Community honors beloved coach who died in wreck on way to game

Students and parents packed the Legion Collegiate Academy gym in York County Tuesday to support Lancers’ volleyball, and during the match, fans remembered an important person missing from the crowd.

“He didn’t miss volleyball games. He didn’t miss anything. Whenever we were open, he was here,” said Principal Julie Marshall.

LCA teacher and coach Jalen Benjamin died earlier this month after being hit by a tractor-trailer.

He was on his way to a game in Sumter.

Rock Hill baseball coach dies after being hit by tractor-trailer

Marshall remembers grieving alongside Benjamin’s team after the crash.

“It was quiet. It was still,” Marshall said. “There were tears, but we understood that we’re not going to know why because you always have ‘the whys,’”

Benjamin coached baseball but some of his former players showed up to the school’s first home volleyball game of the school year to collect donations for the Jalen Benjamin Memorial Scholarship Fund .

“Jalen’s No. 1 priority on the field or off the field was education,” Marshall said. “His goal was to make sure that every single child that he touched was able to continue their path in education.”

The school plans to award the annual scholarship to a baseball player in honor of the late coach.

“Just his energy alone in the building was a big impact for our student-athletes,” said athletic director Michael Drummond.

Benjamin worked as an assistant coach for the Lancers’ baseball team in 2019 and came back as head coach last year, Drummond said.

He’s confident Benjamin’s legacy will live on.

“His energy. His smile,” he said. “It went volumes in terms of working with the student-athletes here at Legion.”

VIDEO: Rock Hill baseball coach dies after being hit by tractor-trailer