Cavs Tap Pat Beard as New Boys Basketball Head Coach

There’s truth to the saying “Once a Cavalier, Always a Cavalier”.

Pat Beard was hired as Boys Basketball Head Coach Monday morning at a special meeting of the Chillicothe City School Board, filling the vacancy left when Eric Huffer stepped down July 1st.

Beard’s walked the sidelines of The Hatt before, first as the Girls Head Basketball Coach, then as an assistant for Huffer until departing for his alma mater Zane Trace last season.

Beard told Litter Media Monday there had been inquiries if he was interested in the vacancy. “Up until a few weeks ago, I kept telling people ‘No, I was in a good spot at ZT’. The kids were very easy to coach and there was a connection.” He followed Gary Kellough back home where he played for him as a Pioneer. It was expected Beard was being groomed to replace Coach K.

“As time went by, all the conversations that I was having regarding the job… the more I began to really entertain the thought (of returning to Chillicothe.”

Over the last 16 years, Beard has been intertwined with Cavalier Athletics. He was part of Coach Kellough’s staff during the Cavs big tourney runs after 2005 and on to winning the D2 state championship in 2008. His son Trey had been in the Little Cavs programs and played four years at the varsity level before graduation in 2020.

Beard always dreamed of being a boys head coach, but the opportunity to coach the Lady Cavs came open first and he spent four seasons at the helm. He took Chillicothe to the D2 Regional in 2016 before becoming an assistant to Huffer in the boys program. “Coaching the girls allowed me to grow as a person and as a coach. It was the right thing to do and awe were able to have great success in those four years”

Now, the chore is implementing his system in a short window. The Cavs open the 2021-22 campaign in late November at Fairfield Union and the home opener is December 3rd in a Frontier Athletic Conference battle with McClain.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what the coaching staff can get out of these kids” said Beard. “We have a bunch of hard working kids that I feel can put a pretty good product on the floor this year.”