09/24/2026
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Bring the Thunder: Fall 2026
ONE TOUGH PRINCESS
The 19th Bring the Thunder for Childhood Cancer
Seventy-nine teams came ready to play,
Baseball and softball filling the fields each day.
Three parks became one beating heart—
Bower, Halls, and Gibbs, each playing their part.
But this weekend wasn't simply about the game,
Or trophies, or victories, or making a name.
It was about a little girl, brave and strong,
Facing leukemia while we all marched along.
Della.
Five years old, with courage beyond her years,
A warrior surrounded by love, not fear.
And before the first pitch ever flew through the air,
An entire community gathered to show her we care.
We honored the angels who came before,
The children whose stories we carry forevermore.
For Neyland, orange became part of the day,
With a ceremonial base exchange honoring those who paved the way.
We raised the Mario flag for Penn,
Reminding us that love brings our angels back again.
A firetruck came roaring for Hensen,
With Blueys cheering and smiles we won't forget.
Homer for Hensen rang across the field,
A reminder that love never stops, never yields.
And then came Kayla, our beautiful cheerleader,
With pink confetti hearts falling all around her.
For every angel remembered, every name spoken aloud,
Their memory stood proudly among the crowd.
And then came the moment
that none of us will ever forget.
A little girl stepped forward thru the tunnel
A little girl who has been asked to fight a battle
no five-year-old should ever have to face.
And in front of her family,
her community,
her warriors,
and everyone who had come to Bring the Thunder—
Della was crowned the official Princess of Thunder.
A crown placed upon the head of a princess,
but not just any princess.
A princess who fights.
A princess who stands strong.
A princess who reminds all of us
that courage isn't measured by age or size.
She is One Tough Princess.
And those words became more than a tagline.
They became a promise.
Because this weekend wasn't just about Della watching from the sidelines.
It was about an army standing beside her.
Seventy-nine teams.
Three parks.
Hundreds of players.
Coaches. Families. Fans.
People who came to play,
but stayed to love.
T-shirts were sold.
Wristbands were worn.
Raffle tickets were bought.
Donations were given.
Hands reached into pockets.
Voices rose from the stands.
And everywhere you looked,
someone was wearing their support for Della.
Every dollar mattered.
Every cheer mattered.
Every prayer mattered.
Every person who said,
“We're here for Della,”
became part of something bigger than baseball or softball.
Because that's what Bring the Thunder has become.
It's not just a tournament.
It's a family.
It's remembering the children who fought before us,
while standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the warriors still fighting today.
It's Neyland loud.
It's honoring Penn.
It's remembering Hensen.
It's celebrating Kayla.
And it's standing behind and next to Della.
When the final games ended
and the fields finally grew quiet,
the cheers eventually faded
and the lights eventually went out.
But the love didn't.
Because Della, you may be five years old,
but you have already brought thousands of people together.
People who may have never known your name
before this journey began
now know exactly who you are.
You're Della.
You're our Princess of Thunder.
You're a warrior.
You're family.
And if you ever wonder how many people are standing behind you,
just remember this weekend.
Remember the fields.
Remember the crowds.
Remember the players.
Remember the crown.
Remember the pink hearts falling from the sky.
Remember the firetruck.
Remember the flags.
Remember the orange base.
Remember the people wearing your name.
Remember the people who cheered for you
even though they had never met you before.
And remember this:
You never have to fight alone.
Because when childhood cancer calls for thunder,
we bring it.
And when a little princess needs an army,
we become one.
For Della.
For Neyland.
For Penn.
For Hensen.
For Kayla.
For every warrior.
For every angel.
For every family.
And for one incredible little girl
who showed all of us what courage looks like.
ONE TOUGH PRINCESS.
THE PRINCESS OF THUNDER.
FOR DELLA.
Once again, special thank you to everybody. Special thank you to Halls, to Gibbs, to our home base of Bower Field.
To the volunteers, to the umpires, to the vendors, to anybody anywhere in any shape or form who contributed to this event.
To all the players and the coaches who endured one of the hottest Bring the Thunder as we've ever had.
The tournament was bookended perfectly. We had thunder on Friday night, and we finished with thunder on Sunday evening.
Unfortunately, we did lose about 10% of our teams in the last week due to dropouts for various reasons. We hope those teams will still reach out to make a donation in some way.
We still do have some T-shirts available. I will make a separate post about those in case anybody wants one or a wristband.
We will also be making a post about raffle tickets that are still available for the $400 gift card donated by Drop Zone.
This means they are still ways to increase the amount of our donation.
We are proud to say that Bring the Thunder will be presenting to Della and her family an amount of $24,477
That means through 19 Bring the Thunder for Childhood Cancer tournaments we have raised $447,787
In May of 2027 we will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the creation of this cause and it will be our 20th tournament
Traditionally it will be the weekend before Mother's Day, so we hope you all will join us.
Before we end this post, the family had a special request that I include a message from them:
That is INCREDIBLE! Our family is truly overwhelmed by the love and support we received from the entire Bring the Thunder community.
We want to thank every player, coach, umpire, volunteer, fan, and every single person who gave their time, energy, and heart to make this tournament possible. What you all did for our family and for our Della means more than we could ever put into words.
Della is our whole world and for one unforgettable weekend she got to feel like she was on top of the world. Watching the community come together to celebrate her, support her, and surround her with so much love is something we will carry in our hearts forever.
This generous gift will help us continue fighting every single day, with lifetime remission always being the ultimate goal.
Every bit of support brings us hope and reminds us that we are not walking this journey alone.
We hope to give back that same love someday. You will see us in the future volunteering, supporting other recipients, and giving back at Bring the Thunder tournaments whenever we can.
From the very bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU, Bring the Thunder family. You made Della feel incredibly loved, and you gave our family memories and hope that we will cherish forever.
Please share any pictures you may have taken so we can show everybody the love.
