DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University men's lacrosse coach
Bryan Habick was only 10 years old at the time when the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks occurred. For many of his age or younger, putting the events that transpired on that day 25 years ago into perspective might be hard.
Not for Habick.
Growing up in New Jersey, so close to New York City, he had direct connections that helped him grasp the moment. His neighbor was in the World Trade Center but thankfully made it out before the towers collapsed.
"I mean, I was 10 years old, so it was impactful to me just in the way I remember waking up that day, going to school and having a normal experience, and then coming home to find out that we had lost 3,000 lives," Habick recalled.
Since taking over Averett's men's lacrosse program in 2023, Habick has made it a point to remember those who died by involving his players — most of who weren't even born yet in 2001 — with the stair-climbing challenge to symbolize the 110 stories first responders braved to try to save those trapped inside the World Trade Center. Following the team's lift on Friday, the Cougars took to the bleachers of Frank R. Campbell Stadium to run 11 laps of stairs on the 25th anniversary.
"Being able to run 110 flights (of stairs) with the men's lacrosse team every year is a huge part of how we remember them, how we remember the lives that were lost in the towers and those first responders who went to go save them, and how it still impacts people 25 years later," Habick said. "If we can do our little part to make sure that we're putting in work to remember them and never forget, we'll make sure we do that."
Habick also provided his three team captains with red bandannas to run with in memory of former Boston College men's lacrosse player Welles Crowther, who was known as the "man in the red bandanna." Crowther was working on the 104th floor of the South Tower and he heroically helped save numerous lives and led survivors to the stairway to exit. Crowther repeatedly climbed back up the tower to try to help more people, but tragically he died when the South Tower collapsed.
Although none of the Cougars' student-athletes were born by the time of the attacks, they embraced this way of honoring those heroes lost.
"It helps us remember, since we were not alive at the time, what people had to go through on this tragic day," said
Connor Boyd, a senior from Richmond, Virginia. "A lot of family members and friends of family members have been through or experiences this tragic event, so just running these stairs helps us remember what everyone had to go through."
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