Hopewell High School student Jayvion Taylor died at football practice. Here's what happened. (2024)

HOPEWELL, Va. -- The family of Hopewell High School student Jayvion Taylor told CBS 6 their loved one died of a heart attack during football practice Monday night. They said they have appreciated the community's support during this difficult time.

Taylor, a 10th grade student who played JV football for Hopewell, was remembered Tuesday as a "genuine and remarkable student," according to a Hopewell High School spokesperson who did not identify Taylor by name.

"Our Hopewell High School staff, coaches, and the entire community continue to mourn the loss of one of our 10th grade JV football players during practice yesterday," the statement read. "Our focus today has been to provide a space for our staff and students to grieve. We respect the privacy of the family during this time, but do want to share that this 15-year-old young man was considered one of the most genuine and remarkable students our staff have ever worked with. He was considered a 'light' to all who met him and left a lasting impact."

Classmates remembered Taylor as funny, sweet, and kind.

"I thought he still was going to make it, and fight through this, because he’s one of the strongest people I know, I thought he was going to make it through it," classmate Chase Stith said. "It didn’t matter who you were. If you were one of the most known people of the school, or if you were somebody who wasn’t talkative, he would try to get to know you and understand you.”

"He was straight positive, like one of the best guys I’ve ever know," teammate Orrin Besley added.

Teammate Cory Seacat was on the field when Taylor went down.

"I went to the back of the field and I saw everybody around here. Couldn’t get close to him. .I heard it was Jay, we had to take a knee," Seacat said. They told us to get to the locker room. We just prayed."

Watch: Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry mourns Hopewell High School student Jayvion Taylor

Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry mourns Hopewell High School student Jayvion Taylor

Timeline of Events

The statement from the school went on to provide the following details about the series of events that led to Taylor's death.

• Team was 40 minutes into football practice doing light drills
• After water break, the student collapsed 10 feet from a coach
• Two coaches performed CPR and called 911
• Paramedics arrived before AED could be used
• Paramedics provided additional medical support and transported the student to the hospital

Athletic Trainer Questions

Following the initial news of Taylor's death, CBS 6 received email from some viewers questioning whether Hopewell High School had an athletic trainer on duty. Those viewers said a previous athletic trainer had been let go and not replaced.

The school system addressed some of those questions in its statement.

"We have been asked about the status of athletic training," the statement read. "We completed the procurement process for securing athletic training services over the summer. The existing contract identifies August 12, 2024 as the starting date."

Hopewell School Status

Hopewell High School utilizes a balanced, or year-round, school schedule. While students many parts of Virginia go back to school later this month, Hopewell students started school in late July.

School was canceled on Tuesday due to "air conditioning issues."

"What happened with the air conditioning at the high school was very unusual," the school posted on social media Monday afternoon. "At mid-morning we learned that there was a leak in a pipe from the geothermal system that feeds water to the AC units in the school. This has happened from time to time over the last several years and when it does, we call in a welder to fix the leak, shut off the water for 30-60 minutes while it’s being fixed, and then turn it back on. That was the plan again today when we learned of a leak and this occurred at approximately 10 a.m. However, once the pipe was welded and the water turned back on, another leak developed. The water was turned off and that leak was repaired. Again it was thought to be just a bit longer and the system would be turned back on, as was the case in the earlier instances. And then after the second repair it happened a third time. At this point it was nearly 1:30 p.m. and we were notified it may take a few more hours. We considered closing school but at this point, the logistics of launching an early dismissal (given bus drivers were not expecting to be back on duty for a while yet) would take another 60-90 minutes and that would be nearly the same time as the usual dismissal time.

We continued through the rest of the day, with temperatures averaging in the mid 70s and dismissed at 3 p.m.. The leak was finally able to be repaired just before 4 p.m. and a message was sent out to the HHS community."

The school later announced on Tuesday that it would reopen on Wednesday.

"The air conditioning issues that caused the closure this morning have now been resolved, with the average temperature in the school now in the low 70s," the statement read. "Grief counseling will be available for all of our students when they return. Our coaches and team are about much more than just football and are devastated. We respectfully ask that the entire school community be allowed time to grieve the overwhelming loss of this remarkable young man."

This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.

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