The Hard Hat: 21 Ways to Be a Great Teammate

Chapter 11A Defining Moment

The coaches and the team weren't sure if we should cancel the rest of the season or not. Some of the guys wanted to play right away to take their minds off of everything while other guys didn't want to play on the field where they saw their friend and teammate die. We were all emotionally drained and uncertain about the future. We were scheduled to begin our spring break and travel to the University of North Carolina (UNC) to play them, but we decided to cancel the game. No one was prepared to play. We asked the players if they wanted to go home and spend spring break with their families or stay together, and everyone agreed that they wanted to do something as a team. So, we decided to travel to North Carolina anyway and spend some time there. We watched UNC play Duke at night. We went to the movies and played flag football, but we didn't play lacrosse. It was time to simply be together and get away from everything.

Then we traveled to Washington, DC, for George's funeral. I can still hear the song “On Eagle's Wings” playing. George's older sister, Elena, gave a very emotional eulogy. She talked about spending her junior year in college in Florence, Italy, far from George, who was at Cornell. She said, “Many are afraid of the dark, but [my sister] Caroline and I have no fear because George was a great light. When George was near, you never saw your ...