The school parking lot was filled with students and faculty and green balloons.
This summer on June 16, 2014 volleyball coach and math teacher Jason Landers passed away after a long battle with cancer.
It was a bright summer morning for varsity volleyball player Eden Kasprak. She got the heartbreaking news as she was watching TV with her siblings.
“My dad came and sat down next to me, and my mom was standing by the stairs. My mom then said she had something to tell me,” Kasprak said. “She asked me if I had gotten any strange texts and I thought I was in trouble so I told her no. But then I thought about the texts that morning I said ‘yeah people were asking me if I was ok.’ And then that was when my mom said ‘Well Coach Landers last night…’ I started crying and screaming ‘NO’ thinking that it couldn’t be real.”
It was tragic news for Kasprak, to find out that her coach was unable to overcome the cancer he had battled for over two years.
“I was one of the first ones to know about Coach Landers’ condition because my mom was texting his wife the day he got sick. We were waiting for the test results to come back in that said he had cancer. But what they had failed to mention was the severity of the cancer which was Stage 4 Liver Cancer,” Kasprak said.
Some players, like Kennedy Godsey, thought Landers was getting better and recovering.
“Actually it caught everyone by surprise, because it wasn’t that severe. He was really bad when they found out, but then they had shrunk it down to two by two centimeters.” Godsey said. “And the doctors were saying ‘oh my gosh we hit a home run!’ So when it happened it was a huge surprise. I had actually texted him the night before telling him ‘Happy Father’s Day!’ and he said ‘Thanks’ and so that’s why the day after it was pretty rough for me… He seemed to be getting better. And no matter what he would always crack a smile.”
According to his wife, Landers was a very strong and loving man.
“He always loved to have a good time and always made sure everyone else did too,” his wife Coach Catherine Johnson-Landers said.
For the volleyball team Landers impacted their lives in many ways. For Kasprak, Landers saw in her what she failed to see in herself.
“He always found potential I didn’t see. He is my fire to play and I play for him,” Kasprak said.
Landers was, and is still Kasprak and Godseys’ motivation to do their best and improve each and every day.
“Not having him here pushes us,” Godsey said.
There are a variety of things people miss about Landers.
“His jokes on the sidelines and him yelling at us at games. His smile and presence. Every game I would bring him oatmeal cookies and now I just eat them myself,” Godsey said, while nearing tears.
His presence is missed by the team.
“Its different, not normal not seeing him. All the senior girls have been waiting for this year,” Godsey said.
It’s a challenge every day for Johnson-Landers, to return to work due to the memories she has of her husband.
“It’s been very hard for me to come back to Bowie, there are days that I just can’t make it. We met here on my first day that I was on campus so I have not been here without him,” Johnson-Landers said.
The only favor Johnson-Landers asks for is to keep his memory alive.
“Hugs are always the best, but just keeping his