Today would have been the first day of golf practice for the 13-year-old boy who was killed Saturday in an ATV crash. Brandyn McDaniel is remembered as a bright young man and an outgoing athlete who loved being active in sports and the outdoors.

"Tons and tons and tons of people loved him, and tons and tons of people, he loved them back," said his mother Donna McDaniel. "He was always laughing, always happy."

Brandyn McDaniel was killed Saturday afternoon in an offroad all-terrain vehicle crash at Twin Buttes Reservoir. He had been riding ATVs and go-karts at the reservoir with family when his vehicle hit a sudden dip and flipped over, according to the Department of Public Safety. He was airlifted to Shannon Medical Center and pronounced dead shortly after he arrived.

Brandyn McDaniel was born and raised in San Angelo. He had two older sisters, Kasi and Megan, and he was to be an uncle next month.He was a seventh-grader at Lee Middle School, where he enjoyed school and athletics. He played baseball on last year's city championship team, the Northern Cubs. He also played junior high football and golf.

His baseball coach, James McClellan said McDaniel had a memorable laugh and was something of a practical joker who was always ready with a joke or a one-liner.

"He could light up a room just be walking in," McClellan said. "Just a tremendous kid. Always a joy to be around. He'll be severely missed."

He was an avid fan of the Dallas Cowboys and the Longhorns, and hoped to attend the University of Texas one day, his mother said. She recalled he would often call an Odessa friend of hers, an Oklahoma University fan, during rival games to tease him about the score.

"He was one of those kinds of kids that at 13 years of age, he could talk to any adult about sports and carry on a conversation," Donna McDaniel said.

In addition to sports, family members said, McDaniel enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping and hip-hop music. He also loved to travel and went on many trips at a young age, his mother said, including jaunts to New York, Las Vegas and, most recently, Alaska.

His father, Lann James, said he always enjoyed doing things with his son, whether it was traveling around the country or fishing at home.

"We had fun at anything we did," Lann James said.

Logan McClellan, 13, went to school with McDaniel and said the two of them enjoyed spending time together at the lake fishing and swimming. He said his friend will be missed by many.

"Everybody knows him and loves him," he said. "He was the kind of friend you don't forget."

San Angelo Independent School District spokeswoman Jaimie Highsmith said a special team of counselors will join the regular counseling staff at Lee Middle School today to provide help to anyone - student, teacher or parent - who needs it.

"They will be there for any student who needs to talk, to express grief," Highsmith said. "We encourage any students who are having a difficult time with this to seek counseling. Parents can call as well. We want to meet the needs of all the students in the best way we can."

The crash that killed McDaniel was the second fatality in the San Angelo area Saturday. Earlier in the day, Jonathan Wahmann died when the truck he was driving left the road and crashed into the South Concho River at Pugh Park in Christoval. The family of the 23-year-old Eola oil field worker could not be contacted Sunday.