Washington: Missing mom on the sidelines

BY AARON VINER

Golden Triangle News Service

WASHINGTON ? Throughout Bryce Sinn?s life, his mother was one of his biggest cheerleaders and best friends.

This football season, there is an absence on the football field, as the Washington High School senior plays for her memory. On Feb. 23, Bryce?s mother, Patricia Sinn, passed away after a five-year battle with cancer.

?The big thing I miss is her being on the sidelines at the football games,? Bryce said. ?I?d see her at the fence after games and take a picture with her and give her a hug. That?s been hard this year not having that. The football games are by far one of the things I miss the most about her.?

The football contests aren?t the only place Bryce will miss her, as she was a big supporter of everything he and his sister, Alexandria (a 2015 Washington graduate), was a part of in their high school careers.

?Her favorite moments were going to my sister?s and my sporting events,? Bryce said. ?My sister did archery and she loved going to that, just as much as she loved going to my basketball and football things. She even would go to track the first year I started throwing (discus). She?d watch me throw 90 feet while other kids are throwing 115, and she would think I was doing amazing.?

Although Patricia passed away, her memory lives on through her family.

One of the defining characteristics that coaches and teachers use to describe Bryce is his work ethic, something that the senior credits to his mother.

?I am the person I am today because of her,? Bryce said. ?She was genuinely the nicest person. A couple of things that stand out are her work ethic. She was going through chemo and radiation while she was still working at the courthouse. When I get tired of homework or something, I just think, ?Mom was going through all that, and she still did everything.? That?s amazing.?

While Bryce shows his strength on the football field as one of the team?s top defensive and offensive players, he said his mother showed strength with her desire to be around for her kids and for her husband, Greg.

?Mom concealed her tears and shared all her smiles,? Bryce said. ?That?s a quote I go by with her, because it describes the last six years of her life. All the way up to the end before things started to spread, she told me she was doing all this to spend more time with me and my sister. She did all of this just to be with us any longer she could.?

When the cancer started to spread, Bryce said his mother just had one goal for him and his sister, and he is going to make good on his promise this May.

?I?ll always remember the last true meaningful conversation I had with her was on Christmas Day, and it was emotional,? Bryce said. ?We knew it was going to happen, but she was planning on seeing us graduate and seeing us through it. She had one goal: to see Alexandria and me graduate high school. I hope to help her fulfill that goal.?

When the final days came, Bryce, who said he wants to go on to teach high school history, was able to turn to his family for support, but he had a second group that also helped him through his tough time.

?When the funeral and visitation happened, I had a lot of visitors from the football team and from school,? Bryce said. ?When I saw some of my teammates coming through the line and crying, it was pretty emotional for me too. They truly cared about me and my feelings. The coaches have always been there for me, but I?ve never been this close to a group of guys, the way they treat me and talk to me. The way they?ve supported me has helped a lot.?

That group of guys has put together a strong football team, and Bryce has been an integral part in their 5-2 record this season.

As a team captain, Sinn leads his team in tackles, tackles for a loss and sacks, while being a top receiving threat for the Demon offense from his tight end position. That production has some colleges giving him a look as he looks to further his playing career beyond the high school level.

That is a product of the hard work he learned from his mother.

?I can?t say enough good things about Bryce Sinn,? Washington head coach Garrison Carter said. ?He?s one of the kids I?ve gotten to know better than maybe anyone else in my time here. The magic with him is the work he puts in. He?s worked his butt off to becoming one of the best tight ends and defensive ends in the state of Iowa. It?s all due to his extra work.?

As football season is drawing to a close, Bryce noted that while he will continue to miss his mother every day, he looks at this as a chance for him to grow and mature. He also has a message he wanted to send to his mother.

?I feel like I?ve grown up a lot,? Bryce said. ?It sucks, but this has made me stronger in some ways. I know that things happen for a purpose. I?ve become more mature and I look at life in a different aspect. You can do everything right but you might get shorthanded, but that?s how life is. It isn?t always fair.

?Thank you for raising me the way you did and teaching me by example,? he added. ?She was always there for me and I owe everything to her.?