Brody Hinz was all about numbers.
“When I first met Brody, he was a shy little person. He had some challenges with the social aspect,” Stacey Poss said. “But he was a young man that knew his statistics, his sports. He knew his numbers.”
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Poss was introduced to Brody, along with his mom and sister, through Big Brothers Big Sisters.
“Because of his knowledge of stats and stuff, we introduced him to the Broncos because it was just a natural fit,” Poss said.
“He so loved the Broncos, he loved sports.”
The 18-year-old statistician for the Humboldt Broncos was on the team’s bus when it collided with a semi-truck on Friday. Hinz was one of the 15 people killed.
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“Brody is going to be missed … forever,” said James Folster, who worked closely with Brody for a decade. “As soon as I found out that he’d passed away, my heart just melted and I missed him already. Instantly, I missed him.”
Folster is the coordinator at the local soup kitchen where Brody volunteered for years. When Brody was eight, his father passed away. Folster was assigned to be his mentor through a community program.
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“I mentored him but I think a lot of times, he was mentoring me,” Folster said.
“His generous spirit, his quietness, his gentleness, his loving kindness for people … animals. It just softened my heart and helped me immensely.
“His character was second to none. He was helpful, polite, kind, loved to work with people, loved children — just an all-around good guy.”
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Brody was a familiar face in the community — volunteering in many different ways — and was even involved in support groups for other children.
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“He overcame a lot,” Folster explained. “When he was younger and going to school, he struggled, his grades weren’t that good … he had trouble fitting in. But as he grew up, it was like he outgrew it. He became very outgoing. In sports, you couldn’t beat him.”
Brody was Folster’s go-to guy for any sports-related question but he was so much more. When asked to describe Brody, Folster paused.
“Oh my, where do you start? The whole community knew Brody.
“He was there. He was very, very, super dependable. If you needed help from Brody, he would be there. If he said he would meet you at 3 o’clock, he was there at 3 o’clock.”
Over Christmas, Brody dressed up as Santa for the soup kitchen’s holiday meal.
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Folster said Brody wanted to pursue sports broadcasting and had received two scholarships to study at the University of Regina.
“He loved the Broncos. If he had to go, he passed away doing what he loved.”
And the 18-year-old is still sharing lessons with his mentor, even though he’s gone.
“Always tell people now how you feel, how you think of them,” Folster said. “If you have a compliment, give it to them now because you don’t know, tomorrow could be too late.”