“I feel like it’s a great thing to do for Coach Had,” said Senior Jacoby Martin about the stickers honoring Coach Had. “It gives us something to remember and play hard for tonight.”
Mark Bell | For the Daily Journal
ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Raider football team took to the field on the 2023 season opener against Seventy-First High School with something extra special for a friend, coach, and teacher.
The traditional gold and green helmets bore a small orange ribbon sticker on the back right side with “Had” inscribed to honor Mitch “Coach Had” Hadinger, who was recently diagnosed with acute leukemia and had to pause performing his duties as the athletic trainer for Richmond Senior High School.
For the past two decades, Hadinger has been on the sidelines at Raider Stadium. Raider Head Football Coach Bryan Till said that Hadinger always lived for the kick-off of high school football in Richmond County.
“It’s Friday night, and he’s not here with us running onto the field,” Till said. “He has meant so much to our team and our community. Wearing this small sticker will let him and his family know that we remember and will take him onto the field, so he doesn’t have to miss Friday nights.”
Since Hadinger’s departure, Coach Till said several people have stepped up and filled his critical role during practices and football games.
“I really appreciate people wanting to help our team,” he said. “It just shows how strong our Raider community is and what Coach Had meant to our players.”
Till said as players see those stickers on their helmets, they remember about being selfless and how Coach Had came to work being selfless and giving it all to our students-athletes and taking care of the sons and daughters in our community.
Earlier this year, Coach Had said he was born to be a high school athletic trainer.
“I am doing what I am supposed to be doing,” Hadinger said. “There are days that are frustrating, and that reality gets lost, but as most athletic trainers will tell you, having the opportunity to help, in this case, student-athletes achieve their goals, sometimes despite themselves, is rewarding.”
When hearing the news of the sticker, one mother said, “It warms my heart,” when she talked about players wearing the sticker.
Mae Lunceford, the mother of senior Johnny Lunceford, said she has a special place in her heart for Coach Had.
“Coach Had has always gone above and beyond to answer any questions regarding Johnny anytime he got hurt during a game, practice, or workouts,” she said. “He’s always helped the Mom’s Club with anything that we needed. Great guy! He’s really going to be missed this football season.”
Lunceford said she knows players loved him and will wear the sticker with pride and play their hearts out for him.
Senior Jacoby Martin was one of those players who spent time recovering from an injury.
“I feel like it’s a great thing to do for Coach Had,” he said about seeing the stickers on the helmets. “It gives us something to remember and play hard for tonight.”
Martin said Coach Had always put the players first, on and off the field.
“He’s a really smart guy, and he taught the players a lot about their bodies but so much more,” he said. “He was well respected by everyone. Tonight, we get to give back a little and make him proud and know he wasn’t forgotten.”
Coach Had had no idea the team would honor him during the game. When he heard about it, he said, “Wow, it means a great deal that the guys, coaches, and players would do that. I really appreciate it, it really means a lot.”
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