This article appeared in Berry Magazine, the official alumni magazine of Berry College in Rome, Ga., in 2004.
by Mickey Seward
Just over four years ago, Tyler Coats was planning on fulfilling a life-long dream of attending the Georgia Institute of Technology. He had already been accepted by Georgia Tech, and it was the only school to which he applied for admission.
However, just months before Coats was to begin classes in Atlanta, he tagged along with a friend who was going to try out for the baseball team at nearby Berry College. Coats decided to give it a shot, too.
“I didn’t even know Berry had a baseball team,” Coats said. “At the tryout, Coach (David) Beasley told me they could use me if I could get into Berry. So I applied, and got in. I thought I was through with baseball, but God had a different plan. It worked out for Him and definitely for me. It was one of the best things that ever happened to me.”
And a lot of other people, too.
Coats went on to become one of the best ballplayers ever to wear a Berry uniform, finishing his baseball career ranked among Berry’s all-time top five in batting average, home runs, runs batted in, hits and bases on balls. As a senior in 2004, he helped lead Berry to a 39-23 overall record and into the semifinals of the NAIA Region XI Tournament. He earned a pair of Academic All-American honors and one Athletic All-American award. The guy who four years ago didn’t even know Berry had a baseball team was doing his part to make sure everyone across the Southeast knew about Viking baseball.
But Coats, who earned a Bachelor’s degree in physics this past spring, was recognized for much more than his abilities on the diamond and in the classroom during his years at Berry. In 2003, he was a finalist for the Top Male Amateur Athlete Role Model award, presented to a student-athlete who competes for a college or university in Georgia, or who resides in the state, by the Boy Scouts of America’s Atlanta Area Chapter. In 2004, he won the award, joining the likes of former Florida State University Heisman Trophy winner and National Basketball Association guard Charlie Ward, former University of Georgia and Chicago Bears kicker Kevin Butler and former Georgia Tech guard and NBA All-Star Mark Price as honorees.
Months after learning he had been honored by the Boy Scouts, Coats learned he had earned a national honor that was awarded to just one student-athlete in the entire National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Coats was named the NAIA recipient of the Coca-Cola Community Service All-American award by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.
“It means a lot to me personally to win that award, but I’m mostly glad that Berry is recognized because of it,” Coats said of the Community Service All-American honor. “Our reputation is growing, but it means a lot to represent Berry on a national level and share what Martha Berry stood for, and what Berry is intended to be for its students.”
Along with the honor, Coca-Cola and NACDA donated five thousand dollars to Coats’ charity of choice, Habitat For Humanity.
“That kind of money means more than you can imagine,” Bill Harrison of Habitat For Humanity of Rome said. “We do not often see donations that large. We feel pretty good when someone sends us a one hundred dollar check.
"This donation comes at a time when we are below our reserve threshold for construction," Harrison continued. "With this amount, we will easily be able to cover our material expenses, and it allows us time to improve our financial position.”
Coats became involved with Habitat For Humanity while working with Berry’s Athletes Bettering the Community organization, a group of nearly all of the 200-plus Berry student-athletes which also works at various after-school programs, Boys and Girls Clubs, retirement homes, homeless shelters and many other programs to serve those in need. Coats was the group’s president in 2003-04.
“I’m so proud of how ABC has developed and come along,” said Coats, who was one of the organization’s co-founders as a freshman. “The thing about ABC is it is so in line with the school’s beliefs – service above self.”
“Every team on campus is very well represented in ABC, and everyone has really stepped up,” he continued. “There’s always been that commitment from the student-athletes, and as long as they are committed, ABC will be here as long as the college itself is here.”
According to Dr. Janna Johnson, Berry’s associate athletics director who is also an instructor and advisor at the college and serves as ABC’s faculty advisor, Coats is a prime example of the very commitment that he described.
“Tyler epitomizes the head, heart, and hands philosophy at Berry,” Johnson said. “He has succeeded academically and athletically. He also has a strong work ethic and a commitment to helping others. I believe he will always follow Berry's motto, ‘Not to be ministered unto, but to minister.’”
While he was at Berry, Coats also spent time mentoring an elementary school student, and shared his experiences with other Berry student-athletes to encourage others to serve as mentors.
“He let others know how meaningful it is to mentor a young person by sharing his experience with mentoring,” Johnson said. “Tyler is such a great example for me and his peers. He balances school, work, athletics, and community service with patience and a smile on his face. No matter how much pressure he is under, he is kind and respectful of others. “
For Coats, enrolling at Berry allowed him to fulfill two dreams. First, he was able to continue his baseball career. Second, because he came to Berry as part of the college’s dual-degree program with the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech, not only was he working toward a physics degree at Berry, but also toward a Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Georgia Tech at the same time.
“The only question coming in was would I need four years at Berry and two at Tech, or three at Berry and two at Tech?” Coats said. “Baseball commitments answered that for me,” said the four-year letter winner. “It turned out that the fourth year was the best year we had as a team.”
Coats began taking classes at Georgia Tech in August, and will need approximately two years to finish his civil engineering degree.
Stepping onto the 400 acre Georgia Tech campus with roughly 16,00 students after spending four years at a school with 70 times more land but 14,000 fewer students might make others somewhat fearful, but Coats is getting along just fine.
“In a way it’s like starting over,” Coats said. “I’m meeting new people and learning about them and how we can help each other, but there’s no way you can meet everybody and grow relationships very quickly.
“But there are a lot of similarities between Berry and Georgia Tech,” he continued. “You still have to wake up and go to class, and there are a lot of opportunities at Berry like there are on other larger campuses.”
Coats has already plugged in with Georgia Tech’s Campus Christian Fellowship, hoping to continue another chapter in a life built on service.
“My belief in God is the main reason I like to get involved,” Coats said. “A huge foundation of the Christian faith is that Jesus commands us to serve others. We are supposed to show people a lifestyle that is pleasing to God and lead by example, not just in what we say but what we do and how we do it.
“One look on the face of a child in a struggling family when you give him a Christmas present, or on a senior citizen at a retirement home when you and your friends sing Christmas carols, and it’s more than worth it,” he continued. “It’s not a huge commitment, but it makes a big difference in their life, and in mine.”
Making a difference seems to be what Coats’ four years at Berry were all about. Not just for him, but for a lot of other folks, too.
“Those were the best four years of my life so far,” Coats said. “I met tons of new people and made lifelong friends. There are a lot of opportunities at Berry that I might not have had at a larger school. You can develop deeper relationships, and I often think about the people I’ve been in contact with who have impacted my life. Hopefully, I’ve impacted their lives in a small way, too.”
When he finishes school, Coats wants to become a builder. If whatever he builds is built on a foundation as solid as Coats’, it just might last forever.
