Early Saturday morning, a large crowd of people, ranging everywhere from young students to adults, gathered to compete in a fun competition that raised money for a cause that honors a fallen friend.
The first annual Ty Osman II 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament invited those from around the community to compete, but to also remember the memory of Ty Osman Jr., a former Harding student and member of the Woodmont Hills congregation.
Last March, Osman lost his life in a tragic car accident. According to Woodmont Hills Family of God youth minister David Sessions, Saturday’s tournament was held to remember Osman in a way that he would have enjoyed.
“As the youth minister at Woodmont Hills, I started thinking about a while ago how would be ways we were going to process this anniversary,” Sessions said. “The character of our youth group is a group that likes to have fun, and Ty liked to have fun, too.
“So, we wanted an event that would allow us process the anniversary in a fun way, but in a way that we could still honor him because he really loved basketball, too.”
The event was free of charge, and donations were accepted to benefit Donate Life Tennessee, the Tennessee Organ and Tissue Donor Registry. Osman was an organ donor at the time of his passing, and currently, seven individuals throughout the United States are using his organs.
The Ty2 Foundation sponsored the event, which is a nonprofit set up by Osman’s family that benefits fellow charity organizations, with dotatelifetn.org being one of their largest benefactors, according to Sessions.
42 teams arrived in Allen Arena to take part in the tournament. Before the games began, Hayes Holland, a helper with the event, gathered the teams to offer some insight into the day.
“This is about community today. This is about memories. This is about positive things,” Holland said to the crowd of teams.
The tournament is the first of what the organizers plan to be an annual event.
Sophomore Evan Kersten, who was a friend of Osman, said that event was a great way to gather and remember Osman.
“It’s a fun way for us all to come out here and get kind of competitive and just do something great – to get together and celebrate Ty,” Kersten said.
For more information about either the Ty2 Foundation or Donate Life Tennessee, go to http://ty2foundation.org/ and http://donatelifetn.org/index.aspx