Shadow Ridge soccer to honor late student with ‘Yellow Out’

Brian LaVoie stood in front of yet another group of Shadow Ridge freshmen on Tuesday delivering the same message he has for more than a decade.

Always wear your seat belt and never drive distracted or impaired.

The Shadow Ridge boys soccer coach has spread that message since his daughter Hillary died in a car crash Sept. 26, 2010, at age 18. She was said to have always worn her seat belt but momentarily took it off and hadn’t put it back on when a friend, distracted by her cellphone, lost control of the car.

“Seven teenagers lose their lives in a car crash every single day,” LaVoie said. “It’s extremely important for us to get the message out so that other families don’t have to go through what we have.”

Hillary was an involved and outgoing student at Shadow Ridge, which LaVoie called her “happy place.” She was in student council, a cheerleader who was voted most spirited by her classmates and the homecoming queen.

On Friday, Shadow Ridge will hold its annual Yellow Out, in honor of Hillary and her favorite color. Students are encouraged to wear yellow to school and sign pledges at lunch to always wear their seat belt and drive without distractions.

Before school, the Metropolitan Police Department and Clark County School District police will team up for “A Buck for a Buckle,” during which they will give $1 to every teen driver and passenger wearing a seat belt.

The Yellow Out events will carry over to the Shadow Ridge girls soccer game at 6:30 p.m. Friday against Centennial. It will be the first game the team will play on the new turf football field, and the players will wear yellow warmup shirts and headbands. One shirt will say “Buckle up, somebody is waiting for you,” and another one “Click-it 4 Hill” with a heart and a seat belt going through it.

Shadow Ridge girls soccer coach Kalah Williams, in her 12th year at the school, said being active in the Yellow Out was the least she could do. She said the relationship between the boys and girls soccer programs is such that they consider them to be one program.

“The memory of Hillary is part of the soccer program,” Williams said. “We have kids getting their driver’s license every day. They’ve gone all around town to share their message in the past. I’m really proud of the LaVoies. I don’t know where the courage comes from that his family has.”

Along with the annual Yellow Out, Shadow Ridge is having a fundraiser for a scoreboard at its soccer field. The school also will name the soccer field for Hillary, which Brian LaVoie said will be “very overwhelming for my family and me.”

While LaVoie said seeing all the yellow on campus brings back fond memories of Hillary’s time at Shadow Ridge, it would be a meaningless gesture without the message behind it.

“The message is more about wearing a seat belt than it is about Hillary, but the reason they do it is because of Hillary,” LaVoie said. “It’s been 11 years Sunday, and it means a great deal to my family that Shadow Ridge continues to keep her memory alive.”

Contact Jason Orts at jorts@reviewjournal.com. Follow @SportsWithOrts on Twitter.