Waterford girls basketball has given coach strength to fight Stage IV cancer.

Minutes before tip, Waterford High girls basketball coach Joshua Whitfield shuffles behind the scorer’s table, calming his nerves before he launches into game mode.

Whitfield wears many hats – husband, veteran and city councilman – but it’s the literal ones that shape this season of his life.

There’s the beanie that covers his bald head, protecting it from the evening chill. He also wears a headset, an odd sight for a coach, but few, if any, serve as the emcee during breaks in the action.

“Welcome to Waterford High,” Whitfield bellows into the mic.

Welcome to his world.

Whitfield is everything to this fast-rising Southern League program, and this program –bustling with young talent and ambition – is everything to him.

In the last six months, Stage IV melanoma has robbed Whitfield of just about everything he holds dear. His eyebrows and hair. His weight and energy. His job at Meridian Pacific (Whitfield is on medical leave) and his time as a Waterford city councilman.

Everything except Waterford girls basketball.

“I was pretty devastated,” he said of the initial diagnosis. “It’s been an emotional roller coaster, a tough six months. We’re sitting good now, but six months ago it was definitely bleak. I’ve had great doctors, a great medical team, great family and great community support.

“Pretty much the only thing I didn’t take a break from ... I stayed with this team as much as I could. I couldn’t be there all the time, but it was something to hold onto.”

Waterford (13-2) is off to the best start in program history and fast-approaching the school record in wins of 17 set each of the last two seasons.

The Wildcats nearly overcame a frigid start in Tuesday’s loss to perennial contender Mariposa. Waterford had just one field goal through the first eight minutes, but closed to within seven late on a 3 by Alexa Aguilar.

In the game, senior Alyssa Silva became the school’s all-time leading scorer. In between quarters, while Mariposa huddled and game-planned, Whitfield slipped back into his headset, announcing the feat to the crowd.

“I’ve fallen in love with this girls program,” Whitfield said. “When I took over the JV team four years ago and the varsity a year after that, it was something I didn’t expect to do, being a football guy.

“It’s my hobby. It’s my golf – it’s what I do for fun. It’s a great group of girls. I’m proud of where we’ve got this program. Waterford used to be, on average, a three- to seven-win team per year. Each year, it feels like we’re moving in the right direction.”

The same can be said of Whitfield’s health.

In July, Whitfield’s wife, Kerry, a teacher and softball coach at Gustine High, noticed a spot on his back and urged him to get it checked.

“We didn’t think it would be a big deal,” he said.

Turns out, it was.

Cancer spread quickly through the lymphatic system. Over the next six months, Whitfield would endure four surgeries to remove lymph nodes in his groin and armpits, and radiation and chemotherapy blasts to the surgical sites.

“Mopping up is what we call that in the Army,” joked Whitfield, a Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient.

Though his 6-foot-4 frame looks sturdy and strong, Whitfield says he’s lost 34 pounds and several pant sizes. His appetite comes and goes, and for the first month of treatment, he battled nausea.

“It’s the fatigue, the perpetual weakness,” he said. “You’re weak all the time. That’s the only way I can describe it. Sleeping doesn’t really recharge you like it normally does. These last couple of weeks, I’ll sleep and wake up and almost feel normal, but I tire quickly.”

The worst, he hopes, is behind him.

“We’re in the ‘cautiously optimistic’ phase right now,” he said.

The cancer had spread to all four quadrants of his body, forcing doctors to upgrade his condition from Stage III-A to Stage IV, a sometimes lethal diagnosis.

His treatment called for offsetting rounds of radiation and chemotherapy, and laparoscopic surgery in September and November to remove the lymph nodes affected by the cancer.

When a spot appeared on his lungs, doctors zapped it with more radiation.

At each turn, his spirit has been boosted by Wildcat basketball, beginning with tryouts in November. More than 40 girls auditioned for three teams, a strong indication of a healthy program.

“Over the last six months, the only thing I had to look forward to was showing up to these practices and games, and going through this experience with them,” Whitfield said. “It’s been fun. We work hard, and a lot of these girls work hard year round, so it’s been awesome to see it catch fire.”

The feeling flows both ways.

Silva said the players draw inspiration from their coach, whose health concerns make their bumps and bruises seem trivial.

Whitfield is consistent – even in the presence of cancer. He smiles, claps and teaches through the pain and exhaustion. On Tuesday, he took part in the warm-up drills, a beanie and face mask protecting him from any potential flu bug that might blow through the double doors.

“It’s been hard, but he’s always been there for us,” said Silva, a returning all-Southern League and All-District selection. “It’s been really tough. The team feels it when he’s not there. We notice (when he’s having bad days), but he tries to power through it and be the same coach he’s always been for us.

“It shows us a different perspective. It could be so much worse.”

A tip of the hat to one who wears so many.

This story was originally published January 8, 2018 at 9:48 AM with the headline "Waterford girls basketball has given coach strength to fight Stage IV cancer.."