A week ago on Wednesday was the annual picture day for spring athletes at Clarke County High School.

As I wandered through the halls, past the trophy cases and around to get to the open doors at the back side of the gymnasium, I passed by athletic director Casey Childs’ office.

The door was open, so I peeked in to say hello, but Childs wasn’t alone. Squeezed around on the same side of his desk was head basketball and assistant football coach Brent Emmart. The two had were in the middle of something that looked important (probably related to one program or the other since Childs is the head football coach) so I waved and moved on to snapping headshots of the spring teams.

Little did I know, that would be the last interaction that I’d have with Emmart.

A week later, I like so many others would hear the jaw-dropping news that Emmart had passed suddenly at age 52. It was a stunner because Emmart was such a vibrant man and in such tremendous shape.

But more than the shock of his death, Emmart’s loss is one that the Berryville athletic community is going to feel for a long time.

I don’t claim to know Emmart more than professionally, but you get the feel of the nature of someone when you talk to them moments after the highest of highs or the lowest of lows.

In the days where people love to call attention to themselves, that was the farthest thing from Emmart’s mind.

Emmart was a man of few words even in the best of times and you could tell that speaking with the media wasn’t the thing he enjoyed most about the job. Yet, he was always professional and helpful no matter what had happened in the previous 32 minutes of basketball action and always greeted me with a warm handshake.

For him, it was all about his kids. He’d praise them when they played well and he’d take the blame when they didn’t.

“I’m extremely proud of the guys,” he told me after one win. “It was fun to watch them play that hard. They were rewarded for that tonight.”

Many coaches often aren’t fun being around after a rough evening. And this season, Emmart had every right to be angry after a puzzling loss against Central.

Yet, as always, he was as professional as anyone could be with someone asking questions about why his team struggled.

“It comes down to they executed better than we did, so I’ve got to look at myself,” he said. “It starts with the coach, man. … It’s my job to get them ready to play. It’s not their fault.”

And that’s the kind of thing that resonates with your athletes. They are watching to see how you handle adversity and where the blame is placed. Too few are willing to accept it themselves.

It’s a life lesson that carries on far past the gymnasium or football field. It’s why you see so many former Clarke County athletes praising Emmart on social media right now.

While he won a pair of state titles, you certainly could say this past season was one of the best coaching jobs that Emmart did in his 26 seasons leading the basketball program.

The Eagles, with nearly an entirely new starting lineup, finished tied for first place in the regular season in the topsy-turvy Bull Run District.

And once the season was complete, Emmart got to see his daughter Emily take home a gold medal as part of the Class 2 champion Eagles basketball team. There’s pride there that only a father could know.

Aside from his daughter being a part of it, you know that was a story that Emmart loved, seeing a program go from 1-8 during the COVID-shortened season to state champion two years later.

While it wasn’t his team, it was the perfect resolution to many of the lessons that he had been preaching for so many years.

Emmart never gave up on his teams and never short-changed them with a lack of effort on his part.

That earned respect from his peers, his students and most of all those who suited up in an orange uniform.

Luke Lyman, a former basketball player who is now a freshman pitcher at Division I Morehead State, summed up the feelings of many of Emmart’s players with a Twitter post: “Best coach ever.”

Rest in peace, Brent. You will be missed.