The entire Union Local community finds itself in a state of mourning today.
Trent Carpenter, 16, died of an apparent drowning at Piedmont Lake in western Belmont County Monday afternoon.
"Trent was just a really, really nice kid," said Union Local head football coach and athletic director Mark Cisar just moments after learning of Carpenter's passing. "He was a super quiet kid, who you wouldn't even know was in the classroom or somewhere if you didn't hear him talk."
Cisar learned of Carpenter's passing late Monday night, but he knew there something going on after Carpenter didn't show up for conditioning earlier that morning.
"We were going through attendance and several kids weren't there because of vacation, Fourth of July trips or whatever, but a lot of the kids had said they expected Trent to be there," Cisar said. "Hearing this news is just a major shock."
Reportedly, Carpenter had been swimming at Piedmont early Monday morning when he went missing. After an all-day search, his body was recovered at approximately 4 p.m.
"I just send condolences on behalf of our entire team to the family," Cisar said. "Hopefully, some of his teammates will step up and be there for the family in this tough time."
Carpenter made the decision to come out for football this season just because he wanted to give it a try.
"He'd been coming to all of the workouts, helmet fitting, had picked out his number and was really excited," Cisar said. "He thought it would be a good thing to play. He just wanted to be a part of the team. He was working his butt off."
Cisar planned to spend much of today and Wednesday addressing his players about the situation.
"We've got optional workouts the next few days, so I may not see all of the kids, but I will definitely be talking about this with the kids," Cisar said. "This is something that we have to talk about."
Though he had only known about the tragedy a short time, Cisar had already been running through ideas through his head about tributes the Jets can do for Carpenter.
"One of the things I'll talk to the kids about is what ways we can honor him and set up plans to go to the funeral home and service once we hear the arrangements," Cisar said. "I'm sure we'll put a decal on our helmets, maybe something with his locker to honor him, too."
Staskey can be reached at sstaskey@timesleaderonline.com
