When 16-year-old Jason Yancy collapsed and died during a 1999 Texas high school football game, his teammates faced an impossible question: How do you continue after losing your heart? This true story follows the Bremond Tigers as they honor their fallen friend’s memory with a simple motto: “Play Like He Would.”
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.
Category: Sports, Nonfiction
Publication Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN (Paper): 978-1-965766-49-1
ISBN (Ebook): 978-1-965766-51-4
List Price: $23.95
Pages: 180
Trim size: 6 x 9
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