Teen Survives Two Plane Crashes: Plays First College Basketball Game

Austin Hatch, who survived not one, but two plane crashes, played his first game of college basketball on Sunday.

The 19-year-old lost his entire family in two plane crashes, which were eight years apart, but still managed to play his first game for the University of Michigan.

Hatch played the final three minutes of the second half of a pre-season game in Italy, reported Michigan Athletics on Aug. 17. He didn't score, but that is just a minor detail. The fact that he was able to recover from near-fatal injuries and play in a Division One game is a miracle in itself.

The first crash was in 2003, taking the lives of his mother and two siblings. The latest was in 2011, which took his father and stepmother's lives, but him and his dog somehow survived. This was just nine days after he made a verbal commitment to UMich Basketball.

After his second crash, Hatch had to re-learn how to walk and talk after emerging from an eight-week-long, medically-induced coma, PEOPLE reported from a November press conference he took part in. He says that he is still trying to regain all his cognitive abilities.

"As you can imagine, it has been a heck of a journey to get here," he said Sunday, according to quotes released by Michigan Athletics. "Playing basketball at the University of Michigan has been my goal since I was a little kid."

Head coach John Beilein said having him on the court "was a special moment," PEOPLE reported.

"Austin even led us in the fight song after the game was over. It as a great moment for our team; however, it was truly special for Austin and his grandfather, Jim, who was here in the stands," he said.

Hatch commented on leading the fight song, "I always thought to myself, 'I hope someday I am in a position to do that.'"

His first day back on the court was in January playing for his high school team, Loyola High in California. Hatch scored a three-pointer, causing his teammates to flood the court.

"It was the best technical foul I've ever been a part of," Loyola Coach Jamal Adams told the LA Times, reported PEOPLE.  "It was unbelievable what that kid has gone through and how hard he's worked. That kid has taught me you can come back from anything, that anything is possible."