More than 1,000 mourners attended a vigil for Suitland High School football coach David "Nick" Lynch on Friday night.
Lynch was killed in a two-car collision Wednesday.
Current players, former players, neighbors, and people who had never met Lynch remembered him.
Players say he treated them like family, giving them support when they needed it, and discipline when they needed it. Teenagers who came to the team as freshmen say they left four years later as men, thanks to the efforts of Coach Lynch.
"He taught me a lot about discipline," said Keanen Turner, a former player . "I was a knucklehead in my high school days, but he taught me a lot, and I'm going to miss him."
In 1996, Coach Lynch took over a Suitland football program that had never made the playoffs. He turned it into a state power, winning two Maryland Championships and qualifying for the playoffs nine times in 13 years.
"He was like a father figure," said Deonte Stanley, who plays on Suitland's junior varsity team.
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"He really helped me out when I was going in the wrong direction in school," said current player James Posey. "I'm glad this many people came out in the cold."
