Thirteen-year old Jack Foy was a fanatical follower of AFL and cricket. His  natural ability with a bat and ball landed him a place playing grade cricket alongside his father Pat, a former South Melbourne player. In 2010, Jack was bound for England to pursue his passion for cricket further.

“He was very respectful and caring and he played sport for the right reasons, he played to win but played to be a good sport,” Pat Foy said.

“Winning never bothered him too much you know. He played for the right reasons and he gave everything his best shot.”

Jack’s life was tragically cut short on Sunday evening when a shade sailcloth he was sitting on collapsed. The freak accident happened as the jubilant Hastings under-15 cricket team celebrated their grand final victory at Hastings West Park Primary School. Six of Jack’s friends and teammates were injured in the tragedy.

“There are a lot of sad people out there. Thirteen-year old kids, it doesn’t happen. They’re all pretty devastated, they’re all dealing with it in their own way,” Foy said.

In a time of grief for many of Jack’s teammates and friends, they have bonded together to show their respect to their beloved Jack. 

“The kids sort of had a ‘Jack Day’ at school, they all had Jack written on their arm, they wrote on his locker.

“He had a lot of friends and he was just a cool dude. He wasn’t outlandish, but he had enough confidence to do things without being over the top. What he said, people listened to.

“He was just a good kid, he was at the teenager age, he loved life, he loved sport, he loved everything.”

Pat Foy said he has received an overwhelming amount of support from the community.

“I don’t know whether we are coping or not, just hanging in there. It’s only early days, the tears flow pretty regularly, we’re just doing what we can.”

Jack Foy’s funeral will be held on Friday morning.