Lauren Loose, the young lady whose fight against pediatric brain tumors inspired one of the most generous causes in all of football and developed one of the most universally respected clinics in all of sports, has passed away. She was just 29 years old.
For more than two decades, coaches across the NFL, college and high school ranks have given their time, their playbooks and their off-seasons to Lauren's First and Goal, the foundation her parents, John and Marianne Loose, started in her honor in 2004. Lauren was the reason all of it existed.
John Loose is a football lifer. He coached linebackers at Army from 1992 to 1999, spent 2000 to 2013 as the defensive coordinator at Lafayette, and returned to West Point in 2014, where he has worked in several roles including defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. He was the AFCA's Assistant Coach of the Year in 2008. Marianne has run the foundation's day to day operations for years.
Since 2004, Lauren's First and Goal has raised more than $3.13 million to fund pediatric brain tumor research and cancer services, and to provide financial and emotional support to families walking the same road the Looses did.
The foundation's football camp and coaches clinic became the engine. This past offseason, more than 100 college and pro coaches donated presentations to the 2026 Lauren's First and Goal Clinic, breaking down scheme, position fundamentals and program culture for youth, high school and college staffs, with every dollar pointed back at the mission. The honorary board and speaker list alone reads like a who's who of the profession, with James Franklin, both Harbaugh brothers, Luke Fickell, Jeff Monken, Ken Niumatalolo and Urban Meyer among the names.
Lauren was more than the headline name. She spoke to coaches and families at the camps, and her words became "Lauren's Life Lessons," a collection drawn from her twenty four years battling brain tumors and other life threatening illnesses. Coaches who sat in those camps will tell you her message stayed with them longer than any install did.
Football is a copycat business full of people chasing an edge. The LFG clinic turned that drive into something that funds research and helps sick kids, and Lauren is the person who made grown coaches want to give it all away.
The family is asking memorial donations in Lauren’s memory may be made to Compassion Café LBI. In addition, the family welcomes spiritual palancas - offers of prayer, small sacrifices, or random acts of kindness performed in her loving memory.
Our thoughts are with John, Marianne and the entire Loose family, and with everyone in the coaching community who came to know Lauren through the foundation that carries her name.
Stay tuned to The Scoop, and visit Lauren's First and Goal Foundation to find out how to further support the family's mission.