Hamilton receiver Lockhart assists in hurricane relief efforts for Houston

Hamilton High student Tim Lockhart was born and raised for a substantial part of his childhood in Houston until he moved to Arizona in 2008.

Now he is a receiver for the Huskies, but he has also excelled in the classroom as he mulls his college career options.

So in September when Hurricane Harvey struck Texas, Lockhart worried about what was going to happen to his hometown.

“Well, I remembered thinking just about all the friends and family that we had down there,” said Lockhart. “Like ‘Oh man, what’s going to happen to them? Are they going to be able to get out? Are they going to have to stay and endure it?’ It was just a tough situation.”

Lockhart and his family instantly felt the need to extend out a helping hand rather than to wait for the dust to settle. Originally, the Lockharts planned to give supplies they gathered to a family that was using a trailer as delivery, but it became bigger as the community got involved.

FOX 10 decided to cover the relief efforts, so what was originally a small operation turned into something that not even Lockhart could have fathomed.

“That was cool,” Lockhart said. “It was good to get that kind of exposure for what we were doing. We ended up sending four truckloads (of items to help victims). That was a big help.

“I didn’t think it would be four truckloads to be honest with you. A lot of people came through. It was super good for everybody down there and (I am) super appreciative for what everyone did.”

The impact of the relief efforts is something that could not be undervalued.

“I think it’s important for just the people of Houston to know that people not near them care about them still,” Lockhart said. “The fact that our community came together in Arizona to donate and to bring support to them thousands of miles away from Houston: I think it’s big in general.”

Along with his receiver duties, Lockhart is on the Varsity Council Leadership for Hamilton football, the first year the team has had such a group. He along with five other members of his team were voted in by teammates.

The receiver is admired by his teammates and is engaged with not only with varsity but also the freshman and junior varsity teams.

“I remember what it’s like being a freshman or the young guy on the team. Like ‘Oh man, like these are big guys and they know what they are doing.’ I just want to be that kind of guy. To be like ‘Alright, you got this. I’ve been through it and you can get through it too.’ ”

Hamilton went through some turmoil in the offseason with the disturbing hazing investigation that involved a few varsity players who were accused of harassing freshmen. Former head coach Steve Belles was reassigned, as was the principal.

Many players transferred to different schools in the wake of the events, but Lockhart decided to stay and help transform a football team under new leadership.

“I just wanted to be the positive voice,” Lockhart said. “Like I said, there’s a lot of negativity around that. Like ‘Oh man, the program is going down’ and stuff like that. I said, ‘No, you can put your head down and keep working. Ignore the hate and you’ll get through it.’ ”

Just like how he wanted to contribute to a challenging situation with Hurricane Harvey, Lockhart wanted to be the light in responding to Hamilton’s negative attention it received in the offseason.

“Tim’s kind of found his niche with the team with just being the positive kid and leads by example,” said Lockhart’s mother. “He does it the right way and doesn’t cut the corners.”

Lockhart received scholarship offers from University of San Diego, Columbia and Trinity University in San Antonio. He has yet to make a decision and will assess his options moving forward.

The talented athlete wants to use his gifts to help him beyond football.

“(It’s) a bridge to the next 40 years instead of the next four,” said Lockhart. “That’s how my mom and my dad like to put it. Football is kind of like a gateway. I’m not looking to go to professional football. I’m using it to get an education and start a career out of it.”​