"I'm Landon and I Beat Cancer!""I'm Landon and I Beat Cancer!"

"I'm Landon and I Beat Cancer!"

UCF men's soccer team gives back to former pediatric cancer patient through Team Impact program

by Ryan Ladika

ORLANDO – “#ArnoldPalmerKid Landon fought – and won.”

In a video posted to the social media channels for the Orlando Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in late September, a young boy, donning a boxing robe with his name etched on the back and a pair of gloves, was proud in his exclamation.

“I’m Landon and I beat cancer!”

With the support of the UCF men’s soccer team in his corner, Landon Booth makes great strides in his recovery on a daily basis.

The union between the two was made prior to the 2024 season through Team Impact, an organization that matches children facing serious illness and disability with college sports programs. The organization’s stated goal is to create a long-term, life-changing experience for everyone involved.

“When our coaches told us about Team Impact and what it was, everyone on the team realized it was an opportunity to use soccer and what we do for more than ourselves,” redshirt sophomore Drew Hansen said. “We get just as much out of having him around as we give to him.”

Mission accomplished.

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Landon’s progress in his fight against leukemia has been significant, a battle he started when he was just five years old. Most of his treatment was administered amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, an added obstacle that made friendship-building and other social interactions very difficult.

“We didn’t get the chance to interact with other kids in the hospital or other families,” Landon’s mother, Erin, said. “We were pretty isolated due to him being immunocompromised and with the COVID-19 pandemic at its height.”

Landon struggled with side effects as a result of the circumstances of his treatment. He was very quiet, his mother recalls, and the chemotherapy, coupled with an early brain injury he sustained, affected his short-term memory.

A child life specialist soon stepped in and suggested a collaboration with Team Impact to assist Landon as he continued through his recovery. A pairing with the UCF men’s soccer team has since aided Landon’s quality of life thrive.

“With him a part of this team, it’s been like night and day. He runs through the cooldown period with the team after games, he does his warmups like they do, and he wants to go to every game. He talks about the team all the time, saying he’s a part of the UCF men’s soccer team.”

Erin BoothLandon's mother

The program first held an official signing day for Landon, during which he signed his contract to officially join the team and received team-branded apparel surrounded by all of his new teammates.

Led by Hansen and redshirt junior Joey Mueller, the Knights have since made every effort to include Landon in all they do both on and off the field.

“His coordination is so much better, and now he’s starting to build the courage to come away from his parents to come hang out with us on his own,” Mueller said. “We went to go play putt-putt and we went to Dairy Queen together for an Arnold Palmer event. He’s just interacting with his friends at the Arnold Palmer event, and then at putt-putt with us, he just wanted to talk and laugh and run around. It was really cool.”

Men's Soccer_CK_5177_073025_1449148800| Photo by: Conor Kvatek

The program has contributed to his post-hospital stay treatment as well. An effort the whole team was able to contribute to, each player recorded short videos demonstrating a simple exercise, like jumping jacks, once they received word that Landon’s doctors recommended he begin trying more physical activity as part of his recovery progression.

“We’re just blessed that we get to be a part of this next step for him,” Hansen continued. “The fact that he and his parents choose to let him spend it with us is really cool. We hope that we can support him whenever he has operations, and we send him little videos. We try to help however we can.”

His family, meanwhile, feels they have “pre-cancer” Landon back. Erin has seen his personality shine once again, his confidence return, and has observed the effects ripple into his daily life both at home and at school.

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Team Impact, she adds, has given her son so many new positive role models to look up to, noting that the Knights have displayed a type of friendship that makes Landon feel special each time he attends a match or a practice session.

“What Team Impact does is incredible,” Hansen continued. “Landon gets to come in and see some older guys who really care. In my experience, you sort of assume that what older people do is right most of the time. We know that’s a big responsibility, but we also have the opportunity to bring him in and make sure he knows that he belongs wherever he is.”