ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Fellow lacrosse players at Timber Creek High School came together on Monday evening to support each other after the death of 16-year-old Michael “Mikey” Stroz.
“So that the boys can talk, share stories and mourn with each other because they really need that,” family friend Crystal Adams said.
The teen, alongside his father and sister who attends Avalon Middle School were on their way home to Florida from Alabama when the crash happened. Mikey was killed in the crash. His father and sister remain in the hospital.
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Adams said she has known the Stroz family for years. Adams said she is doing everything she can for the teen’s mother.
“She knows that Mikey is in heaven and one of the friends said that he’s in lacrosse stadium heaven, so they are just trying to get by,” Adams said. “That’s very hard to have to deal with and Maddie, they are in two different hospitals trying to recover from their injuries right now, so Jackie is trying to bounce between both hospitals to see what she can do.”
Bill Bass was Mikey’s physical education teacher when he attended Avalon Middle School. Bass said Mikey had made the varsity team as a freshman, and already had college scholarship offers heading into his junior year at Timber Creek High School.
“Mikey is just a ball of energy, ever since he was a kid, he’s always been picking up a lacrosse stick, running around playing sports. He’s not the biggest kid, but he’s practiced so much. He works hard.”
Family and friends ask that anyone who would like to help the family with expenses not covered by insurance at this time donate to the fund set up with the school district.