New benches adjacent to the track at Hillview Middle School were finished on April 19 and are dedicated to former football coach and Hillview paraeducator Dylan Taylor, who passed away in 2025 in a bike accident. The project to add the benches was led by Design Tech High School junior Jacob Atkins, who organized the installation as part of a mandatory service project for the Scouting America Program.
Atkins’ project required significant planning. “At first I wanted to [spend my Eagle Scout Project] mak[ing] equipment for service animals, then on May 7 last year, I got the news that Coach Taylor had passed away, and he was a really important person to me,” Atkins said. “He was just a great dude in general, so I decided to completely scrap my idea for service dogs and do something to honor him.”
Freshman Phoenix Cramer appreciates how the benches serve as a reminder of Taylor’s legacy. “I feel like the benches are something to remind us that whenever we are down, Dylan was always holding us up,” Cramer, who previously attended Hillview Middle School and had Taylor as her track and field coach, said.
The benches are placed beside the field and Track to honor Taylor’s love for watching young athletes grow. “I think the spot couldn’t be better because Dylan loved being a coach, so being able to watch others do sports, it couldn’t have been more perfect,” Cramer said.
The project was initially expected to cost almost $12,000. Atkins had creative ways to pay for it. “It was around December 2025 [that] I started a GoFundMe,” Atkins said.
The GoFundMe quickly spread, and donations topped $21,400, expanding the project’s scale.
The Friday before the assembly, Atkins took the day off from school to make sure everything was ready and prepared, and to buy the last couple of things needed. “On Friday, we had 2500 pounds of gravel delivered, and 500 pounds of sand, and then a bunch of bricks delivered for the pavers to go below the benches,” Atkins said. “Then, on Saturday, we started by just digging, and by the end of Saturday, we had the benches, we had poured the concrete.”
Ultimately, the benches serve as a tool of remembrance for Taylor and his impact on others.
“The benches are a symbol for strength,” Cramer said. “It’s someone always there to catch you when you need a spot to rest, and when you need to get back in the field or court and play better than before.”
“It’s a representation of Dylan in his passion, in his joy, not just around sports, but people within our community, and young people,” Fogel said.
