Steve and Amy Lindsay suffered a devastating blow in 2020 when their longtime friend and Kicks for a Cure co-founder, former US Senator Dave Karnes, died from the very disease they are fighting to eradicate: cancer. But, as the Lindsays said in a statement at the time, Karnes would have wanted them to continue raising funds and awareness for local cancer research through their annual soccer tournaments.
Over the past 18 years, Kicks for a Cure has donated millions to Creighton University’s Lynch Cancer Research Center and the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center in hopes of, if not curing cancer, at least educating people on prevention and improving quality of life in the midst of such a physically and mentally challenging disease.
Initially envisioned in 2004 and launched in 2006, Kicks for a Cure sprouted from tragedy but has since blossomed into a ray of hope for many. Karnes, having lost his wife, Liz, to ovarian cancer in 2003, was familiar with Steve through the Omaha business community. Steve, who has been in the banking industry for nearly 30 years, had just started dating Amy, a collegiate level soccer player, Patriot League Academic Honor Roll recipient, US Naval Academy graduate, and member of the first winning team in Naval Academy history.
After graduation, Amy relocated to Yokosuka, Japan, where she spent two years as a meteorologist before being stationed in Omaha at Offutt Air Force Base, where she joined the 557th Weather Wing, the lead meteorology center for the US military. That’s when she met Steve. Despite their whirlwind romance, her passion for soccer called her back to her home state of Virginia. There, she took a position as the assistant women’s coach at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg.
“We were still dating from a distance, and that fall, Creighton opened Morrison Stadium, which is—if not the best—at least a top five collegiate soccer field,” Steve recalled. “I told Amy, ‘This place is outstanding!’ I’m not a soccer guy at all, never played and never went to games or anything, but I knew it was outstanding. I was a lifelong Creighton basketball fan, and I said, ‘We have to do something here.’”
Fortunately for Steve, Amy was well-versed in charity soccer tournaments. In 1998, during her senior year of college, she had played in a tournament called Kicks Against Breast Cancer.
“We were in the first one,” she said. “After the luncheon, our team got together and put all of our per diems together to donate. It was like $98 or something silly like that. When I went back to coach in Virginia five or six years later, we played in the same tournament, and I saw how it had grown. The teams were raising money. I think Ohio State raised $10,000, and it all stemmed from us doing the per diem thing.”
Once Amy moved back to Omaha—at that point engaged to Steve—he tapped into his connections. In a case of “right place, right time,” it all started coming together. After meeting with Creighton’s women’s soccer coach, the Lindsays were encouraged to meet up with Karnes.
“Dave had even more connections and an extremely direct cause,” Steve said. “We knew we wanted to do it with Dave, who was lacking the time, which is what Amy and I had.”
The inaugural dinner for Kicks for a Cure took place on March 31, 2006, and the soccer tournament followed the next day. They raised just over $100,000 that they split between Creighton and the Nebraska Medical Center’s respective cancer research institutes.
For the first four years, only high school and college women’s soccer teams were invited to play, but when the Creighton men’s soccer coach approached Kicks for a Cure with the idea of bringing men’s teams into the fold in 2010, it exploded.
“We were struggling with attendance at the time,” Steve admitted. “But we gained traction and doubled our audience. Men’s soccer is a bigger draw in Omaha. Right, wrong, or indifferent, there’re just more people who go, and we want to attract as many people as we can.”
As each subsequent tournament grew, the Lindsays have been able to donate more than $4.8 million to Creighton University’s Lynch Cancer Research Center and the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, something Steve and Amy continually celebrate.
But it’s about more than just the money.
“All donations have stayed local,” Steve added with a sense of pride. “The easiest and most measurable way to determine success for us is how much money we raised. That’s an exact number. Once the money goes over to research, of course, it goes into a much bigger pile of money and a much longer-term view of whether we’re creating a cure or just extending quality of life.
“But to me, what I love beyond the money—which is important—is just creating awareness and trying to get people to understand genetics and prevention.”
The 2024 iteration of the tournament was another smashing success, reeling in roughly $400,000. Held in April, local high school and college soccer invaded Creighton’s Morrison Stadium once again for a total of four games. In the high school bracket, Duchesne Academy took on Central High School, and Creighton Prep faced off against Papillion LaVista. As for the college bracket, both the women and men’s teams at Creighton battled it out with the women and men’s teams at University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO). No longer is it a chore getting teams to participate.
“We don’t have a requirement on the amount of money we ask the teams to raise,” Amy explained. “We ask that they raise money just to cover whoever goes to the dinner. Every year they do different things—the names on the shirts or they’ll pass buckets at games.
“Last year, one of the teams did a tailgate. At that game, they raised a bunch of money. I think that’s one of the interesting things. When we first started, you almost had to beg the teams to be a part of it. We’ve gotten to the point where most teams don’t even hesitate. They’re just like, ‘Yep! Sign us up.’ It makes it a lot easier, but it’s even cooler to see how the teams get involved every year.”
Planning is loosely underway for 2025, but there will be some noticeable changes. Instead of doing both college and high school games in the same month, they are dividing them up.
“We’ve started working on the teams for next year,” Amy explained. “We don’t have them completely confirmed yet, but they’re in the process. The biggest thing this year is that we’re going to split the high school and college teams. Creighton and UNO will play in the fall, when they draw a really big crowd. In the spring, we’re gonna have all the high school teams play. The timing works out better.”
The Lindsays see the commitment to the cause come to life every time the players hit the pitch. Some players will wear jerseys with the names of people who have lost their lives to cancer or are currently in the fight.
“It’s become a tradition now with the high school teams,” Steve said. “Some or all of them will wear the name of somebody on the backs of their jerseys. This year it was two or three of the guys from Creighton Prep’s team who had the name of a mom who’s the wife of a classmate of mine who’s got a real tough battle. It’s just really, really cool to see. It’s heartwarming in a sad way, but it’s also uplifting.”
To learn more or to donate, visit kicksforacure.com.
This article originally appeared in the September 2024 issue of Omaha Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
