It’s a hot day at the Atlanta United Training Ground. Sixth-grader Nathan Moon sits at a concrete picnic table next to the practice fields in one of the only spots with shade.
He’s answering questions, chatting about the last Atlanta Untied match he attended in person, how he chanted along with the crowd, what it’s like having two brothers who are a lot older than him.
“I got kind of used to it,” he says. “It can get annoying.”
An academy team is wrapping up practice on the nearby field. The players pass by the picnic table, slinging bags over their shoulders, their cleats clacking the concrete. One of the coaches sees Nathan sitting there.
“Big interview, huh?” the coach asks, giving Nathan a fist bump.
“Yeah,” Nathan says.
This is Nathan. Unfazed by the spotlight, effortlessly cool. He says playing video games makes him happy. He likes Fortnite and Call of Duty. He has two dogs named Tucker and Baxter. Of the two older brothers we talked about one is in college and the other is a senior in high school. When he’s with his friends sometimes they like to play Wiffle ball. Nathan loves soccer and loves Atlanta United. He lights up remembering the atmosphere at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and how close his seats were to the players on the field, including his favorite, Josef Martínez.
Nathan is so calm and poised it’s almost hard to imagine the intense battle going on inside his body. The 12-year-old is the 2021 Unite & Conquer Cancer scarf designer, the third in the Atlanta United history. The Woodstock resident was diagnosed in September 2020 with neuroblastoma and is currently undergoing treatment at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
The nurses nominated him to be this year’s scarf designer because he loves Atlanta United and loves to draw.
“I was a little bit nervous at first because I’m not really good at drawing,” he says. “I tried to draw soccer balls but they turned into eggs.”
He created his design in The Zone. It’s what he calls the “fun part” of the hospital – the place where young patients can take their minds off treatment and have fun. The area is colorful. It has a miniature football field and a basketball court where the pediatric patients can play. It even has PlayStation 4 consoles and a Microsoft room with an Xbox where gamers like Nathan can play.
Atlanta United defender Brooks Lennon joined the process via video on a robot sponsored by AT&T. The robot let Lennon and Nathan talk to each other. Lennon helped Nathan get comfortable and tie his design to a theme.
“He helped me a lot,” Nathan says. “I had no idea what to do, so I got a lot of ideas from him.”
Together, along with help from Nathan’s mom, Susan, they came up with five words to feature on the scarf.
Teamwork. Strength. Confidence. Hope. Defeat.
“I did the words and they all meant something with the team and cancer-related,” Nathan says. “Five words for the 5-Stripes.”
Each word is written in Atlanta red, empowering and resolute. Together, the five words have special meaning to Nathan. They reflect Nathan’s devotion to his hometown team while also speaking to his observations and experience as a cancer patient. The words represent the common purpose that a soccer team on the field shares with a team of nurses and doctors in the fight against cancer.
“I have a couple favorite nurses,” he says. “They’ve been really nice.”
When Nathan completed the design, members of the Atlanta United community relations team scanned his template to create high-resolution vector files. From there, the files went into production and were mocked up onto fabric. The front of the scarf displays Nathan’s design. The back says “Conquer Cancer.”
When Nathan found out that people would be buying something he helped to make, he said he was “speechless.”
The scarf is currently available to purchase at the team store in Mercedes-Benz Stadium and at the retail store in Atlantic Station. A portion of the proceeds will go to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
The design is part of Atlanta United’s efforts to support the league’s campaign Kick Childhood Cancer. During the month of September, the club seeks to raise awareness for pediatric cancers and recognize the great work Atlanta hospitals and non-profits are doing through the Unite & Conquer Cancer campaign.
Atlanta United’s annual Unite & Conquer Cancer match is on Saturday, September 18 against D.C. United. Nathan was slated to be the Golden Spike hitter that match, but because he’s currently undergoing treatment his mother and doctors felt it was best to come back out at a later time.
During the ideation process, Nathan came up with a few more words. Although they didn’t make it onto the scarf’s final design, they’re just as important to Nathan’s message. They were three words written in tall, firm letters with a black Sharpie:
NEVER GIVE UP
© 2026 Atlanta United FC
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