Play Like He Would
Description
A True Story of Loss, Legacy, and What It Means to Never Give Up
On a crisp October night in 1999, the Bremond Tigers took the field in Milano, Texas, carrying the hopes of their small town. Then, in a single devastating moment, 16-year-old Jason Yancy collapsed and died of an undiagnosed heart condition, leaving his teammates, coaches, and community shattered.
Play Like He Would tells the unforgettable true story of how a group of teenage boys and their coach, Jerry "Slugger" Hamrick, found the strength to continue after tragedy struck at the heart of their team. Jason wasn't just another player—he was the soul of the Tigers, a kid without a mean heart who lifted everyone around him with his infectious smile and unwavering determination.
Author Heath Hamrick, the coach's son who witnessed that terrible night, draws from extensive interviews conducted shortly after Jason's death to reconstruct the raw emotions and difficult decisions that followed. From the locker room, where Jason's helmet still hangs, to the cemetery where teammates left their own tribute, this is a story about more than football—it's about how we face the unthinkable and find ways to honor those we've lost.
Set against the backdrop of Texas high school football, where Friday night lights illuminate both triumph and heartbreak, this deeply personal memoir explores themes that resonate far beyond the gridiron: How do we handle loss? How do we move forward when life takes something precious from us? And what does it truly mean to live up to someone's memory?
With its unflinching honesty about grief and its celebration of resilience, Play Like He Would reveals how Jason's legacy became a rallying cry that sustained his teammates through championship seasons and personal struggles. Some stories are about winning; this one is about something far more important—learning how to keep playing when the game itself seems lost.
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Person
Heath Hamrick was born in Pasadena, Texas, into a third-generation coaching family. He grew up watching his father, Slugger Hamrick, coach in places ranging from Central Texas to the Rio Grande Valley and back again. A lifelong educator, Heath occasionally has time to dress up as a historical figure to produce videos as "Heath the History Guy" on YouTube. He is also just possibly the most naive political operative in American history, having co-written Worse Than You Think: The Mostly True Story Of Two Teachers Running For Congress Deep In The Heart Of Texas for TCU Press.
Perhaps most importantly of all, Heath was present in Milano on that night in October of 1999 when an entire town mourned for a young man whose life had been cut tragically short. He was also there as those same young men who had sat with tear-streaked faces in the Milano locker rooms bounced back in the memory of #77 and brought a town and a team back to life.