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A true legend

Posted 7/27/20

It's not everyday you meet a legend. Over the years our sports staff has covered a number of coaches. The time commitment of coaching is usually so great that only a select few are able to do it for …

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A true legend

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It's not everyday you meet a legend. Over the years our sports staff has covered a number of coaches. The time commitment of coaching is usually so great that only a select few are able to do it for an extended period of time. But in Roscoe, for over 51 years, there was never any debate on who the coach was going to be.

Fred Ahart passed away last week, sending shockwaves through the Section 9 sports world and Sullivan County community.

His lasting impact is too great to put into words. He has done so much for sports in Section 9, Sullivan County and across the state.

His teams were consistently competitive and he has several titles to show for it.

However, it was not just his coaching and influence on interscholastic athletics that made him a true legend, but also the love he had for the kids.

Over half a century this man coached and taught thousands of kids, passing on valuable life lessons and helping mold them into the people they are today.

While our community will certainly be impacted by the loss of his kind heart and wisdom, we can take solace in the fact that Fred Ahart will always be with us.

Many of his former students are now teachers in our community, and several of his former players continue to coach and/or serve as Director of Athletics at schools in our region. And like he passed his knowledge down to them, they will continue the process for years to come.

While there are a number of stories I could tell about Fred Ahart, I'm going to pick two.

The first one goes back to Winter 2016. It was my first trip to Roscoe for a basketball game. They were playing Eldred. Always being anxious about being on time I arrived 30 minutes early. As I looked around the gymnasium, Fred walked up, put his hand on my shoulder and thanked me for covering the game. I told him it was a nice gym and with a smile he said, “Yes and great name, too.” For those who don't know, the gym is named after him.

We shared a laugh and it was always great in the past four years to talk with him about any subject, from family to local sports. He always made our staff feel welcome.

The next story is more of a running joke. I've probably conducted 20 or so postgame interviews with Fred, each time wondering if this would be the time he would say something different.

It even got to the point where I told him I could probably write his quote for him. It was always the same. Ahart credited the opponent (players and coaching staff) and talked about how proud he was of his team. It was who he was. He'd never accept credit unless he could share it with everyone who contributed.

Despite being one of the biggest coaching icons in the region, it was never about him. It was always about the team.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Becky and the entire family.

To Mr. Ahart: We thank you for the memories and knowledge you shared with us. You were a true role model to everyone whose life you touched. Rest in peace.

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