Detroit High School Sports Awards 2022 Courage Award winner: Tate Myre, Oxford

The word “courage” can mean different things to different people.

Curt Schilling pitches an American League Championship Series game with a bloody sock and people from around the country hail him as a courageous hero for ... throwing a ball while wearing a bloody sock?

According to collinsdictionary.com, "courage" is: “The quality shown by someone who decides to do something difficult or dangerous, even though they may be afraid.”

Accompanying that definition could be a picture of Tate Myre.

Myre was one of four Oxford students who died after being shot in the school by fellow student Ethan Crumbley on Nov. 30.

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Several students said they saw Myre, a standout football player and wrestler, running in the direction of the shooter while others were running out of the school.

“Knowing Tate, knowing how he was raised, he’s the kind of kid that wouldn’t think about it twice,” said Ross Wingert, who coached Myre in football and wrestling. “And he’s gonna do it.”

Myre is being honored as the Free Press’ 2022 recipient of the Detroit High School Sports Awards Courage Award.

Although only a junior, Myre had quickly established himself as one of the top athletes at Oxford.

“In my opinion, he was the face of Oxford,” senior wide receiver Alec Brown said. “Especially next year, he would have been the face of Oxford.”

Juniors are rarely made captain, but Myre was a rare athlete and teammate.

[ Oxford star athlete Tate Myre was willing to sacrifice for others ]

“His leadership and the things he brought on and off the field made him special,” Brown said. “He brought everyone up around him; he made everyone else better that was around him. He was always getting extra work. He was just a really good person.”

Some athletes are vocal leaders and others prefer to lead by example. Myre was a little of both and opposing coaches could tell he was a special player.

A few days after Clarkston’s regular season victory over Oxford, former Clarkston coach Kurt Richardson during a team film session highlighted four or five plays Myre so his players could see how hard the youngster played.

“The first series we throw a pass and our kid catches it, probably about the 50,” Richardson said. “And he’s running down and he’s got a 20-yard lead on Tate and all of a sudden it just closes, and this is one of our faster kids. All of a sudden it closes and he catches him right at the goal line. Our guy scored, but the effort was just unbelievable.”

Myre was an immediate standout and was brought up to the varsity as a freshman, something rarely done at Oxford.

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He learned the importance of having cohesiveness on the team among each and every player.

“It was his ability to include everybody,” said tight end/defensive end Mitchell Viviano. “He was a great, great teammate. It didn’t matter if you played a single second or you played a lot, he was going to look at you and treat you the same. That’s a thing people should try to replicate a lot more.”

Oxford coach Zach Line understands that Myre’s death changes the football program forever. And Line is determined to make sure he will never be forgotten — nor will the courage he displayed in the final moments of his life.

JEFF SEIDEL: Shoulder to shoulder, they came to say goodbye to Tate Myre

“Next year is going to be interesting, but I think Tate will be with us,” Line said. “Eventually we’ll learn to walk with Tate and not have a cloud over our heads, which I think will give this team a lot of strength.”

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Mick McCabe is a former longtime columnist for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at mick.mccabe11@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @mickmccabe1. Order his book, “Mick McCabe’s Golden Yearbook: 50 Great Years of Michigan’s Best High School Players, Teams & Memories,” at McCabe.PictorialBook.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit High School Sports Awards 2022 Courage Award Winner: Tate Myre