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SANDY — Sunday is a day we honor our fathers. Eighteen-year-old Jerry Dearden, of Sandy, lost his father to cancer recently. But he and his Brighton High School teammates honored his father, Hugh, in an unforgettable way.
They're two simple letters, carefully drawn with blue magic marker and proudly worn on the arms of the Brighton High School soccer team this season.
"The initials are ‘H.D.' And that stands for my dad's name, Hugh Dearden," Jerry explained.
He says it was his dad who taught and coached him in soccer since he was a boy. "There was never a game I can remember that he wasn't there."
Until this year. Three years ago, at age 45, Hugh was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer — a disease that also took his father's life. In March, Hugh took a turn for the worse.
"Everything came together when we knew Hugh didn't have much time to go," said Brighton goalie Aaron Stoddard. "All the seniors went to his house, kind of for a last goodbye."
Hugh died on April 4. The players honored him by wearing the armbands the rest of the season. "It meant a lot ‘cause Hugh was our team dad. Both on club and high school he was always there," Stoddard said.
"I wear the armband just thinking about my dad and how hard he's fought, and that makes me motivated to fight hard in the games that I play," Jerry said.
Especially his final game, when Brighton faced Alta for the State title three weeks ago. The morning of the big game, Jerry and his mother, Diane Dearden, went to Hugh's grave site.
"I just told him that I loved him, we had a big game and I hoped he could make it," Jerry said. "It was a great experience with my mom and I. It was pretty emotional."
It was also emotional later that day when the Bengals lost in overtime. "We know Hugh was there watching and would have been so proud of what they've learned and how they've all grown together," Diane said.
After the loss, the players grabbed their gear and left the field. They had somewhere to go, someone to visit, and something to leave behind. They went to the cemetery.
"We got there and everyone put their bands down, and we huddled around the grave and just talked about the season," Stoddard recalled. "And even though we didn't win the title, we got a lot more out of the season than we would have."
"I think it just gave us a perspective that we're playing for a lot more than we realize, and it helped to bring us together a lot more and created such a bond that none of us will ever forget," Jerry said.
A bond Hugh Dearden would be proud of.
Because of their dedication to Hugh Dearden, the Brighton soccer team was honored at graduation by the Canyons School District. They earned the first Superintendent's Award of Distinction for Exemplary Character.
Email: kaiken@ksl.com
