Eighth-grader with ‘heart of gold’ dies after freak accident during football practice: ‘I can’t put words to it’

A West Virginia eighth-grader died over the weekend from a serious brain injury sustained during a freak accident at football practice.

Cohen Craddock, 13, was playing defense during practice Friday afternoon when he collided with some teammates and was knocked down, his dad, Ryan, told WSAZ.

The Madison Middle School student suffered a brain bleed and swelling, which resulted in a lack of oxygen, Ryan Craddock explained.

Cohen died at the hospital on Saturday.

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“You’re in disbelief,” the heartbroken dad said.

“You wish it was a bad dream you could wake up from. It’s agony inside. I can’t put words to it. It’s terrible,” he added.

Cohen started eighth grade just three days before he died, Craddock told NBC News .

Craddock described the young teen as “Mr. Personality” with a “heart of gold” who loved making friends at football practice and church.

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“He was very, very smart, he excelled at math, loved technology stuff, very smart with electronics and computers,” he told the outlet.

Off the field, Cohen already had dreams about becoming a computer engineer, Craddock added.

“As a father, I couldn’t have been more proud,” he said.

The grieving family is now hoping to raise awareness about safety protocols for young athletes – including Guardian Caps, or soft-shell helmet covers that are supposed to reduce the impact of direct hits.

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“I think with the Guardian Cap it could have been a little bit of a different outcome,” Ryan Craddock said of his son’s fatal injury.

“And I would like to at least protect any and all the other kids that I can, starting at the county level, if I can move it on to the state or national level, to push for these kids to start wearing Guardian Caps at least in practice or however far they want to take it,” he added.

“I’m just thinking if it saves one other family from the heartache that my family’s experiencing at the moment, it’ll all be worth it. I know Cohen would want this too. And he wouldn’t want me to wait or delay this.”

The family is grateful for the community support that gathered around them in the wake of the tragedy, Craddock told NBC.

“I was unaware he had actually touched as many people as he had. Just his presence, just the way he conducted himself, his personality. It just made everybody happy,” he said.

“It’s very humbling that my 13-year-old kid has got the acknowledgment that he has.”

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