Austin Hatch Attends First Canterbury Game
WANE.com has a brief item on Austin Hatch attending his high school team's first game of the season tonight:
Tuesday night, Austin got the chance to thank some of his Canterbury High School teammates who have been so supportive of him.
Canterbury played its first game of the 2011-2012 season against Central Noble High School Tuesday night. While Austin wasn’t able to play, he was there to cheer on his team. He gave several teammates high-fives during warm-ups and watched the game from the bench.
WANE also posted a video, which can be found here (and below).
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:33 PM ^
Love the yawn. How incredible will it be if he makes it onto the court at Michigan?
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:24 PM ^
I live here in FW, such a great site seeing the kid after all that has happened. I can't even imagine what goes through his mind on a daily basis.
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:24 PM ^
but WHEN he plays his first game for Michigan, I will be in attendance.
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:25 PM ^
Wow, he actually looks great. I don't know why, but I thought that he would look in a little worse shape than he is. Good for him!
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:28 PM ^
God bless him. Kid's been through so much. He looks good and I hope he continues to get better and gets to Ann Arbor.
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:33 PM ^
Also looks bored out of his skull. I don't think he wants to be watching basketball. I think he wants to be playing basketball.
Note: A couple different players offer him a couple different handshakes, and he does them all no problem whatsoever. No delay, no confusion, no physical issues. I'd say he may definitely be healthy. Really good to see.
We will pack Crisler for you, Austin!
November 23rd, 2011 at 12:12 PM ^
I wouldn't say no physical issues. Maybe! It's just too hard to tell. We see him taking a few steps at the beginning and that's about it. I had a friend who was in a major accident and there were those moments when he looked absolutely like he could jump into a football game. But then when he had to walk across the room it was obvious that that was not the case. Let's just hope you're right!
November 23rd, 2011 at 12:03 AM ^
He was a Michigan recruit?
November 23rd, 2011 at 12:33 AM ^
he commited to michigan shortly before the crash
November 23rd, 2011 at 8:06 AM ^
Which class is he in? How come I could not find his name under the Mcgary's class.
November 23rd, 2011 at 8:38 AM ^
November 23rd, 2011 at 11:23 AM ^
Thanks, good luck for him
November 23rd, 2011 at 12:06 AM ^
while watching the Michigan game tonight. Now I can send her an incredible update. To see him standing, smiling and embracing his teammates... Yes, he does look a little sad watching. It's still a heartbreaking situation, but amazing how far he's come.
November 23rd, 2011 at 12:19 AM ^
can't wait to see him on the court in a jersey instead of a suit! what an incredible recovery so far.
November 23rd, 2011 at 8:10 AM ^
You are asking too much I think. I don't want him to reinjur himself.
November 23rd, 2011 at 12:41 AM ^
I didn't know he was recovered like that. Can anyone give me an update?
Here I am expecting to see this young man in a wheel chair, struggling to make it...shame on me. What a great story!
November 23rd, 2011 at 1:48 AM ^
Can't wait to see him at Crisler! Go Austin, Go Blue!
November 23rd, 2011 at 9:19 AM ^
I'm rooting for this kid. I really hope he gets to keep his scholarship.
November 23rd, 2011 at 11:22 AM ^
He will be great here
November 23rd, 2011 at 7:04 AM ^
I was completely surprised to see how healthy he appears. I half expected he'd have obvious limitations - at least physically, if not mentally. I don't know the status of his health but judging on how he looked, I'm very excited for him. I hope for him, he makes it all the way to the Crisler floor!
November 23rd, 2011 at 8:52 AM ^
He does look great. Wow. Is this the first footage released of him since the plane crash?
November 23rd, 2011 at 11:20 AM ^
Hope he's Alrit!
November 23rd, 2011 at 9:40 AM ^
Go Blue, as always.
November 23rd, 2011 at 12:01 PM ^
He will be alrit
November 23rd, 2011 at 10:08 AM ^
Can anybody help define what his injuries were from the crash?
I know psychologically and emotionally it has to have been hell.
November 23rd, 2011 at 10:17 AM ^
Like others, I had no idea he was this far along in his recovery. When he suits up, he'll surpass Zack Novak as the player I cheer for the most. Zack is gritty and plays with a ton of heart, but for Hatch to come back far exceeds Zack's contribution. Whether his career at UM puts him in the record books or not, it WILL be a successful career.
November 23rd, 2011 at 11:13 AM ^
Hope he is alright
November 23rd, 2011 at 12:22 PM ^
The yawn was great and very fitting. You know it is just killing him to not be out there with his teammates, especially when the basketball court is the one place where he can go and forgot about everything else for a few hours. Can't wait to see you wearing maize and blue, Austin!
November 23rd, 2011 at 1:01 PM ^
I thought it was great to finally see some footage of Austin, which was why I posted this. He's obviously made quite a recovery, but I would caution people not to leap to any conclusions. To my knowledge, information on exactly how far he's progressed in his recovery has not been publicly released. The last report I saw was an item in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, which indicated that he was "back at Canterbury with a limited class schedule." At that time (Nov. 8), his basketball coach at Canterbury, Dan Kline, could not even say whether Austin would return to the team:
In an honest, matter-of-fact way, Kline said he has no idea whether Hatch will return to the Cavaliers.
“It is unknown right now,” he said. “We are just preparing for the season. I don’t really know how to plan for something like this, but we are moving forward and carrying on.”