It was then I realized that, as private as I wanted to be with this and as much as I wanted to do it on my own, neither one was going to happen.” Unbox layers of surprises with L.O.L. Surprise! Each layer reveals a new accessory or clue for the doll inside. Choose from the latest series of L.O.L. Surprise! Lights, L.O.L. Surprise! Pets, Lil Sisters, O.M.G. and more. From Winter Disco to #Hairgoals, there’s a whole world of L.O.L. dolls to collect. Kids will love the excitement of unboxing their dolls, guessing who could be inside and collecting their favourites. I had the opportunity to talk one-on-one with a mom as she watched her young son play in the distance,” Frost stated, recalling the memory. “She talked about the hardship and long road that was behind him and the long road that lies ahead.”

In December, at the annual NFCA Convention, Frost and Mance will hold a roundtable discussion for other coaches and individuals who may want to share their stories within a group of people who know exactly what they are feeling. Both Mance and Frost endured the stress of treatment during their playing seasons. They worked closely with their doctors to figure out the most convenient treatment days for their busy schedules. Choosing Tuesdays meant my extremely rough days would be Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” Frost said. “I endured chemo once every three weeks the entire season, and I was fortunate enough to only miss one weekend.” In typical Missy fashion, I wanted to keep this news from many others, especially my team, and I was going to swear my staff to secrecy as well,” Frost added. “The great thing about having an amazing staff is that they will constantly challenge you and tell you when you’re being crazy. They posed the question ‘How in the world will you be able to keep it from everyone when you start losing your hair?’We had very high expectations, so I [wrote off] symptoms of breast cancer: fatigue (easy, I’m always tired), dry itchy skin (it’s winter, it happens), and the indentation (I need to get to the gym to tighten up) out of my mind. I focused on work,” Mance recalled. Glitter Series • Bling Series • Glam Glitter • Sparkle Series • Big ( B.B. • Pet) • Furniture ( S1 • S2 • S3 • S4 • Hangout Spaces • S5) • Mini ( S1 • Family S1) • J.K. A coach can be described as an individual of passion and strength, someone who brings out the best of their players through inspiration.

The support didn’t stop within their respective programs. Unfortunate events led to very fortunate friendships. Lady Diva • Swag • Neonlicious • Royal Bee • 24K D.J. • Cosmic Nova • Snowlicious • Dollie • Crystal Star • Downtown B.B. • Uptown Girl • Shadow • Miss Independent • Candylicious • Alt Grrrl • Busy B.B. Frost, known as Missy to her peers and colleagues, is the head coach at Division II University of Indianapolis; she was diagnosed with breast cancer in November of 2016. The diagnosis came on a day that she and her team were, in an ironic twist, visiting the pediatric cancer unit at the local hospital. I purposely put my chemo appointments on Monday mornings, so that I could do practice Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, before it got so bad that I had to be in bed,” Mance said. “Thursdays were our off days, and by the time Friday came around, I was just starting to feel better for our weekend games.”Lil Sisters ( S2 • S3 • Eye Spy • Color Change) • Pets ( S3 • Eye Spy • Fuzzy Pets • Fluffy Pets • Lights Pets • Remix Pets • Color Change) • Lils ( Makeover • WD) The friendship between Frost and Mance ignited an idea for them to reach out and help other softball coaches who may be experiencing the same ordeal, whether battling cancer themselves or supporting someone close to them who was fighting the battle. Little did Frost know that, later that same day, she would get a call from her doctor that set her on a very similar road. In 2017, Frost was the recipient of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s Donna Newberry Perseverance Award. At the NFCA Convention that year, she gave a speech detailing her journey; in the audience for that speech was Mance, who was sparked to introduce herself afterwards, sharing her own story. Now, take that passionate, strong, and inspiring individual and give them three words that could be the worst news of their life: “You have cancer.”

Winter Chill was originally going to be named Wintertime Wonderland, and then the name changed to Winter Wonderland. It was likely intended to be a reference to the Bratz line Wintertime Wonderland.

We both sat at convention last year and had the exact same thought,” said Mance. “We need to continue to help others by sharing our stories, experiences and to give advice based on what we went through.” Bari Mance and Missy Frost both battled and beat breast cancer, continuing their coaching careers all the while. (Photos: St. John Fisher/UIndy)