Dublin High School Athletics is mourning over the heartbreaking news that Tyler Wang, one of our very own Gaels Football players, passed away the morning of July 4th after a courageous and hard-fought 10-month battle with leukemia.
“There can be no greater tragedy than the loss of a child”, said Dublin Unified School District Superintendent Chris Funk in a message to the community. “It’s nearly impossible to process that someone cherished by their family and friends, with so many memories yet to create and share, will not bless us with their full potential being realized.”
The statement from Superintendent Funk regarding Tyler continued by saying, “On behalf of the Dublin Unified School District, our heart goes out to the Wang family and to all those who were lucky enough to know Tyler during his brief time with us. We are grateful for those in our community who supported Tyler and his family during this difficult time. Dublin is a special place that we should all be proud of. Tyler’s loss is a reminder to us all that life is fragile, so we should embrace every opportunity to build memories with those we love.”
Tyler joined the football program late in the summer of 2022 shortly before the start of the season with a desire to participate in a fun activity alongside his friends. He was an Offensive and Defensive Tackle on the Dublin High School Freshman Football team who appeared in several games during the first half of the season before being diagnosed with leukemia.
The 2022 Freshman Football Head Coach (and current Junior Varsity Assistant) Jose Barron remembered Tyler as someone who always made his coaches smile, saying that “Tyler was a loving and kind human being.”
Coach Barron fondly recalled how beyond his kindness that Tyler was fully connected to his teammates and the team’s success……and also was as “strong as an ox.”
“Whenever we hit the sled, Tyler would hit it harder and push it back further than anyone else,” Coach Barron said. “When he was done with a drill, the entire sled would be uneven because of Tyler’s strength and effort to drive his side as far as possible.”
Tyler’s position coach last season Eric Hamilton reiterated those sentiments, emphasizing that first and foremost how, “Tyler was a person of tremendous character, who always listened and did his absolute best to do whatever the coaches asked of him.”
As a show of solidarity with Tyler, all of the players on the Freshman team wore green socks for one of their final games since green was his favorite color. This year’s Junior Varsity team did a moment of silence for him before taking the field in a 7-on-7 practice game on July 6th, and a more formal moment of silence will be done in his honor before Dublin High’s first home football game against Washington on August 25th.
Funeral services for Tyler will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 15th at St. Peter’s Anglican Parish (6013 Lawton Avenue at Broadway in Oakland). For those wishing to donate to the family, the link for the Go Fund Me page is below:
