Hundreds of miles away, Salvia’s death had shaken the top of his college’s administration.
“It’s a tragedy. It’s a shame,” said Western Kentucky athletics director Dr. Wood Selig, who was attending the men’s basketball team’s Sun Belt Tournament game Sunday night against North Texas in Mobile, Ala. “We talk about the Western Spirit, but Jared had a spirit for life. He was a great kid and he fought a heck of a battle with his illness. He showed strength and inspiration throughout his ordeal.”
The cancer kept Salvia from attending the 2006 Sun Belt Conference Championships in Florida, but it didn’t keep his team from succeeding.
Although Salvia wasn’t there in body, his coach, Brian Tirpak, said he didn’t have to be.
“The first thing I’ll remember about Jared was his ability to pull our team together. Everyone on the team had so much love for him. He was the binding force on our team,” Tirpak said. “When we landed at the airport, we drove right to the hospital to share our trophy with him. He never left our team’s thoughts.”
The NCAA gave Salvia a medical redshirt to allow him to complete his final two seasons of eligibility. Salvia had actually practiced with the team recently and despite dropping more than 80 yards off his tee shot, was still competitive.
“Jared had game. He had the ability to go low on days where no one else had the ability to go low. Even when he was coming back, he was very weak, but he could still shoot a 72 or a 73 just because he was so determined,” Tirpak said. “He is going to be with us in spirit. He had so much courage and you never heard him complain. Even with all he went through, he was always thinking about other people first. If my team had half the courage he had, we’ll be one of the most amazing teams in the country.”
At North Hardin, Salvia qualified for State three consecutive years.
“Jared was a good kid. He came from a good family. I coached his sisters as well. He was an outstanding young person. He worked hard on the golf course and he worked hard everywhere else, too. It’s a shame. He was a young boy. It’s a real shame,” said former North Hardin coach Johnny Skaggs. “He had a lot of support (during his fight with cancer). He didn’t give up. He didn’t give up on golf or on anything. That’s just the way he was. He was a battler. On the golf course, he never left a bad shot get to him and that’s the same way he dealt with cancer, I guess.”
North Hardin plans to hold a moment of silence for Salvia prior to the Lady Trojans’ game at 5:30 tonight at Ron Bevars Gymnasium against Elizabethtown in the Girls’ 5th Region Tournament championship.
“He was a wonderful young man. He had his goals in front of him and was loved by everyone at school,” said North Hardin athletics director Alan Campbell. “I remember his smile and the way to reacted to people, which was always positive no matter who it was. The quote about ‘He was a friend of everyone’ is truly correct in his case.”
As of Sunday night, a caringbridge.org site set up for Salvia had registered more than 55,000 visits. It had 20 guestbook signatures Sunday alone.
“He was an absolute gentleman and I am so honored to say I was his coach. He was a credit to our team, our school and to the game of golf,” Tirpak said. “Just go look at how many hits that are on that Web site and you’ll be amazed. It’s a staggering number of people that he’s touched.”
Visitation is from 2-8 p.m. Wednesday and after 9 a.m. Thursday at Coffey & Chism Funeral Home in Vine Grove, where there will also be a prayer service at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at St. Brigid Catholic Church in Vine Grove. Burial will follow in the St. Brigid Cemetery.
News-Enterprise sports writer Greg Crews contributed to this report. Nathaniel Bryan can be reached at 505-1758 or at nbryan@thenewsenterprise.com
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