Mr. Melvin Eades, Jr.

Coach Mel you are one of kind! Fly high Superman

Oh Mel, you will be missed greatly. You were a friend and a coach we all loved. When you came to All Star Gymnastics it was a blessing and an honor. You were loyal, happy, skilled. Your laugh could be heard around the gym. If you only knew the inspiration you gave so many of us. Goodbye dear Mel. Rest now, but I hope you are still smiling in heaven. Love you always.

Mel you we part of shaping so many strong confident and successful young women our achievements are your legacy.
We appreciate all you thought us, how you protected us and the strength you gave us.
Your memory will live on through us and the lesions we learned from you that we will pass on.
Rest in peace. All my love until we meet again superman. 💞🦸🏾‍♂️

The world is less without you in it. I owe much of who I am today from being coached by you, learning to coach from you, and being pushed to be a better version of myself again by you. Thank you for being my friend and most beloved mentor.
I still use what I learned from Mel in my daily life and have used countless “Mel-isms” when working with kids and teens in my professional life. Conversations with Mel are what convinced me to pursue college. He wrote my letter of recommendation, and was forever my cheerleader to go big and leave it all on the table. When I met the man I would later marry, there was never a question- I had to make the trip back home to the gym specifically to introduce him to Mel, because, well, it’s the three M’s: Must Meet Mel- same as it always had been for boyfriends. My heart grieves for everyone who had the privilege to know Mel; I know I miss him dearly.

Sending our sincere condolences to coach Mel’s family. He was such a wonderful coach and will be missed by many! Mel couldn’t stand that Katelyn crossed her arms at meets, but it quickly became their joke! Rest Easy, Mel!!

My heart felt heavy after hearing this devastating news. Mel, you were a big part of my gymnastics career and who have I become today. I’ll never forget the nicknames you made for all of us, for me it was ‘bucket head’ and ‘Shawn Johnson’. You were the true representation of showing ‘tough love’ in the sport of gymnastics; giving us the hard truth about the sport but behind it, it was out of love for our safety and to prepare us for other challengers in life. I’m so happy that you came to my high school graduation party among many others even if you haven’t seen them in 5+ years. You have made an impact on many individuals and i believe it was your purpose to provide us many life lessons. You will not be forgotten. Thank you, Mel❤️

Mel was the best friend and role model ever! we love you so much. Rest in peace❤️