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As wisps of clouds rolled through blue skies in Ottawa on Monday morning, there was darkness — with the sadness turning to tears.
It seemed surreal — in the early hours of Monday the horrible killing in Ottawa’s streets of a football star at St. FX University and everywhere else he played, a ray of light to those who knew him.
Ashton Dickson is dead. A son, a brother and a friend to so many — a bright 25-year-old who never got the opportunity to pursue his dreams — is gone far too soon.
Tears are rolling down my cheeks as I peck away at the keys on my laptop. I knew Ashton Dickson, he was a friend of our family. I look down at the ring finger of my right hand. On it is an oversized piece of gaudy jewelry that was earned on Nov. 12, 2009. On that day, Ashton scored the winning touchdown that led the St. Patrick Irish, a team I was the head coach of, to a Tier II city football championship. In overtime, he took a handoff from the quarterback, stepped inside, then pivoted right and glided outside. As he turned his shoulders and raced toward history, he dived forward. As the referee signaled touchdown for a 24-18 win, I remember players jumping on Ashton. I remember the joy on his face, the twinkle in his eyes, as I hugged him long and hard.
We ask, “Why, why? And the answers don’t come. These things never make sense. Kids. Arguments. Weapons. And death. What a world this has become, where we worry for the safety of our children and our children’s children. When once the only weapon that was brought into a fight was a fist — now it’s guns and knives.
Those who spent time with Ashton were blessed. He was a jokester who loved playing video games like Call of Duty: Zombies, NHL 2K and Madden. Ottawa Redblacks linebacker Ron Omara, a longtime friend and teammate, got the news via text message while at TD Place Monday.
“We were very close, we were like brothers,” said Omara. “It’s tough to put into words all the things that are going through my head. I love the guy — that’s not a word I use frequently, but he was my boy, man. We had goals and dreams together. His shot at the pros got stopped short, but I still play for him.
“It’s surreal and it’s heartbreaking. He was not just a great football player, he was a great brother, a great friend and a great individual. It’s changed my perspective, even today. We understand not just that life is precious, but we’re very fortunate to be able to do the things we do.
“Ashton was a pretty simple guy. He just liked to chill and hang out. I talked to him yesterday, he was joking around, we talked about how we were going to have to get together again soon.”
How good was Ashton as a football player? A finalist for the Hec Crighton award (given to Canadian college football’s most outstanding player) in 2015, when he rushed for 866 yards with five touchdowns and 1,320 all-purpose yards, he was tremendously talented — good enough to get invited to the CFL East Regional Combine.
“There are a lot of running backs, they get the ball and gain 10 yards if no one is touching them,” said Omara. “Ashton was able to break tackles that should not be broken. He was an electrifying player, if you put the ball into his hands, he was going to turn two yards into 10 yards or 10 yards into 25.”
As I look down at my championship ring, the green three-leaf clover in the centre with the word Irish over top, I think about Ashton Dickson, a kid who could light up a room with his beautiful smile. On the inside of the ring are the words, “Day by Day.” Before each game our players huddled around our captains and loudly recited words which became the heartbeat of our team: In part, they were “Day by day, we get better and better until we can’t be beat. We won’t be beat.”
Rest in peace, Ashton — you’re a champion, nothing can ever take that away.
Twitter: @TimCBaines
查看原文...
It seemed surreal — in the early hours of Monday the horrible killing in Ottawa’s streets of a football star at St. FX University and everywhere else he played, a ray of light to those who knew him.
Ashton Dickson is dead. A son, a brother and a friend to so many — a bright 25-year-old who never got the opportunity to pursue his dreams — is gone far too soon.
Tears are rolling down my cheeks as I peck away at the keys on my laptop. I knew Ashton Dickson, he was a friend of our family. I look down at the ring finger of my right hand. On it is an oversized piece of gaudy jewelry that was earned on Nov. 12, 2009. On that day, Ashton scored the winning touchdown that led the St. Patrick Irish, a team I was the head coach of, to a Tier II city football championship. In overtime, he took a handoff from the quarterback, stepped inside, then pivoted right and glided outside. As he turned his shoulders and raced toward history, he dived forward. As the referee signaled touchdown for a 24-18 win, I remember players jumping on Ashton. I remember the joy on his face, the twinkle in his eyes, as I hugged him long and hard.
We ask, “Why, why? And the answers don’t come. These things never make sense. Kids. Arguments. Weapons. And death. What a world this has become, where we worry for the safety of our children and our children’s children. When once the only weapon that was brought into a fight was a fist — now it’s guns and knives.
Those who spent time with Ashton were blessed. He was a jokester who loved playing video games like Call of Duty: Zombies, NHL 2K and Madden. Ottawa Redblacks linebacker Ron Omara, a longtime friend and teammate, got the news via text message while at TD Place Monday.
“We were very close, we were like brothers,” said Omara. “It’s tough to put into words all the things that are going through my head. I love the guy — that’s not a word I use frequently, but he was my boy, man. We had goals and dreams together. His shot at the pros got stopped short, but I still play for him.
“It’s surreal and it’s heartbreaking. He was not just a great football player, he was a great brother, a great friend and a great individual. It’s changed my perspective, even today. We understand not just that life is precious, but we’re very fortunate to be able to do the things we do.
“Ashton was a pretty simple guy. He just liked to chill and hang out. I talked to him yesterday, he was joking around, we talked about how we were going to have to get together again soon.”
How good was Ashton as a football player? A finalist for the Hec Crighton award (given to Canadian college football’s most outstanding player) in 2015, when he rushed for 866 yards with five touchdowns and 1,320 all-purpose yards, he was tremendously talented — good enough to get invited to the CFL East Regional Combine.
“There are a lot of running backs, they get the ball and gain 10 yards if no one is touching them,” said Omara. “Ashton was able to break tackles that should not be broken. He was an electrifying player, if you put the ball into his hands, he was going to turn two yards into 10 yards or 10 yards into 25.”
As I look down at my championship ring, the green three-leaf clover in the centre with the word Irish over top, I think about Ashton Dickson, a kid who could light up a room with his beautiful smile. On the inside of the ring are the words, “Day by Day.” Before each game our players huddled around our captains and loudly recited words which became the heartbeat of our team: In part, they were “Day by day, we get better and better until we can’t be beat. We won’t be beat.”
Rest in peace, Ashton — you’re a champion, nothing can ever take that away.
Twitter: @TimCBaines
查看原文...
