Five-year old Gavin Royer’s life has been challenging since he was diagnosed with a brain tumor just 10 days after his fifth birthday, but he was all smiles on Tuesday when the Penn State men’s lacrosse team officially signed him to a letter of intent. The signing was of course purely ceremonial, but Gavin still got to meet all of the players before receiving his own locker and gear.

Gavin, from Morrisdale, Pa., spent the entire summer in hospitals across Pennsylvania after he went unresponsive on the night of March 20. He has settled in at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for the time being to undergo chemotherapy and rehab. Gavin wasn’t the only Royer to join the Penn State lacrosse family on Tuesday — the women’s team adopted his two sisters, recognizing that the illness has been hard on them, too.

WJAC spent the day with the Royer family and the lacrosse team. You can check out Gavin signing his letter of intent, meeting the team, and the trip to his own personal locker below:

Our thoughts are with the Royer family and we wish Gavin a speedy recovery.