Beaumont community mourns loss of MMA fighter Tim Hague

Teacher, friend, fighterthese are some of the ways residents of Beaumont,Alta.,remember thelate mixed martial arts fighter Tim Hague.

Hague, 34, was taken to hospital after fightingAdam Braidwoodin a match at the Shaw Conference Centre Friday night.

By Sunday morning, he was pronounced dead of a brain injury.

The Edmonton Combative Sports Commission announced Monday itwill be reviewing the circumstances around Hague's death.

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Seth Allan, 10, knew the MMA fighter as Mr. Hague, his fourth-grade teacher at cole Bellevue School.

In class, Mr. Hague would often showvideos of his fights, share motivational videosand take selfies with students. Sometimes he would even play his theme song, Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger."

Allan was shocked to hear the newshis favourite teacher had died.

"He was more than just a teacher," Allan said Monday. "Sometimes on the weekends he would say, 'Come over to my house and we'll play a game of ball hockey'... no other teacher would do that."

Allan's mother Tanya Miller-Zarb Meyn said her son was doing really well in Mr. Hague's class, and that the two of them had a bond.

She said her son even moved his desk to sit closer to Hague's in the classroom.

She said she had no idea how to break the news of Hague's death.

"That's just something you shouldn't have to deal with at any age," Miller-ZarbMeyn said. "It's just so tragic."

On Monday, the school dedicated part of itsmorning announcements to remembering their colleague.

Miller-Zarb Meyn said teachers also came to her son's class and asked them what they should do to honour their teacher's memory.

Hague had planned a field trip for his students on Monday to Jurrassic Forest, north of Edmonton.

cole Bellevue School spokesperson Carmen Pezderic said grief counselors and family liaison workers are available for students.

"We really need to focus on the kids and make sure they get the treatment they need," she said in an interview.

Hague's son Brady, 8, also goes to cole Bellevue School. The family has requested privacy at this time.

The school reacted quickly to the tragedy, Miller-Zarb Meyn said, sending emails and PowerPoint presentationsto the affected families with tips and advice on how to talk to children about death.

The emails cautioned parents that a lack of sleep and a loss of appetite are common in children experiencing grief for the first time.

Allan saidthat even though Hague was just finishing his first year as a full-time teacher at cole Bellevue School,he will be dearly missed.

anna.desmarais@cbc.ca
@anna_desmarais