like Sasha was present.”
In fact, Coach Benzvi often called timeouts and brought up Sasha’s name in the huddle.
“Every time we had a timeout, I would emphasize the fact, ‘Forget all the pain, forget all the excuses, you are playing in Sasha’s honor,’” Benzvi said. “It was a great motivational factor.”
Thanks to the generosity of his parents and friends, Sasha’s spirit now lives on as a part of the SLANT 45 program. All over North Texas, children are forming groups and finding ways to give back to their communities, thanks to the overall guidance of non-profit Big Thought, Inc., in partnership with the Host Committee.
No Super Bowl has ever included such a huge service-learning endeavor. Team Sasha is a beautiful example of the heart beat that has become SLANT 45.
