Coach's legacy lives on

SIDEBAR

2nd annual Jammin for Jutras Pre-Season Classic 

Date: Nov. 10 and Nov. 12

Location: The first three games will be played at Riverview, 1 Ram Way, Sarasota, and the final three games will be played at Venice, 1 Indian Ave., Venice 

Participating Teams: Sarasota, Riverview, Cardinal Mooney, Venice, North Port, Lemon Bay

Cost: A KJ No. 14 wristband is $10 and includes admission to all games on both nights. Wristbands will be available at participating high schools. 

Schedule: 

Nov. 10

North Port vs. Venice (4:30 p.m.)

Sarasota vs. Cardinal Mooney (6:15 p.m.)

Riverview vs. Lemon Bay (8 p.m.)

Nov. 12

Sarasota vs. North Port (4:30 p.m.)

Cardinal Mooney vs. Riverview (6:15 p.m.)

Venice vs. Lemon Bay (8 p.m.)

Website: kjscholarshipfoundation.org.

SARASOTA — Standing in the middle of the Sarasota High gymnasium for a dodgeball tournament fundraiser last June, Kyle Jutras watched as students, colleagues, family and friends rose to their feet in ovation for him.

A smile spread across his tired face. And for a brief moment, Jutras was no longer a cancer patient but simply a teacher and a basketball coach. 

“It was the best feeling walking into the gym," Kyle Jutras' father, Rob Jutras says. "He was dead tired and not feeling well, but he got so much energy from that night.” 

In just 18 months, Kyle Jutras, who died of NUT midline carcinoma Sept. 29, 2014, left his mark on the Sarasota High community. Now, Rob Jutras, who is the coach of Sarasota’s girls basketball team, is keeping his son’s legacy alive through the Kyle Jutras Scholarship Foundation. 

On Nov. 10 and Nov. 12, the foundation will host its second Jammin’ for Jutras Pre-Season Classic, featuring six local high school boys basketball teams, including Sarasota High and Venice High, where Kyle Jutras was a standout guard. Proceeds from the event will benefit the nonprofit foundation established in 2015 to award scholarships and assist graduating high school seniors in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties. 

“It’s bigger than me, and it’s bigger than my son,” Rob Jutras says. “We just wanted to be able to do some good and help a lot of people in his name. It’s a vehicle for making a difference and promoting education."

Kyle Jutras’ passion for education and athletics began at an early age and only intensified in high school. 

A 2009 graduate of Venice High, Kyle Jutras spent four years as a guard for the Indians varsity basketball team, where he helped lead Venice to its first district championship since 1972 as a senior. As captain, he went on to hit the game-winning shot in the regional semifinals to send Venice to the regional finals. 

“He enjoyed competing and being with his teammates,” Rob Jutras says. “He loved being part of a team."

Kyle Jutras attended the University of South Florida, where he earned a degree in mathematics education. 

Kyle Jutras returned home to Sarasota in the spring 2013 after landing a student-teaching position in Sarasota High’s math department. He was hired on full-time that fall. 

“That was his love,” Rob Jutras says of his son, who scored an 800 on the math portion of the SAT. “He really understood math and could explain it. It was something he was meant to do.” 

Kyle Jutras also reconnected with former Venice High basketball coach Steve Cavallaro, who was coaching the Sailors at the time. Cavallaro encouraged Kyle Jutras to get into coaching, and shortly thereafter, Kyle Jutras began coaching Sarasota’s JV boys basketball team.

In April 2014, Kyle Jutras developed a cough that just wouldn’t go away. He spent the next three weeks trying to fight off what he thought was a common cold to no avail. A chest X-ray soon revealed a mass on his lung. He was eventually diagnosed with NUT Midline Carcinoma — a rare, aggressive form of cancer that attacks the body’s midline. 

“You just never expect something like that, and there’s no way to prepare for it in your mind,” Rob Jutras says. “It almost didn’t seem real because it went against his lifestyle and being a healthy kid. It just doesn’t make sense. We never expected that.” 

Following his diagnosis, Kyle Jutras boarded a plane to Houston, and spent roughly the next three months receiving radiation and experimental treatments at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

During his treatment, the community began rallying around the Jutras family, raising money for travel costs and other expenses. 

Always the optimist, Kyle Jutras didn’t believe he would need the money. He wanted it to go to someone who could really use it. Kyle Jutras and his father tossed around ideas and the two agreed that in the event the money wasn’t needed, the Jutrases would create a scholarship foundation. 

“He was going to beat it,” Rob Jutras says. “The kid was fearless. He believed he would go on and do some good things. That’s part of being young. You somewhat feel invincible and that was his case.”

With the experimental treatment deemed an initial success, Kyle Jutras returned to teaching in August 2014. Four days later, Kyle Jutras developed a bump on his back. His cancer had spread. 

Kyle Jutras stopped teaching 10 days into the school year and returned to Houston Sept. 5. Doctors told him he had roughly four months; he only had three weeks. Kyle Jutras returned home to Sarasota and spent those last weeks surrounded by his loved ones. 

And through it all, his smile never wavered. 

Nearly seven months after his son's death, Rob Jutras created the Kyle Jutras Scholarship Foundation. 

In August, the KJSF awarded six area high school students with $1,000 scholarships. 

In addition to Jammin’ for Jutras, the foundation also plans to host the Sarasota-Manatee Boys & Girls Basketball Game March 26 and will present $500 scholarships to the Most Outstanding Player from each game. 

The foundation plans to hold four to five events throughout the year with the goal of awarding $25,000 in scholarships each May. 

“I think he would be embarrassed by all of the attention,” Rob Jutras says of Kyle Jutras. “He was kind of a worker bee. He was never one to want to be noticed or recognized, but I think he would be proud, too. 

For more information on the Kyle Jutras Scholarship Foundation visit kjscholarshipfoundation.org. 

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].