Friday we told you about the “Season of Adversity” faced by Eagle (Idaho) High School standout Bradie Fillmore, the talented sophomore pitcher/infielder committed to Cal.

Along with a medical scare that forced her to miss much of this spring, Fillmore and her teammates had to deal with the loss of their head coach Doug Corta who is facing his own health battles.

On Sunday, February 23, a few weeks before Eagle High softball tryouts, Coach Corta began feeling overwhelmed, had headaches and was generally struggling to stay on top of what he needed to get done on a daily basis.

Doctors originally diagnosed him with anxiety and depression and tried putting him on prescription medication to help.  He continued having headaches which were initially dismissed as a side effect of the medications.

An ER doctor decided to have an MRI done which revealed a brain tumor. Doctors wanted the coach to have surgery immediately to remove the tumor and, competitor that he is, Corta actually asked to wait until after the opening game of the high school softball season.

The doctors persuaded him to put his health first and the coach underwent surgery on Opening Day.  The doctors were able to remove 95% of the tumor during the surgery and were pleased that Doug did not suffer a stroke or any other negative side effects from the procedure.

However, they did determine that the tumor was malignant and he would need both chemotherapy and radiation.

And that’s when the softball community in Eagle rallied behind Corta.

“When news broke that Doug was battling cancer everyone seemed to put the softball community before their individual teams,” explains Endi Fillmore, Bradie’s mother.

“We started a website for people to sign up and deliver meals and families from many different teams signed up.  A booster meeting from one high school collected money for dinner and restaurant gift cards for the family.”

Even rival schools got involved.  Coaches and administrators from Mountain View High School in Meridian donated all proceeds from the gate and concession stand the night they played Eagle High and also had pizza donated with proceeds from a post game dinner bringing their donation to over $1,000.

A mother of a player who is a cancer survivor had bracelets made that read “Team Corta” and have sold all over town to help raise money.

And to remember their coach, the Mustang players made wristbands with the coach’s initials inside a red heart that they wore during games.

This week finished Week 4 of chemotherapy and radiation treatment and according to a posting by his wife, Jacki, on the donation site CaringBridge “by Friday Doug is tired and rests quite a bit,” but overall it “went really well.”

The battle is far from over, but signs are positive for the coach, his wife and three daughters.

“Doug is halfway through treatment now,” says Fillmore, “and is feeling positive about the support he has gotten from a very large softball community.”