A condensed version of this story appeared in the Pacific Southwest edition of the April issue of US Lacrosse Magazine. Don't get the print edition? Become a US Lacrosse member today and help support the positive development of the sport.

On Jan. 26, 2015, Johns Hopkins men’s lacrosse player Jeremy Huber — a freshman defenseman — died suddenly from complications related to pneumonia and the flu. He was 18.

It was just two weeks before his team’s season opener and his first taste of college lacrosse game action. Huber, from Las Vegas, was recognized by his hometown exactly five years later, as Jeremy Mitchell Huber Field in Teton Trail Park will now be a place for youth players in the area to make their own lacrosse memories.

The community includes roughly 12,000 youth lacrosse players and 72 teams. The date of the ceremony was proclaimed Jeremy Mitchell Huber Day.

“Jeremy’s memory, passion and dedication to the game he loved will forever be remembered and lived on through the name of this lacrosse field, and most importantly, the impact that he made throughout the Las Vegas lacrosse community,” mayor pro tem and councilwoman Michele Fiore said at the field’s dedication ceremony. “This field shall be a constant reminder of the ability to accomplish and achieve your dreams.”

Huber was one of the best high school players in the state during his time at West Career and Technical, earning four all-state selections — including first-team nods as a sophomore, junior and senior. His teams went 73-22 in four varsity seasons, winning state championships during his freshman and sophomore campaigns.

Now, up-and-coming lacrosse stars will see his name whenever they take to Jeremy Mitchell Huber Field’s turf. The first set of games on the newly dedicated pitch were North vs. South Southern Nevada Lacrosse Association (SNLA) boys’ and girls’ scrimmage on Jan. 26.

“For you younger kids, all we can say is work hard, play hard, but remember lacrosse is a game, so have fun, and that’s pretty much how Jeremy got to be successful,” said his father, Bob Huber, at the ceremony. “He worked hard, but he played hard, and he was there to support everyone on his team.”

It was a bittersweet ground-breaking ceremony for the Huber family in late July, but the field with LED lights for late-night play ensures that Jeremy Huber’s story will be told for generations.

“These things remind you what the world might have missed by his dying so young,” Bob Huber said in a July interview with KCLV Channel 2. “On the other hand, these types of things kind of cement his place.”