Even in the face of the most unthinkable tragedy, good can sometimes emerge. In 2009, Bryan Keith Woolard, a former Northside High School, collegiate and semi-professional baseball player passed away in an automobile accident, devastating a family and shocking a community.

Out of the heartbreak, however, came a commendable cause, one that has endured throughout the years, not only preserving the memory of a talented player and loving father, but giving local student-athletes the gift of knowledge as well.

The Bryan Keith Woolard Memorial Scholarship has been awarded to a deserving senior on the Northside baseball team each year since 2009, providing $500 towards a college of his choice.

The scholarship has helped six academically praiseworthy students, soon to be seven, pay for their first year of college in a time when a price of a degree is at an all-time high.

The award also helps remember one of the most memorable teams in Northside’s young history, the 1994 Panthers, which overcame a 5-7 start to the season and battled through the 2-A state playoff bracket, defeating Charles D. Owen High School of Black Mountain in two-straight games to win the championship. Early that season, Woolard was called up to catch for head coach Larry Anderson. The rest, as they say, is history.

Sometimes in sports, an individual’s athletic talent can sometimes blind academic obligations. Woolard, attending Lenoir Community College, always put school first and now, in his memory, this scholarship will continue to help students pay for their education.

The scholarship will be handed out prior to today’s Northside vs. Southside rivalry game at 6 p.m. in Pinetown.