The sun beamed down, warming what was an unusually cool day on the Frio river – a spring-fed river flowing southwest at a slow pace until it empties into the Nueces River near Three Rivers just outside of San Antonio.

The water, clear as the blue skies above, provide a relaxing hymn as a group of tubers float down the river and enjoy a healthy amount of liquid beverages — ice cold, of course.

In so many ways, Chris Beard was in his own little piece of heaven — one that does not include a hardwood court and a round ball. Instead, it was the Texas Hill Country.

“First of all, it’s the people that you’re with,” Beard said of the tranquility of floating a river. “I don’t go float rivers with people I don’t like. It’s just the idea that you can’t even have a cell phone out there. There’s no phone, no distractions. And we’ve been known to have an adult beverage or two over the years out there.

“To me, really, it’s about being with people that I love like my three daughters, or my girlfriend Randi, friends in coaching or out of coaching. … Just always loved the Texas Hill country and I just have a lot of fun escaping.”

The third-year Texas Tech head coach uses the time in the sun, with close friends, to unwind while they let the gentle currents guide them along.

“ (I) had a good summer, put off the knee surgery until August so I could get out and have some fun,” said Beard, who underwent surgery the first week of August and is undergoing rehabilitation before the start of the 2018 season. “We got the Comal, the Guadalupe and the Frio done in the summer.”