It ended two hours ago with one of the bright spots in a long coaching career.
If you hadn’t read about it, then you must have dropped out of society. Megan Lange, a young mother of two and a fire dispatcher was headed home around 1 a.m. after her shift when she was hit head on by a drunk driver going the wrong way on I-17 near Camelback Rd. She was kept alive for 15 hours until her husband Patrick was told by doctors they could do nothing and he would have to let her go. She died that night.
The story rocked the local newscape as only the tragic and sensational can. TV, radio, newspaper produced item after item to keep the story on our screens and pages. Then, a few days after Megan’s death, a letter was published in the Arizona Republic from Megan’s sister in law Heather.
This was the deal breaker.
Calls and e mails went out to find a gym to host a friendship tournament. Maybe the generosity of a handful of coaches and parents and athletes could help eat away the mounting debt the family incurs from Patrick studying nursing, the care of a 2 year old and their 6 month old diagnosed with respiratory syncytial virus, a virus that causes infections of the lungs and respiratory tract and of course the medical trauma costs of Megan’s last night.
Court One responded. It costs roughly $2,200 to run a tournament all day in Court One but owner Mitch Brown donated not only the gym but his crew as well for the entire day.
Next came the teams. An e mail was sent out with the link to Heather’s letter. Responses started slow as everyone treaded water wanting to know if it would get enough teams but in nine days, the tournament had secured a dozen 14’s teams and a dozen 16’s teams for play.
No officials would be used to keep costs at $0. A call went out to Gordon Graphics and a “program” featuring pictures of Megan and her family wrapped around the letter Heather had written was printed in full color to hand out at the tournament. The cost was $0. The Arizona Region donated man hours and supplies to help run the tournament at a cost of $0.
Sunday, March 1st was cloudy and breezy. Teams began streaming in at 7 a.m. like any other normal tournament. At the Coach/Parent meeting, Parents were asked to understand that the kids would be reffing this day and to see the bigger picture. The tournament ran without any Parent incident.
The coaches were told they would play an abbreviated pool play of just two games to 15 and in the event of a tie in points, a “Gnarly Point” would be played with the server decided by a coin flip and one point would dictate the winner of the match. Only one “Gnarly Point” was played all day giving Fortitude’s 14 Gray team a win over Tucson’s Sky Islands 14-2 team. After was a four team bracket with full matches in each age specific gold, silver and bronze division. Warm up was 5 minutes shared which saw several teams just mixing up to play queens and others doing hitting lines, taking sets from the other team’s setter. Often times, right before the match would start, you would see groups of both colored uniforms at the net, just talking and laughing.
Commissioner Harold Cranswick came by to say hello to the players, coaches and parents. He helped post scores and answer questions of parents about this different format but all the while enjoying what he was seeing first hand: the volleyball community working together for a common great!
As people read the “programs” the cookie jar at the tournament desk filled up with cash and checks and change. A few of the players cried as did some parents. One Mom named Julie came up and told the story of a very close relative who was also killed by a drunk driver. She had put together a bag of toys for Megan’s two young boys. She wept telling of her family’s loss and how great this event was and that she wanted to meet Patrick.
It was a charming sight to look up and see kids, in every color uniform, in the ref stands beckoning for serve and whistling violations on their peers. Sometimes they missed stuff, most times it didn’t matter. They let play go and seemed to unconsciously like the fact that the color of a libero’s jersey or a player racing onto the court because of a spaced rotation moment didn’t really matter much in the stream of play. They played and played a lot and had a great time.
Brynne from the Region office came by in the early afternoon as the courts were starting to wind down and went upstairs to add up the donations. A few minutes after that, Patrick Lange walked in the gym. One of the first people he talked to was Julie who shared her account and gave Patrick her gift for his boys. He met Mitch and thanked him and got to meet a few coaches and players from not just the tournament but from his cousin’s team, the one that started this all.
In a brief conversation, Patrick talked about his last month. How he was getting better on television despite being a quiet person in general. How amazed he was at the outpouring and generosity of people. Then he said something quietly that is still hanging in the air above the tournament: “I think I realize now that it is such a small world.”
Revolution 15 Elite topped the White Tanks 16N1 team to win the 16’s division while the White Tanks 13N team topped the Sky Islands 14-1’s team for the 14’s plaque. After you read this, and the Parents and athletes stop posting it on facebook tonight and tomorrow, not too many will remember. But it wasn’t the reason these 23 teams and coaches and parents came this afternoon. They came to play. They came for a grander purpose and they came to show their compassion for another human being in need.
Brynne came downstairs and handed Patrick an envelope. In it was cash, checks and change, a bag of which was donated by Coach Tonya’s young son Bowen from his piggy bank. She handed him a piece of paper that had written in a bold Calibri font: $8,389.
There has been e mails from other parents, clubs and coaches that are dropping off more checks this week so that number will probably grow. White Tanks Mountain, the club in which Megan’s cousin coaches and the first many of us had heard of Megan Lange, donated over $2000 with the Club Director Paul Vitola matching funds for each of his six teams in the tournament up to $125 per team.
Ignite volleyball tried to put a team together but had to pull out a few days before, dropped by the tournament just to drop off a check for $150. Club Payson drove 3 hours first thing Sunday morning in the rain to play and donate $300. Sky Islands from Tucson had three teams in the tournament and they brought in over $400. SVA’s 16 Rage team donated $670 and Az. Sky’s three teams brought in $1240. Club One's 15 Yellow team gave $700 and the promise of more checks this week. Club One's 15 Yellow team gave $700 with the promise of more during the week. The AZVC 13 Insanity team, coached by Doug who is going through his own health issues, drove back to the west valley from Tucson late the night before and donated $545. The two Fortitude teams brought in $600 combined. Scott’s Az. Storm 14-Strike helped out with $200 listed but with several parents, including his, adding to the cookie jar throughout the day.
