There were tears, laughter, and memories.
A community came together Sunday afternoon at the peewee baseball diamond at Winskill Park in Tsawwassen to remember an outstanding baseball player, but most importantly an outstanding young man.
Kyle Losse, 14, a popular South Delta Secondary student, died tragically Tuesday following a serious brain injury. The exact cause of his death is still under investigation.
“Baseball was his life, so we thought it would be fitting to celebrate his life on the diamond,” said his stepmom Niki prior to the start of the celebration. “Through the outpouring of support from the community and through Facebook, we just wanted everyone to be able to come together and celebrate our sons’ life together.”
Kyle’s dad Brian said it was crazy how Kyle had such a profound impact on so many people.
“We are blessed and very happy that everyone has come here to attend to celebrate his life and what he has done not only as a person, but as an athlete,” Brian said.
Neal McDonough, whose son Morgan played with Kyle this past year as part of the Tsawwassen Athletics peewee AA provincial championship team, described the turnout as ‘awesome.’
“This is what a community like this does – you support, you love and obviously we all loved Kyle,” McDonough said during his opening remarks. “We are gathered here at his favourite place – a baseball field. A place where he dominated not just as a hitter, not just as a pitcher, but as a leader.”
Brian talked about Kyle’s early days growing up where he dominated first on the soccer pitch, then on the baseball diamond. He also played football with the South Delta Rams and clearly blossomed into a sports fanatic both on and off the field.
Kyle was scouted by the Arizona Diamondbacks and was one of the top players in the province in his age group. He was preparing for his first season with the Bantam AAA Delta Tigers.
“Kyle was a leader on our provincially-winning team, but he never bragged, he never made degrading comments to his teammates or other teams. He just went out, did his job and wanted to do his best and give his best at every moment,” said Brian. “This year he pitched 81 innings with our team, 167 strikeouts, 18 home runs, four grand slams, two tournament wins, provincial championship, two home run derby wins, travelled all over the U.S. – he had a promising, baseball future.
“He was my hero, my superstar, my Ky man. He was a fantastic athlete, but a handsome man with a beautiful smile with a cute afro. Today Kyle is watching us. He wants all of you athletes to follow your dreams. Play hard, train hard and be kind to one another.”
Niki recalled the time that Kyle came to live with them for the first time at the age of two and his first meal – chicken nuggets, rice and cucumbers – still to this day one of his favourite meals.
“Your laugh was contagious, your curiosity was never ending and your love made our house a home,” said Niki. “Baseball soon became your passion and your dad was behind you every step of the way. I could go on and on and talk about your baseball accomplishments, but everyone here knows you were our MVP. Kyle you will never know how proud I was to be a part of your life. You made me a better person. You will live forever in our hearts and forever in this community.”
Well-wishers were encouraged to sign home plates that were placed at the celebration, while the Remembering Kyle Losse Facebook page continues to be flooded with thoughts, prayers and well-wishes.
A GoFundMe page started by Ben Lock has raised more than $17,000. According to the family, that money will be put back into Tsawwassen baseball for tournaments in Kyle’s name.
The family will also lobby the City of Delta to have the peewee diamond named Field #14 Kyle Losse in his honour. A sign signifying that was placed on the diamond backstop for the celebration of life.
In one of the more powerful moments of the celebration, Brian called up Tsawwassen baseball president John Forbes and handed him two special coaching applications.
“This past season after we won provincials, many parents and players asked me if I would come back and coach. I told them I couldn’t because I would be attending Kyle’s practices and games,” said Brian. “As Kyle lay there on Tuesday in hospital we had a discussion. We said that he and I would coach the peewee AA team to another provincial championship. So here John are two contracts for us to coach the Tsawwassen A’s.”
McDonough closed the celebration by encouraging everyone to talk about Kyle, tell stories and keep his memory alive.
“While he was here for those 14 years he was a shining star,” he said. “Everyone that he touched, everyone that he came in contact with, everyone here…our lives were better for it.”
Kyle is survived by his stepmom Niki, biological dad Brian, his brother Tyler, 7, sister Vada, 6, brother Joshua, 15, and his biological mom Jamie Palidwar.
