Senseless. Needless. Stupid.

When I think of the tragedy that fell upon West St. John, our region and, most importantly, the family of slain Rams coach Juan Joseph, those are the words that immediately come to mind.

It’s terrible whenever anyone loses their life prematurely. The impact always seems to hit a little harder when it’s someone who shines as bright as Juan did in so many respects, someone who seemed to just have that knack to excel — really, dominate — in anything he set his mind to, be it setting numerous passing records on the football field, his work in the classroom or mentoring our youth.

I never had the pleasure of covering Juan as a player at West St. John. His time as a prep athlete came before my tenure at L’OBSERVATEUR. But he was an assistant coach with West St. John in football, basketball and baseball, giving an idea of how respected he was by WSJ athletic director Robert Valdez.

I’ll remember him as one of those coaches who always made it a point to come over, say hello and shake my hand when he saw me out at a practice. He didn’t have to and I don’t expect it out of people; he just did it because that’s how he was. His father is the same way. I’ve never passed Greg Joseph without him calling out my name, beaming with a big smile upon his face, ready to shoot the breeze for a few minutes. My heart aches for him right now, just as it does for Juan’s mother, his wife, his daughter, his brother Dray, who I covered, and so many others close to him.

I wasn’t there the night the shooting occurred. Like many of you, I’ve read the reports. I’ll never understand how such trivial arguments can escalate to the loss of someone’s life. It shouldn’t for anyone. It certainly shouldn’t have for a good man like Juan Joseph.

One thing certainly stuck out to me when covering the situation this week: three different men in Valdez, former WSJ football coach Laury Dupont and St. John the Baptist Public School Superintendent Kevin George all independently referred to Joseph as a strong role model for community youth, without prompting. That, to me, speaks volumes about the life Joseph lived.

We’ll never know what he could have done next, but to those whose lives he touched and to those he’s mentored: through you, he will live on, and through you, his life will continue to have impact. You looked up to him for a reason. Take what he taught you and live by it.