You never know when the sadness will happen. I was tending the garden at my school Wednesday morning and I looked to my right and saw a cardinal fly towards me and then it turned and flew away and my mind, for some reason, drifted from the excitement of the moment to the sadness of the moment lost. Here and gone.

Here and gone. I leaned on my shovel and my thoughts were suddenly filled with my nephew Ian who passed away at a young age. I don’t know why. Then, I thought of another boy I once knew, Diego. 

Jeannie and Manuel Gadea's son, Diego, was an outstanding athlete but he was much more than that. He suffered from something very painful and very mysterious that most parents, educators and friends do not like to talk about, even though we’ve all experienced depression in degrees. Diego was diagnosed with childhood depression at the age of 11 and he eventually took his own life some six years later at 17. For Diego, every possible avenue of intervention was in place. Every beat of every heart was on pace. Every possible dream and every prayer was traced but the moment was lost. He was here and gone.

For every teenage suicide there are many, many more failed attempts but there are also many, many stories of life. So we try to reach out and try we will.

Salpointe changed the name of their yearly wrestling invitational to the "Diego Gadea Salpointe Wrestling Invitational" after his passing in 2011 in an effort to help remember Diego and, hopefully, help other teens who may feel lost in their moment.

They say suicide is the second leading cause of death for children from the age of 15 to 24 but does the number really matter? Isn’t one too many? Sadness, confusion and anger. There is help.

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available if you feel the adults in your life are unavailable. Find your favorite teacher. Confide in a friend. Mental illness is real and so is the help available.

I was lucky enough to be around to see Diego wrestle. I saw him stand on the podium to receive a medal. Still, I had no idea where he was placed for eternity until I visited the gravesite of another young man lost too early in John “Button” Salmon. Button was killed in a car crash at the age of 22 in 1926 and he gave the University of Arizona it’s fighting words and rallying cry, “Bear Down!” on his deathbed.

Button’s gravesite is located in Evergreen Cemetery in Tucson. I make a point to visit it every football season and, by chance, I parked too far north of it one year and I had to walk a bit more to get to it. There, a few yards away from my pilgrimage, was Diego’s headstone. Seeing it brought a smile to my face and then a tear. You never know when the sadness will happen.

Over 36 teams, consisting of both boys and girls, will gather at Salpointe on Jan. 24-25 for the Diego Gadea Invitational.