Shane Thomas | The Valdosta Daily TimesValdosta High’s Cole Porter (1) takes time during a game against Colquitt County Feb. 19 at Bazemore Field.

VALDOSTA – A proud moment.

Valdosta High head baseball coach Brad Porter admits he almost got choked up as his son, senior infielder Cole Porter, signed with Berry College Thursday afternoon.

“As the head coach, I’m just so proud of another one of our players going to play beyond here,” Coach Porter said. “It just shows that the program we have in place does a good job of preparing these guys for college baseball and turning out athletes that college coaches want to play for them. I’m just super proud as a head coach.

“As a dad, it’s extraordinary. I sat back and started counting last night. It’s over 100 guys that have played for me that went on and played college baseball, professional baseball. It’s different when it’s your son. I’m super proud of him, because I get to see behind the curtain at the work he puts in and the dedication he has. He’s truly committed to his craft. He’s truly committed to being a student-athlete. It’s extraordinary to see the work he puts in and I couldn’t be prouder.”

Cole took his time to make sure he made the right call on his next step after high school.

Having seen time all over the field as a pitcher and at various positions, Cole has focused primarily on the shortstop position as a senior.

After putting pen to paper on his letter of intent with Berry, he spoke about what his signing day means to him and his family.

“For me, it means a lot of hard work has paid off,” Cole said. “I went from a guy that was always really small and never really was a guy people thought could go to college like that. For me and my family, it just shows that working as hard as you can trying to achieve something is accomplishable. You can do it as long as you work as hard as you can.

“It also shows that the coaches we have here are amazing. Without them, I don’t think I get here. I think it also shows the community we have here with our players and the friendships we’ve built is just as strong as the coaching staff. Without them, I feel like I don’t get pushed as much as I can and I’m not here either. It means a lot to me.”

For Cole, as much as he loved the Berry College baseball program, his first thought was could he see himself getting a degree there and finding something to do for the rest of his life if baseball doesn’t work out.

Cole, who plans to major in education in college, doesn’t see his path changing much from what his dad has done for so many years.

“If baseball doesn’t work out for me as far as playing it, I want to go coach and teach it to other people,” Cole said. “Berry would allow me to do that. I want to major in education because I kind of want to follow in the footsteps of my dad and I either want to go into college coaching or high school coaching. I want to teach just like he does.”

Growing up, Cole admits at times it was difficult for him always being labeled a coach’s kid.

In spite of that label, playing for his dad at Valdosta the last four years, Cole said, has been the best four years of his life.

“I’ve loved it,” Cole said. “It’s been the greatest four years of my life. Every day, I get pushed harder than everybody else just because I’m his son and I feel like that’s helped me get to where I am today. Playing for him has just been a blessing.”

Shane Thomas is the sports editor at the Valdosta Daily Times.