Phil Martelli is a good guy

Lenny Martelli, Jr., who is of no relation to Phil Martelli, the St. Joseph's head coach, was just a normal 15 year old a year ago today when he went snowboarding with some friends in rural Pennsylvania.

But Lenny crashed that day, an accident bad enough that it left him without feeling from the chest down:

Lenny Martelli was like any teen who seemingly had it all. He played sports, went to school at Bishop Kenrick, played drums with a passion. He also enjoyed snowboarding.

But one freak accident nearly robbed him of his ability to walk and fulfill his future. When the accident happened near Schwenksville, Pa., where he was with two close friends, he immediately had no feeling from the chest down. He told his friends he couldn't move. They didn't touch him and he was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery.

[...]

He underwent six hours of surgery and doctors fused bones from his hip with vertebrae in his neck. His spinal cord was bruised in the accident, as well.

Lenny Martelli spent a week in a Philadelphia hospital, then three months in a rehabilitation facility. Leti Martelli stayed by her son's side and lived at the hospital while her husband was at home taking care of their other two children. Leti Martelli rented an apartment in Philadelphia and pushed her son in a wheelchair every day to a new therapy center.

Lenny's mom called Phil Martelli, and while Phil initially was skeptical of the story -- not only did they have the same last name, Lenny attended a high school Phil used to coach at -- he eventually struck up a friendship with the youngster.

Lenny's rehab has gone well. He isn't quite to where he can walk on his own, but he is able to get around using two cames.

And tomorrow, one day after the one year anniversary of the accident, Lenny will walk with Phil out on to the court tomorrow night when St. Joe's takes on Xavier.

Impressive stuff from the St. Joe's head coach. The full story from the AP can be found here. Its a pretty good read.