The Lakewood community has rallied around the Wadley family following the sudden loss of Jared Wadley, who passed away earlier this month at the age of 23.
Wadley was the beloved son of longtime Lakewood athletic director and former girls’ volleyball coach Mike Wadley and the brother of current girls’ volleyball coach Adam Wadley. He graduated from Lakewood in 2021 and was enrolled at Long Beach City College, where he studied radio production and was involved in production and broadcasting as a radio personality for KLBC.
The Wadley family is well-loved not only in the Lakewood community but throughout Long Beach as well. The entire community has smothered the family in love since Jared’s passing, from hugs and well-wishes to honoring Jared at multiple games in the last few weeks.
The Lancers’ first athletic event following Jared’s passing was a pivotal win for the Lakewood football team over Wilson two weeks ago, just three days after his passing. After the game, coach Mario Morales shared a heartfelt message with his team as tears flowed freely among players and coaches, before honoring Jared by presenting the game ball to Mike following the win.
“We played for something bigger than the game tonight,” Morales said after the win. “Obviously it’s been a tough week for us and more so for the Wadley family, but we just really wanted to win this for them. It was special to give them the game ball. Our kids really love that family and they showed that tonight.”
Lakewood senior defensive lineman Garon Harden and sophomore running back Jacob Carey were key contributors in the win over Wilson and also shared their appreciation for Mike and the Wadley family after the game.
“He means absolutely everything to this program,” said Harden. “He does a lot of things that go unappreciated and we’re very glad to have him in this program and at our school—we love them.”
“He’s one of the hearts of the program,” added Carey. “He’s everybody’s favorite, so we wanted to get the win for them for sure.”
One week later, Lakewood girls’ volleyball began its run in the CIF-SS Division 6 playoffs, with Adam rejoining his team after taking a week to mourn the loss of his brother. Upon his return, the volleyball team had written “Play for Jared” on the team’s whiteboard, while players wore green ribbons in their hair in honor of Jared’s favorite color.
“That was the first thing I saw when I came back,” Adam said after Lakewood’s first-round sweep over Covina. “It was really nice to see them have so much love for Jared and my family, and my coaches did a really good job preparing for this week in my absence. Being out here has been taking my mind off things, and getting this playoff win means a lot. Hopefully we can keep it going and continue to play for Jared.”
“We saw that we just needed to come together to support our coach and his family,” added Lakewood senior setter Layla Bailey-Zavala. “We love our coach and we love this program, and in order to help them through these tough times, we just have to be there for them and play our game.”
The Lancers then went on to sweep Yucaipa in their second-round matchup and will travel to Mayfair on Tuesday for the quarterfinals. Adam has been joined on the bench by his father, Mike, who has coached alongside his son during the team’s playoff runs since Adam took over as head coach in 2024.
Lakewood will host a celebration of life for Jared on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 10am in the school’s auditorium. The Lancers are asking all attendees to wear green in his honor.
