Coaches, administrators remember Belpre’s Bedgood
Former Golden Eagle slain in Columbus last Friday
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BELPRE --Those who remembered Deijon Bedgood as a force on the hardwood and gridiron also remember him as a stand-up individual outside of those arenas.
Bedgood, a multi-sport student-athlete at Belpre, was fatally shot on Friday morning near the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus. A candlelight vigil was held on Saturday night in Belpre to remember a young man coaches and other administrators say was a class act.
"Deijon was a hard worker, and he was a fun-loving kid," former Belpre head basketball coach Chad Williams said. "I was blessed to be able to coach him for about four years. We maintained a coach-player relationship, but it was more like a family. We were always big on ending every huddle with 'Family on 3', so I call them kids, and I know Deijon was a fine young man who just turned 25, but when you're a coach or a teacher, they're always your kids. When he relocated to Columbus we stayed in touch. When he came into town, he'd come over for dinner. It was just like he did when he was in high school. It had nothing to do with the game it was about family (with the players) and being there for them. He was always willing to help. A funny story is when he helped me move out of my house. We were loading stuff up, and he was driving my truck back and forth. He hit a fire hydrant, but it really didn't do much damage. I looked later that day and saw it. I went, 'Man, what happened?' The other boys were laughing saying that Deijon did it. He was just scared to death, but you couldn't be mad at him. He always tried hard. We had a candlelight vigil, and the theme was that he always protected others. He's always willing to help out. When my daughter called me with the news early that morning, I froze. I sat there in tears for a little while, because I wish I had one more conversation with him. We had mutual friends in Columbus. I know a gentlemen he worked for, and they got baptized together not long ago. That's the kind of young man he was becoming. He was trying to do the best for himself.
Greg Adams coached Belpre's football team from 2010 to 2017, and he also saw Bedgood as a natural leader and a genuinely kind person.
"Number one, Deijon was just a wonderful young man. He had a huge heart and cared so much about his friends," Adams said. "He always had a smile on his face. He wanted to help others, and he was a super young man. Our small community has lost a genuine leader, and he's going to be sorely missed without question. He was always so team-oriented. It was never about Deijon, it was about his team and what he could do to help his team. He always put out that 100 percent effort to do what he could do to win a football game. When he was coming up through junior high, his coaches would come up to me and tell me, 'Coach, you need to watch this kid. He is going to be just awesome.' Tavion Miller, Nathan Mason and Manny Tullius all complemented each other (with Deijon). They all helped each other out. You could just see the camaraderie of the players, and I think those players have sad hearts themselves. They lost a teammate they could depend on. It's a sad, sad day. None of us can believe that something like this could happen here. You turn the TV on to the news, and you see shootings all across the country. It's terrible and you hope it never happens this close to home, but it did. It happened right here to one of our young men. It breaks my heat, and it hurts to know we've lost a young man like Deijon. I remember him and (teammate) Andrew Klinger coming down here wanting to go fishing. They would fish and then practice during the rest of the day. They were great friends. He was great friends with all the players. He's going to be so, so missed by our community. We lost a good one, and it's even hard for me to talk about it."
Federal Hocking athletic director Stephanie Evans previously served in the same position at Belpre, and she remembered a warm personality.
"I had him in class when he was in middle school before I became the athletic director. Then I had him as an athlete when I was the athletic director and assistant principal," she said. "He was the most respectful kid on campus. He was so polite and had an ornery smile. He was so kind and polite."
"As an athlete, he was phenomenal. Even years after the fact, you see other coaches and mention the name Deijon Bedgood, and they'll say he was one hell of an athlete. He was a four-year letter winner in football and basketball. He was a 1,000-point scorer in basketball and 1,000-yard rusher in football. He was an all-around outstanding athlete. The secretary from Belpre got a hold of me to let me know, and I was very appreciative of that. I just felt like I got punched in the gut and had the wind knocked out of me. He was such a good kid. He left the area but still came back in town for his buddy's wedding not long ago. He still kept in touch with classmates. It's devastating news, and it's going to take a while to mend this loss. He went to Muskingum and played football for a couple years, and I was there for an event while he was a student there. He came and found me and gave me a big hug and said, 'Hey, Ms. Evans, I knew you were on campus and just wanted to stop by.' He always made it a point to check in on people. He was such a good kid, and this is a tremendous loss."
Belpre athletic director Tyler Schaad said plans to honor Bedgood would be addressed during an athletic committee meeting on Tuesday, as he echoed the sentiments of those closest to Bedgood.
"We'll definitely be honoring Mr. Bedgood in some way," Schaad said. "Every person I've talked to says he was a wonderful young man."
Head basketball coach Ryan Leasure was an assistant on coach Williams' staff when Bedgood played.
"It's still shocking to even talk about it," he said. "He was the most gifted athlete in the area. He made everyone around him better, but he was an even better person. He always had a smile and brought joy. It's heartbreaking and shocking. You think about what he gave to our school. He was a great human being. When I was first getting into coaching, it was just nice to see someone like that go to work every day. He had a strong vocal leadership, and he brought it every day. He had a gift and brought everybody along with him. He was a great person. Our program gives its thoughts to his family. His youngest brother is a freshman in our program, so we just want to keep him in our thoughts and prayers. Hopefully, we can remember him and teach his legacy for our program."
Contact Josh Hughes at jhughes@newsandsentinel.com