How Lake Travis Football Turned Grief into Growth

By Graham Neal 

Photography By Graham Neal

Reporting Texas

In Lake Travis High School’s football locker room, one locker stands out. It is filled with flowers, teammates’ signatures, letters and equipment left untouched.

The locker belongs to Odin Hensley, a senior offensive lineman who died on Aug. 12, two days after suffering a cardiac emergency during a preseason practice.

“He’s still with us,” Cavaliers head coach Hank Carter said. “I know if Odin were here… he’d be wanting to work and get after it. So our best way to honor him is to get after it.”

Nearly three months after Hensley’s death, the Cavaliers are playoff-bound, touting a 5-3-1 record, including a 4-2 record in district play after a dominant 58-0 victory over Westwood on Friday. They will enter as the top seed in District 25-6A Division I after winning three of their last four games.

Hensley’s memory has remained with the Cavaliers every step of the way.

“They rely on his strength and that memory of him,” said special teams coordinator Kelvin Halfmann. “They still understand he’s not here and understand what could’ve been with him, but they’re also playing for him.”

Learning to play through grief was not easy for the Cavaliers, though, especially early in the season.

“That time on the field was our last time seeing him ever,” said Logan Newby, a fellow senior offensive lineman. “(It) felt like everyone was just not there mentally. … Every day, the team would be constantly reminded of how we lost a brother.”

After Hensley’s death in August, the team held optional practices and canceled its season opener against Dripping Springs to prioritize the mental health of the players.

“There wasn’t a manual on how to deal with that,” Carter said. “It’s like trying to land a plane when both engines have gone out. … It shook us. We’re still shaken by it.”

But the moment when the team learned of Hensley’s death was also when it “became an official team,” said Conor O’Neill, a senior defensive lineman and close friend of Hensley.

“I remember in the film room when Coach told us that he officially passed,” O’Neill said. “Everyone got together. Even people I rarely talk to on the team would come up to me and hug me… Most teams don’t really cry on each other’s shoulders until the season’s over. We did it at the beginning, and we are going to do it at the end.”

Senior offensive lineman Jackson Koeppel echoed the thought.

“We took it easy at first and it was optional practice,” Koeppel said. “But being able to keep practicing and keeping us all together helped us work through it together… and it gave us motivation to do everything for him.”

That closeness was especially felt among the Cavaliers’ offensive linemen who had played alongside Hensley.

“That group has gotten so close,” said offensive line coach Erick Wren. “Those guys love each other, and it’s just so awesome to see.”

“The offensive line group itself is just a very special group of kids,” Carter said. “I do think that group is probably as well equipped to deal with something very difficult – probably more so than others – because that group is always just so close.”

Carter specifically pointed to the nature of the position as one reason that the members of the group have been able to support each other.

“They have to be such an unselfish position,” Carter said. “They don’t need to have their names in the newspaper. … They just have a service mentality already.”

That was on display ahead of Lake Travis’ rivalry matchup with Westlake on Oct. 23 when members of the Cavaliers’ offensive line brought out a bouquet of flowers for Hensley’s girlfriend, a member of the Westlake athletic training staff.

“The offensive line group came together and asked me if I thought it would be appropriate — the kids thought to do that,” Carter said. “Again, the offensive line group itself is just a very special group of kids.”

As the season has progressed, the Cavaliers’ growing bond has translated to success on the field. They have won three of their last four games by an average of more than 40 points.

“As the season’s continued… we’ve started coming together as a team and bonding through the pain,” Newby said.

“We’ve gained our confidence back,” senior offensive lineman Jason Flores-Ramirez added.

Through these games, the team has also continued to honor Hensley’s memory through traditions and conversations.

“We’ve got helmet stickers – No. 75. We wear an undershirt every game that all the players have that’s got Odin’s name on the back of it,” Carter said. “We still talk about him. We put new flowers in his locker every week.”

The emphasis on talking about Hensley is something that Carter said is particularly important for the team.

“Everyone deals with grief a little differently, but I think talking about your loved ones and those that are gone (is) just a reminder of all the awesome and special things that made those people unique,” Carter said. “That’s how our team and staff have handled it.”

The team also emphasized their newly gained perspective on life and football.

“It’s a stark reminder of what’s really important, and how life is so precious, and just the time that we have together is precious,” Carter said.

“We (have) a lot of love for each other because we know that there might not be (another) chance where we will be all together as a group,” O’Neill said. “We didn’t realize until Odin was gone that we didn’t take advantage of that as we should have.”

Opponents and district rivals have joined Lake Travis in remembering Hensley. Round Rock High School had its entire student section wearing No. 75 jerseys during the Oct. 30 district matchup, which determined first place in District 25-6A Division I.

“It’s nice, but it just reminds me of him,” O’Neill said. “I look up and I see the 75 and… I just wish he was here with us.”

Lake Travis will host Johnson High School on Friday to open the 6A Division I playoffs. The Cavaliers hope to carry their strengthened bond into the postseason.

“It’s 100% credit to the players for being as young as they are and having to deal with something like that,” Wren said.  “To see them… get a home playoff game, and have a chance to make a deep playoff run?  Gosh, it’s going to make for an incredible story if they can pull it off.”

“It’s gonna be a lot of fun,” O’Neill said. “I wish Odin was here with us and… we’ve had a rough season, but I know we can make it.”