Hixson High basketball coach Lawanza Crutcher works every year to make sure his players understand the importance of community service. He said he wants his boys to realize how blessed they are and to give back to the community, especially to kids who aren’t as fortunate as they are.
In his years as a coach, he often selected the Ronald McDonald House for the players to volunteer at, but when Crutcher became aware that a freshman player’s brother has muscular dystrophy, he saw another opportunity.
“I was in my office and he came in and asked if I would buy a T-shirt in support of his brother,” said Crutcher, a veteran coach of nearly 30 years. “As we continued to talk I thought, ‘What a great thing to sponsor, to support one of our own.’ That was when I started looking into the Muscular Dystrophy Walk.”
Christian Crowe, the freshman Wildcat that inspired Crutcher, said his brother Brendan wants to be a basketball player, so that makes this all the more special. Brendan often visits during practice to meet all his brother’s teammates, Christian said.
“He [Brendan] talks to me all the time about how he wants to be a basketball player,” said Christian. “He doesn’t really get the opportunity to, though. He can’t walk or run, but whenever the team came out they made him feel like he fit in. I know he felt like a superstar.”