Middle Schooler, 13, Dies After Suffering Head Injury at Football Practice: 'Wish It Was a Bad Dream,' Dad Says

Mar. 15, 2025

Football on community field.Photo:getty

getty

A middle school boy tragically died after suffering a head injury during football practice in Madison, West Virginia. He was 13.

Cohen’s father, Ryan Craddock, spoke toNBC Newson Tuesday and said Cohen sustained the injury after colliding with his teammates and falling down.

The father said the injury “created brain swelling which started a snowball effect, which ultimately led to him passing away.”

Ryan described his son as “very, very smart," and an excellent math student with aspirations in computer engineering. “As a father, I couldn’t have been more proud,” he told NBC.

Speaking toWSAZ, Ryan said his son liked to make jokes and enjoyed playing football at his school for both the sport and the social aspect. “He liked the social gathering part, just making buddies,” Ryan told the local station.

“I can’t stress enough for the parents to hug their children,” he continued to WSAZ. Ryan said he has been in “disbelief” since his son’s passing. “You wish it was a bad dream you could wake up from. It’s agony inside. I can’t put words to [it]. It’s terrible.”

Madison Middle School in West Virginia.google maps

google maps

“I want to take the loss of my boy to try to protect the other guys,” Ryan told WSAZ, adding, “I don’t want anybody else to go through what we are going through currently.”

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The father told NBC he thinks there “could have been a little bit of a different outcome” for his son if the caps or protection for Cohen’s head had been in use.

“And I would like to at least protect any and all the other kids that I can, starting at the county level, if I can move it on to the state or national level, to push for these kids to start wearing Guardian Caps at least in practice or however far they want to take it," he told NBC.

source: people.com