North Little Rock Mourns Coach Floyd Beard, the Mentor Known as Coach Butter
Family, friends and former players gathered in North Little Rock on Friday to honour Floyd Beard — known across the city’s courts as Coach Butter — who died on Wednesday at 56. The crowd released black and gold balloons, the colours of The Family, the organisation Beard founded.
His son, Anton Beard, told the gathering his father’s reach went far beyond basketball. “He was a coach, a mentor, a father. Like I said, he raised a bunch of boys to men,” he said, adding that his father made sure the kids around him got to college and that everybody around him was okay.
Temeka Martin, director of the Sherman Park Community Center, said Beard ran basketball programs at the Glenview Community Center for more than 20 years as its athletic program director — skills, drills, leagues and tournaments. His son said his father’s health changed suddenly, which made the loss a shock to everyone who knew him.
Every sports town has a Coach Butter: the volunteer who keeps a gym open, keeps kids eligible and keeps them believing a college roster is reachable. Albuquerque’s youth leagues run on people like Beard, which is why a loss in North Little Rock is being felt well beyond Arkansas.
Source: North Little Rock community honours Coach Floyd Beard after death — Rock City Wire (rockcitywire.com)
