Liberty boys basketball coach Nigel Long said Sarai Jean-Louis was a story of perseverance.
“He tried out every single year for our team … freshman year, sophomore year, junior year, senior year … and in the previous years he would be the last cut,” Long said. “He was always right on the border of making the team. All he wanted to do was make the team and play for Liberty. He kept getting better and kept coming out and in his senior year this past year, he was able to make the team. I’ll never forget that moment when I told him he made the team. He started to cry.”
Now about 10 months after he proudly put on the Hurricanes uniform for the first time as a varsity player , those who knew Jean-Louis are the ones crying.
Just a month after graduating from Liberty, Jean-Louis died at the age of 18. The cause of death is under investigation, but Long said he had been dealing with severe asthma issues.
“We knew he had been dealing with asthma and he carried with him an inhaler and he had to use it throughout the season, especially during practices,” Long said.
No matter the cause, the Hurricanes basketball community is heartbroken.
“I’ll never forget him,” Long said. “He was one of a kind. A good kid. A really good kid.”
Long said Jean-Louis always supported his teammates. The last time he saw him was Tuesday night at Liberty’s junior varsity summer game at Allentown’s Cedar Beach.
“Our JVs were playing Allen and he was just out there supporting our young guys,” Long said. “He came over to me and hugged me and told me how excited he was for the program with the talented young guys we have coming up. He talked about college coming up for him and how excited he was about that.
“He was looking to go to college in Delaware where his family was from. He said he was working and he was so happy. I mean, I literally just saw him Tuesday night and he was gone two nights later. It’s heartbreaking.”
Jean-Louis played in nine games for Liberty and scored five points.
His impact, however, went far beyond the scorebook.
“He meant a lot to our guys,” Long said, his voice breaking. “Our guys were close to him. He supported them. My message to our team when we met after learning what happened is that we have a race to run in our lives and you have to do it with the same perseverance and spirit that he ran his race. We need to go through life with the same fire and determination he had. That was my message.”
Long added that it’s understandable to be upset.
“I told the kids it’s OK to mourn,” he said. “It’s OK to be upset. It’s not just OK to feel that way; you should feel that way. But at the same time, we all know he would want for all of us to smile and talk about the good times we had together. That’s the legacy he’d want us to carry on. He’d want us to smile.”
“This was so unexpected, so devastating for his friends and for all of the coaches because we all knew him so well,” Long said. “We took him home and talked on the drives. It’s a reminder of how fragile life is and how we have to make the most of every day. We will miss him and our guys will play with him in their hearts.”
Softball Hall of Fame to add five
The Lehigh Valley Softball Hall of Fame will have its 21st annual induction ceremony at 7 p.m. July 13 at Allentown’s Patriots Park with five new members set to be inducted. The new additions will bring the total inductees to 110.
The new inductees include two high school girls softball pitching stars from the 2000s — former Nazareth High and Syracuse University and University of South Florida star Courtney Mosch Messina and ex-Allentown Central Catholic and Bloomsburg University pitching great Shavaun Fisher.
Both pitchers led their respective high school teams to the state semis as juniors and had record-breaking college careers.
The induction class will also include longtime Bethlehem Catholic coach Rich Mazza, who has led his teams to 366 victories and three league and 10 District 11 titles. The Lady Hawks also have appeared in four PIAA state title games, winning the 3A championship in 2015.
In addition, longtime area men’s fastpitch player, scorekeeper, statistician, coach and historian Jean-Pierre Caravan will be inducted as will former Bethlehem area standout Gary Salabsky.
The Hall of Fame ceremony will be held between games of a youth doubleheader. There is no admission charge, but donations are welcome.
All-state softball selections
Whitehall sophomore Kate Yadush and Pocono Mountain West senior Francesco DeLeo were selected first-team all-state on the Class 6A squad and three players from Northwestern Lehigh were chosen as first-team selections on the Class 4A team when the Pennsylvania High School Softball Coaches Association announced its all-state honorees last week.
The three players from Northwestern Lehigh were sophomore outfielder Sage Toman, junior third baseman Marissa Christman, and senior shortstop Morgan Farthing. Also making the first team in Class 3A as a designated player was Northern Lehigh junior Jordyn Hemingway. Tamaqua’s Hailey Williams was selected to the 4A team as a utility player and Marian Catholic pitcher Morgan Kelly was chosen to the Class A second team as a pitcher.
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