Published 8:00 am Wednesday, October 21, 2026

I have fond memories of coaching my daughter’s fourth-grade basketball team and my son’s Bend South Little League baseball team at Silver Rail Elementary School.

I often coached first base, just steps away from where a 16-year-old gunman on Oct. 15 shot his way into the school and murdered three children and a teacher before being shot and killed by a dad who chased him into the school.

Though difficult, I will choose to make my Silver Rail memories about youth sports. But I will never forget the families whose lives were shattered at that school on that day.

My family lives about one mile from Silver Rail, but our kids attended Jewell Elementary, which is closer. They practiced and played baseball, basketball and soccer at the new Silver Rail, which opened in 2015 and often had more gym and field space.…