HUMBOLDT 鈥� When Marilyn Hay learned the Mohawks needed new jerseys, she decided to pay for them in honour of her son, Tyler Bieber.
That was one of the donations that have been made in honour of Bieber, who died in the April 6, 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus collision.
Knowing her son鈥檚 deep connection with the team as part of the coaching staff and an avid New England Patriots fan, Hay said paying for the jerseys was something the family wanted to do.
鈥淗e鈥檇 come home from work and get ready. He wanted to be there all the time鈥� I鈥檇 go watch a lot of his games just to watch him and he鈥檇 get so pumped.鈥�
The new jerseys are now adorned with TB on the arm to honour Bieber鈥檚 passion for the sport.
Bieber lived and breathed football, Hay said, and was even due to start a coaching job with the Saskatoon Minor Football (SMF) Football Academy only three weeks after the accident.
For Bieber鈥檚 family, they wanted to help numerous causes that he was passionate about, many of which focused on mentoring kids. He wanted to help kids, Hay said.
A boys鈥� mentoring program through Big Brothers Big Sisters was also due to start in the summer of 2018 with Bieber leading the group.
Bieber鈥檚 work as a mentor is the reason the Bieber family also decided to give to Big Brothers Big Sisters Humboldt.
The mentor of the year award is now the Tyler Bieber Mentor of the Year Award, which was awarded to Tyneal Welter on Sept. 19.
To have Bieber鈥檚 name live on in that award is awesome, Hay said.
Hay doesn鈥檛 exactly know where Bieber got his volunteer spirit, but has come to be told by many of the good he did in his community. Being able to help these causes is the family鈥檚 way of carrying on his name and letting people know what he did.
Bieber meant a lot to the Mohawk team members as a coach for both male and female teams, but Hay didn鈥檛 realize just how much until after April 6.
He wasn鈥檛 one to brag, she said.
While Hay misses her son dearly, she knows that others do as well. People come up and talk to her about the impact Bieber had on their own lives, she said.
鈥淎 lot of these young guys, they miss his advice鈥� I found out from some of the guys that he鈥檇 drive them to basketball, the kids would talk to him about things the kids wouldn鈥檛 tell anyone else, their parents or nothing. They told me that,鈥� she said.
