Mar 16, 2025
Longtime Northern Bedford County coach Barry Crawford, diagnosed with ALS in July 2024, (left) assists girls basketball coach Jon Ewart on the sidelines of a recent playoff game.
Despite being diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS, a longtime coach at Northern Bedford County High School continues to show his support for the district’s student athletes.
Barry Crawford, now serving as a volunteer with the girls basketball team, may have lost his voice to the disease, but he doesn’t let that stop him from offering advice, suggestions and praise. Although his words come through a computer device, his influence and leadership has not waned.
If all goes according to plan, Crawford will be on the sidelines tonight as the Lady Panthers take on Delco Christian during the second round of PIAA Class 1A state playoffs.
There’s no place he’d rather be.
Crawford, 63, was diagnosed with ALS in July 2024.
“It was a gut punch for sure,” said Jon Ewart, remembering when he heard of the diagnosis.
“Just hearing that and how active he is in the community with sports and his grandkids … our hearts went out to him right off the bat,” said Ewart, the girls basketball coach at NBC, as well as Crawford’s longtime friend.
Crawford is a 1980 NBC graduate who coached junior high football for more than 30 years, in addition to boys and girls basketball. He was also a fixture at track and field meets, working the events.
“It was crushing because you know what the disease is and what it comes with,” said NBC football coach Garry Black. “He is one of those guys who is not only a fellow coach, but a great friend, mentor, leader within the community. It’s not something you want to find out.”
The NBC community responded to Crawford’s diagnosis by rallying around him and his wife, Tess, who retired from the district as a guidance counselor.
The disease has progressed in the past year. Crawford can still walk, but he has lost the ability to use his arms and hands. He can move his head, though he is unable to speak. To communicate, he uses a device in which he looks at a computer keyboard, spots a letter and the computer spells out the words he wants to say.
“The Northern Bedford community has been awesome,” Crawford said through an email sent to the Mirror, courtesy of Tess. “They’ve always been there for people in need and I am no exception.”
A perfect example, Crawford recalled, is when the physical problems started to surface last summer. His hands gave him problems, so his dentist got him an electric toothbrush.
“I would be remiss if I didn’t give a ton of credit to my wife. She makes sure I get places and is always there when I need something,” he said.
Coaching a part of life
Before his diagnosis, Crawford had been an assistant for Ewart, who is in his seventh season with the Lady Panthers.
After the diagnosis, “I still wanted him to be involved, 100 percent,” Ewart said. “I went over to see him and I didn’t talk about coaching, just went over and hung out with him and talked with him each visit.”
Conversations about coaching eventually had to take place and decisions had to be made, since Crawford was a paid assistant. Crawford, too, was worried about losing the ability to communicate with the girls as he lost the ability to speak.
“I asked him about volunteering to be around and still help … we needed him to be involved,” Ewart said. “It wouldn’t be good for him to sit around the house all winter.”
The logistics of communicating with the players would come later.
Ewart didn’t allow Crawford to remain idle. Instead, he picked him up and the two went to games in the fall. Crawford was there in the morning before school for open gym, where 25 kids showed up for workouts.
If Crawford needed help to get from the car to the gym, someone was there to assist.
Today, when he sits on the bench during games, Ewart and assistant Allie Hileman are there to help out.
Tess is usually close by, too. When asked if she ever gets worried about the game action taking place near the bench, where maybe a player dives for a loose ball, she has faith that those around her husband will protect him.
“Jon has his back,” she said, adding that she is thrilled her husband can continue doing what he loves.
“I think for Barry, to continue to do what he is passionate about, it is extremely positive for him in living with this disease. It is a motivation for him, and a focus for him. I am just glad he is able to be a part of it,” Tess said. “Jon has been a blessing this whole journey. He was before and continues to be.”
Influence and respect
Crawford, in return, is a blessing for the girls on this team, who started the year out at 3-8 but are now 13-12 going into the second round of PIAA play.
As he sits on the bench, between Ewart and Hileman, Crawford offers help, just like any other assistant coach.
“It can be very difficult when it gets loud in the gym,” Crawford typed. “But with (Jon) being around me more during practice, I think it helps him understand me better. I also try to keep my suggestions as simple as possible, and coach Hileman helps relay suggestions to him.”
The 2024-25 version of the Lady Panthers love and respect coach Crawford, according to Ewart, who guided them to the District 5 championship this year without being a No. 1 or No. 2 seed.
“He has been very influential on their basketball careers,” said Ewart, who as a youngster would sit behind the bench of NBC boys basketball games when his dad, Lew Ewart, coached the Panthers to prominence in the 1990s with Crawford as his assistant.
“He will say some things and I sometimes relay the message to them if they don’t quite understand him, but they love having him in the gym,” Ewart said.
ALS attacks the muscle system by progressively damaging the motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. It’s an extremely difficult disease that leads to muscle weakness, atrophy and eventually paralysis. It takes a lot of energy for Crawford to attend the games, and he admits he has missed a few of the longer road trips this past season.
But he made it to the semifinals when the Lady Panthers won at Southern Fulton, went to UPJ when the team beat Fannett-Metal, and was fortunate that the first state playoff game last weekend was at home.
When asked how he keeps on going, Crawford admits there are some days when the energy level isn’t there.
“I missed a lot of practices, but coach Ewart has been very supportive. I have always been driven by seeing kids improve,” Crawford wrote. “The improvement of this team, these players and the program are something I am extremely proud of and it is my driving force.”
That driving force can be seen in the Lady Panthers, as the team channeled Crawford’s resilience during their win streak, said Black, in a post he shared on social media.
“Over the past couple of weeks (the team) has provided Jon and Barry with a second D5 championship and they went and won a state playoff game,” Black posted. “These girls have taken on the character traits of coach Crawford. They are tough, they are gritty and they just keep coming at you.”
It’s obvious that Crawford treasures his time with the Lady Panthers this season.
“The girls gave me a signed ball for Christmas. I thought that was the best,” he typed. “The coaching staff and the players have allowed me to be a part of the season, and for that, I am grateful.”
If NBC pulls out a win against Delco, another game will await the Lady Panthers this weekend. That will be one more chance to practice with coach Crawford, one more chance to play in front of, and for, coach Crawford.
“We are enjoying every minute we have with him,” said Ewart, a teacher. “If anything, this has taught us you have no clue what God has in store for each of us. Just enjoy the people around you, work your hardest with everyone that is around us.”
Crawford would most likely tell you that himself. He definitely would type it out for you to make sure you understood, too.
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