It started with a phone conversation he overheard last week - his mother's voice quivering as she whispered about his baseball coach.
Tears streaming down his face, 7-year-old Quinn Kelly continued to listen, hoping the word he heard had been a mistake.
But it wasn't.
Coach Ted Pietryka - the father of one his teammates on the Fox Ledge Spring Water Abington Little League baseball team - was diagnosed with Stage 3 lung and throat cancer in August.
On Saturday, in an effort to raise money in support of Mr. Pietryka's fight, Quinn and his teammates will sell customized bracelets from 9 to 11 a.m. at Stroney Field, Winola Road and South Grove Street in Clarks Summit.
Engraved on the bracelets are five words: "Team Ted. Brave. Strong. Heroic."
"I was really sad because he always makes us feel better. He was always smiling no matter what we did during the game," Quinn said.
"He taught us how to fight, and because of that we got better as a team."
Now the roles are reversed - it is Mr. Pietryka who is in a battle, and the children are the ones pushing him, urging him to fight.
"He got us through difficult times by remaining positive," Quinn said. "It's our turn now."
As of now, it remains up in the air whether Mr. Pietryka will be well enough to make an appearance.
"He had chemotherapy on Monday and he has been in bed all week," said his wife, Jen. "But I know how much he wants to make it there."
Either way, Mrs. Pietryka said what the kids are doing will be a "great boost to his morale."
"The kids are showing a great deal of gratitude to spend their Saturday out there supporting him," Mrs. Pietryka said. "He has been struggling lately and this will absolutely help."
Contact the writer: miorfino@timesshamrock.com, @miorfinoTT on Twitter