Lucy Dillon was at camp during the devastating floods. Her former coach now has created an award in her honor.
HOUSTON — It’s the end of the summer and basketball camp is coming to an end at Hoops School in West Houston.
The head coach who started the camp 25 years ago is former WNBA player Heidi Horton. On her mind for weeks now is the youngster who is not there — eight-year-old Lucy Dillon, who died in the Hill Country floods.
She had coached Lucy since she was six years old.
“We turned from our sadness to, what can we do to honor this family who is missing their daughter, who will miss her, but want her spirit to live on,” Horton said. “Her spirit does live on.”
To honor Lucy and with permission from Lucy’s family, a special award has been given out at the end of each week — the Lucy Dillon Legacy.
“Determination, tenacity, sportsmanship, and a fierce competitive spirit,” Horton said. “And that’s what Lucy Dillon exemplified. And she didn’t just do it one day. She did it every day. It was amazing.”
As these kids play their hearts out, they take a break for the award to be given to a special child with Lucy Dillon’s qualities.
While we were covering this story, six-year-old Neesha Mehta earned the award.
“Were you surprised that you got the award?” we asked her.
“Yeah,” she said. “My mom and dad said we had a surprise, and I asked if it was gonna be in camp and they said no — and then it was in camp.”
It’s one of several Lucy Dillon Legacy Awards given out in the past couple of weeks here. Meanwhile, Lucy’s family has set up the Lucy Dillon Legacy Fund to raise money to support worthy causes that exemplify her spirit.