The Man, The Myth and The Legend touched so many lives.

Covering basketball and the game of sports we had the great pleasure of meeting and getting to know one of the greatest coaches to grace the local sports arena…Roscoe's Fred Ahart.

No matter where I met Fred it was always “good to see you coach” and his reply was always “how's it going Ed.”

One of the greatest nights ever occurred a number of years ago with the dedication of the gym at Roscoe Central in Fred's name.

The tribute given to Fred brought out the sincere feelings and thoughts many of his former ball players had for the “COACH”…it was beautiful and will never be forgotten.

So many were touched in special ways by Fred who always gave credit to his players and never took any for himself.

Dedication to sports, his school, his community, his athletes and his family were all valuable parts of Fred's life.

I remember some years ago discussing sports coverage for the Sullivan County Democrat with Fred and he spoke so highly about the friendship he and his family had with the Democrat's late sport editor Rob Potter. Rob had a special touch with everyone and that relationship clearly showed up in our conversation with Fred and his family.

Fred loved coaching and repeatedly said, “it's all about the kids.”

And of all the honors he received over the years we say there has never been anyone else that deserved them more than “COACH” Fred Ahart.

God Bless You Brother…now you get your chance to coach players on God's teams.

Ed Townsend provides year around "Beyond The News"coverage in this column with over 60-years of photojournalism analysis and insight. The column can also be read on his Web blog at http://bght.blogspot.com