As a student in Pensacola High School’s International Baccalaureate program, David Berryman knew academics were going to be the focus of his high school years, but he didn’t want to leave his lifelong love of baseball behind.

When David, who is now 17 and a junior at PHS, first saw the baseball facilities at the inner-city school, he was disappointed.

“When I first got there, it was pretty miserable,” he said. “The outfield was covered in ant hills. The grass was inconsistent and patchy. There was no locker room. The fence was broken in places. It was just in general disrepair.”

David’s parents, Craig and Leigh Berryman, were not content to leave the facilities at their son’s school in such lowly conditions.

“My parents were disappointed in how Pensacola High School looked in comparison to the other high schools in the area,” David said. “They wanted to give the players at the school the opportunity to play on the same level of baseball fields as the other high schools in the area.”

As members of the school’s baseball boosters organization, the Berrymans and their two businesses have donated about $80,000 over the last three years – and inspired others to donated, as well — to help bring the school’s baseball operation up to standard.

In that time, the team has constructed a new locker room and batting cage, revamped the field's irrigation system and improved the turf, among other upgrades and repairs.

[caption id="attachment_22054" align="alignright" width="450"] Craig and Leigh Berryman spearheaded the effort to build a new locker room for the baseball program at Pensacola High School. Photo credit Craig Berryman.[/caption]

Mike Mincy, who was the head baseball coach when David joined the team, recognizes that the facilities had been “a little bit behind.”

“Now, when our kids come out there, there’s really something to be proud of, and the Berrymans spearheaded that for us,” he said. “There’s no way to put a value on that.”

Paying the blessing forward

Every improvement along the way has been borne of real need or deficiency the Berrymans have seen.

“During his sophomore year, David got a car and then he could leave all of his baseball gear — probably $700-plus — locked in his car when he wasn’t at baseball practice,” Craig Berryman said. “It quickly became apparent that the baseball team needed a locker room of their own.

"They needed a space that they could leave their baseball gear without being overly concerned that it would ‘disappear.’”

Craig Berryman, a military veteran, says his family has been able to donate so generously because of the success of his two businesses, Joint Mission Essential Training Solutions and Flying Leatherneck Consulting.

"We have been blessed that the companies have done well and wanted to give back some of those blessing to our community," he said. "I think in part because of the example we have set, we have been very successful in getting other individuals and other organization to step up and donate tens of thousands of dollars.”

Other parents have stepped up to the plate, including Randall Paulk, whose his son is an outfielder on the varsity team. Paulk has donated more than $5,000 to various improvement projects. Lisa Minshew, whose son is the junior varsity catcher, donated more than $3,000 to put a fence around the batting cage.

[caption id="attachment_22053" align="alignright" width="450"] Craig and Leigh Berryman spearheaded the effort to build a new locker room for the baseball program at Pensacola High School. Photo credit Craig Berryman.[/caption]

The program has benefited from a $10,000 donation from the Pensacola Sports Association Foundation to help pay for the foundation and floor of the batting cage.

Laverne Baker met Craig Berryman in 2013 in her capacity as chairwoman of the Escambia Public School Foundation. She helped secure the donation from the sports association.

“He told me about the plight of PHS baseball program … and why he thought investing in PHS baseball would provide future opportunities for students,” Baker said.

“I was very impressed with the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Berryman were willing to invest so much in making things better for the future,” she said.

Major League Baseball’s Reviving Baseball in Inner-Cities program donated more than $3,000 in lighting for the batting cage. The PHS girls’ softball team donated two new batting cage nets. In return, the girls’ can use the new batting cage.

This winter, Ray Sayre, the award-winning groundskeeper for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, came to the school to help rebuild the pitcher’s mound and home plate.

Also, this year Escambia County School District refurbished the baseball restrooms so that they are now compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, creating concrete sidewalks and new handicapped parking spaces.

Craig Berryman has been working with Escambia County Commission Chairman Lumon May and the Escambia County School District to get a block adjacent to the baseball field added to the school for additional athletic parking.

May praised Berryman’s dedication to the school and surrounding community.

"I was unaware of how much (money) he had donated. That's amazing,” May said. “But I was certainly aware of his passion and his persistence in trying to not only improve baseball, but also improve that community. It's blighted. The condition of the area by the playing fields is certainly unacceptable. I applaud Mr. Berryman for reaching out and trying to make a difference."

Lasting impact

David Berryman is proud of the changes his parents have shepherded at the school. He believes the enhancements will benefit many players to come.

“It’s generally shocking how much they’ve been able to do for the field,” David said. “Everybody who is going to benefit from the changes that my parents have been able to make will have a greater opportunity to succeed in their baseball career, even going into collegiate baseball and possibly even further.”

[caption id="attachment_22052" align="alignright" width="450"] Craig and Leigh Berryman spearheaded the effort to build a new locker room for the baseball program at Pensacola High School. Photo credit Craig Berryman.[/caption]

Mincy, who left PHS after David’s freshman year but has since returned to coach football, said the improvements have piqued an interest among prospective players.

“You can see the interest picking up," he said. "A lot more kids are seeing our facilities and deciding to come to school at Pensacola High School.”

Craig Berryman has worked with the school to develop a baseball improvement plan that will continue well after David graduates in 2016, but he plans to keep working for the school beyond his son’s career there.

“The inner-city kids who make up the majority of the PHS student body deserve every opportunity to be successful, just as any other child in the Escambia County School District," Berryman said. "That chance to succeed needs to start in the classroom, but necessarily needs to extend to the athletic fields.

“Personally, I am going to continue to invest my time and money into trying to make that dream a reality for the students and athletes at PHS. For me, the dream starts with baseball, but the goal is helping as many kids as possible be successful in life.”