Heroes are defined in a lot of ways. Poets and novelists, songwriters and comic book illustrators all have a hand in those definitions. Sometimes they are right beside you or a court away; in a lawn chair watching their daughter play volleyball. Sometimes they are on the sidelines, directing traffic and guiding their athletes through the windy country roads of youth competition. And sometimes they are the actors themselves, playing a difficult sport to their maximum effort for a team and parents they love.
And sometimes it’s simply someone who helps another in need with a hug or a kind work, maybe a check or a little extra cash or maybe with the gift of their time and effort.
Thank you to all who made this event happen: coaches, players and parents. For one Sunday in March, the volleyball world was such a small one.
Sunday, March 1st was cloudy and breezy. Teams began streaming in at 7 a.m. like any other normal tournament. At the Coach/Parent meeting, Parents were asked to understand that the kids would be reffing this day and to see the bigger picture. The tournament ran without any Parent incident.
The coaches were told they would play an abbreviated pool play of just two games to 15 and in the event of a tie in points, a “Gnarly Point” would be played with the server decided by a coin flip and one point would dictate the winner of the match. Only one “Gnarly Point” was played all day giving Fortitude’s 14 Gray team a win over Tucson’s Sky Islands 14-2 team. After was a four team bracket with full matches in each age specific gold, silver and bronze division. Warm up was 5 minutes shared which saw several teams just mixing up to play queens and others doing hitting lines, taking sets from the other team’s setter. Often times, right before the match would start, you would see groups of both colored uniforms at the net, just talking and laughing.
Commissioner Harold Cranswick came by to say hello to the players, coaches and parents. He helped post scores and answer questions of parents about this different format but all the while enjoying what he was seeing first hand: the volleyball community working together for a common great!
As people read the “programs” the cookie jar at the tournament desk filled up with cash and checks and change. A few of the players cried as did some parents. One Mom named Julie came up and told the story of a very close relative who was also killed by a drunk driver. She had put together a bag of toys for Megan’s two young boys. She wept telling of her family’s loss and how great this event was and that she wanted to meet Patrick.
It was a charming sight to look up and see kids, in every color uniform, in the ref stands beckoning for serve and whistling violations on their peers. Sometimes they missed stuff, most times it didn’t matter. They let play go and seemed to unconsciously like the fact that the color of a libero’s jersey or a player racing onto the court because of a spaced rotation moment didn’t really matter much in the stream of play. They played and played a lot and had a great time.
Brynne from the Region office came by in the early afternoon as the courts were starting to wind down and went upstairs to add up the donations. A few minutes after that, Patrick Lange walked in the gym. One of the first people he talked to was Julie who shared her account and gave Patrick her gift for his boys. He met Mitch and thanked him and got to meet a few coaches and players from not just the tournament but from his cousin’s team, the one that started this all.
In a brief conversation, Patrick talked about his last month. How he was getting better on television despite being a quiet person in general. How amazed he was at the outpouring and generosity of people. Then he said something quietly that is still hanging in the air above the tournament: “I think I realize now that it is such a small world.”
Revolution 15 Elite topped the White Tanks 16N1 team to win the 16’s division while the White Tanks 13N team topped the Sky Islands 14-1’s team for the 14’s plaque. After you read this, and the Parents and athletes stop posting it on facebook tonight and tomorrow, not too many will remember. But it wasn’t the reason these 23 teams and coaches and parents came this afternoon. They came to play. They came for a grander purpose and they came to show their compassion for another human being in need.
Brynne came downstairs and handed Patrick an envelope. In it was cash, checks and change, a bag of which was donated by Coach Tonya’s young son Bowen from his piggy bank. She handed him a piece of paper that had written in a bold Calibri font: $8,389.
There has been e mails from other parents, clubs and coaches that are dropping off more checks this week so that number will probably grow. White Tanks Mountain, the club in which Megan’s cousin coaches and the first many of us had heard of Megan Lange, donated over $2000 with the Club Director Paul Vitola matching funds for each of his six teams in the tournament up to $125 per team.
Ignite volleyball tried to put a team together but had to pull out a few days before, dropped by the tournament just to drop off a check for $150. Club Payson drove 3 hours first thing Sunday morning in the rain to play and donate $300. Sky Islands from Tucson had three teams in the tournament and they brought in over $400. SVA’s 16 Rage team donated $670 and Az. Sky’s three teams brought in $1240. Club One's 15 Yellow team gave $700 and the promise of more checks this week. Club One's 15 Yellow team gave $700 with the promise of more during the week. The AZVC 13 Insanity team, coached by Doug who is going through his own health issues, drove back to the west valley from Tucson late the night before and donated $545. The two Fortitude teams brought in $600 combined. Scott’s Az. Storm 14-Strike helped out with $200 listed but with several parents, including his, adding to the cookie jar throughout the day.
Heroes are defined in a lot of ways. Poets and novelists, songwriters and comic book illustrators all have a hand in those definitions. Sometimes they are right beside you or a court away; in a lawn chair watching their daughter play volleyball. Sometimes they are on the sidelines, directing traffic and guiding their athletes through the windy country roads of youth competition. And sometimes they are the actors themselves, playing a difficult sport to their maximum effort for a team and parents they love.
And sometimes it’s simply someone who helps another in need with a hug or a kind work, maybe a check or a little extra cash or maybe with the gift of their time and effort.
Thank you to all who made this event happen: coaches, players and parents. For one Sunday in March, the volleyball world was such a small one.
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