SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Tributes of love and remembrance are still pouring in from those whose lives were touched and impacted by coach John Beam. “He gave us so much and for this to be taken away from him it’s unreal,” said Taura Stinson. Taura Stinson is an Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated songwriter now writing music for film and TV, her story begins at Frick Middle School in Oakland where John Beam taught P. E. and later at Skyline High School. “He always had idioms, he said if you stay ready, you ain’t got to get ready,” Stinson said. VIDEO: John Beam’s former players, now NFL athletes, react to Oakland Laney College shooting Beam became the mentor Taura never knew she needed in high school at a time when she was figuring out her music. “He was one of a few teachers who’d listen to my song when they were written on a gum wrapper. I’m like, it goes like this, nah, nah, nah. Some silly little song but he’d say, ‘Taura that is so great,”‘ Stinson added. Beam and Stinson would become lifelong friends. She shared a text from beam who posted in 2022 that Stinson had been nominated for an Oscar in 2022 but she kindly corrected him it wasn’t true. Beam responded, “my bad but you’re still a superstar. We were still in touch he checked in on me. I have text lines ‘I’m so proud of you, look at you.’ He called me ‘superstar.’ Even as a kid pouring into me, I’m sad no other kid is going to get that anymore,” Stinson added. RELATED: John Beam: Athletes, coaches, sports teams from Bay Area and beyond remember legendary coach “I needed tough love and direction, coach Beam provided that for me,” said Damon Owens. Damon Owens, is pastor at Genesis Church in Antioch, but rewind to the early 1990s when he was playing football at Skyline High. He says coach Beam was there with guidance and hope. “Upon meeting him, I had a 1. 67 GPA. I was on the brink of dropping out, my parents didn’t know, my siblings didn’t know. I was suffering in silence. He created an atmosphere of winning and his values are the same I use as a husband, father, teacher, pastor,” said Owens. Both Owens and Stinson say moving on without Beam is heartbreaking. A person who believed in them and so many others. “Tough love with a soft spot,” Stinson said.
https://abc7news.com/post/john-beam-oscar-nominated-songwriter-taura-stinson-remembers-late-coach-motivator-oakland-high-school/18167220/