NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — Friends and family are mourning the loss of a Jessamine County teen.
Joseph Seagraves died over the weekend. He was a member of the East Jessamine High School football team. His teammates met back up on the field today to support one another as his coach told LEX 18 how they plan to honor him.
Football practice is never easy, but head coach Mike Bowlin of East Jessamine High School said it was just what his players needed after what happened this weekend.
"Telling a group of 15 and 16-year-old kids that one of their friends is gone is the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life," Bowlin said.
Seagraves would have been a sophomore.
"Just absolutely the perfect teammate that you want to have on your team," Bowlin said. "Determined, intelligent, polite, quiet. I don't know that he had a single enemy in that building. Just a great kid."
There are counselors available to everyone at East Jessamine. It has been tough on everybody.
"I'm a father of two students in our building that are in the same grade as him, so I have to kind of rotate between fatherhood and coach and teacher, and it'll wear you out after a while. Sometimes, you've got to stop and take a deep breath and take care of yourself," Bowlin said.
The team will wear Joseph's initials on their helmets as they dedicate their season to Seagraves.
"Our motto this year has been 'I will fight 'til I can't fight no more,' and we're going to put that to the test," Bowlin said.
No cause of death has been released.
East Jessamine High School said counselors will continue to be made available and there are resources for parents who need help supporting their children.
