RANDOLPH, Minn. — Coaches see skill, but maybe more importantly, they recognize personality.
"His baseball game was up there with the best of them but his character led the way," Jake Petricka of HTP Sports Academy said of 17-year-old Tayven Geiger.
Petricka, along with Chase Hentges, were Geiger's baseball coaches. When they found out Geiger had been killed on Wednesday in a single-vehicle crash, they said they felt the need to let the community know quickly.
"We sent a text to all of the players that were teammates with him," Hentges said. "We sent a newsletter, and get it out on social media so people would hear about it, instead of having heard about it after a couple days or even a couple of weeks."
On Wednesday, state troopers said Geiger was driving north on a snowy and icy highway 56 near Randolph, when he entered a ditch, rolled over and was ejected from the pickup. Geiger was not wearing a seatbelt.
On Friday, a memorial had grown by Highway 56. It featured many things Geiger enjoyed, including hunting and baseball paraphernalia.
In terms of baseball, both coaches agreed, Geiger was the kind of guy you wanted on your team.
"Just being the ultimate rah rah guy-- he was always positive," Hentges said. "Always just lights up a room, easy conversations, just an amazing teammate."
And for all the skills that Tayven picked up from HTP Sports Academy, the coaches too walk away with a catch.
"That's why we do it, kids like him," Petricka said.
"The joy he can bring to a room he can bring to a team, it's unmatched. One of those kids that you'll remember forever," Hentges added.
You can find the coaches' GoFundMe for the Geiger family here.
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