Chennis Berry on Building Benedict Tigers Football Program
Chennis Berry on Building Benedict Tigers Football Program.
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00:00 [MUSIC]
00:05 Well, first and foremost, man, you gotta recruit the right student athlete.
00:11 I say it all the time and I tell recruits and their parents, I say, listen,
00:15 although we're a Division II institution, because we're limited resources, okay?
00:21 I still run this program like a D1 program.
00:24 We run this program first class, from our facilities, to how we meet,
00:28 to how we dress, to how we travel.
00:31 Everything I believe in is doing it the right way.
00:34 And we've done a great job of recruiting the right fit.
00:38 To me, it's not about the best player, who fits our program and
00:42 what we're all about, all right?
00:44 And we've got the right fit in this program.
00:47 And guys that truly believe in what we're doing and how we're doing it.
00:50 Like I say, I spent ten years in the MEAC at Howard University,
00:55 North Carolina A&T, and at Morgan State University.
01:00 And I spent seven years at one institution, Southern University, in the SWAC.
01:04 In the last 17 years of my life, I was on a Division I campus, FCS program.
01:10 So I'm used to it, I'm very familiar with all the head coaches in the SWAC,
01:14 all the head coaches in the MEAC.
01:15 I know most people, I mean, this is year 29 coaching HBC football.
01:20 I'm a product of HBCU.
01:21 Went to Savannah State, played there from 91 to 94, and got right into coaching in 95,
01:26 man.
01:27 And I was able to get my Bachelors in Business Management,
01:30 my Masters from Kentucky State University in Human Resource Management.
01:35 But I do what I love to do, man, I love coaching the game.
01:38 I love just impacting the lives of young people, not only my players, but
01:42 my coaches.
01:43 I believe in coaching coaches as well.
01:45 And here at Bennett College, we have a young staff, man.
01:48 But we have guys that have shared values, and they believe, and
01:51 they're grateful for the opportunity that was given to them.
01:54 So now they're just taking the best out of it and
01:57 capitalizing on the fruits of their labor.
01:59 So you gotta have good people around you, man.
02:01 And we have done a good job of putting this place in terms of this program
02:07 on the map, and people know about Bennett College football now.
02:11 And even before I got here, I didn't hear a lot about it.
02:13 I knew where it was, cuz I went to high school in Atlanta, Georgia.
02:17 And I kinda have heard of it, but
02:20 now, and it's a good place with good people.
02:22 And I think people now across the country, not just in this geographical area,
02:26 that a lot of people across the country know about Bennett College football,
02:29 the program we're trying to build here.
02:30 [MUSIC]