On Thursday, Nov. 11, 2011, Central Bucks South senior Chris Coia was recognized at a special news conference for signing a letter of intent to play baseball at Radford University
Chris Coia – Radford University (Baseball)
Major: Accounting
Final list of colleges: Radford, Virginia Commonwealth, Northeastern
Reasons for choosing Radford: “They saw me at one of my showcases in New Jersey, and they seemed to like me and kept in touch a couple of times a week. I went down to Virginia for a tournament, and they asked me to come for a visit before I came back north. The coach walked me around campus and showed me all the baseball (facilities). I really liked it – it’s a beautiful campus. They made me an offer. I took a couple of days to think about it. I thought about the other offers I had from other schools, and I decided to take it.”
What was the progression that led you to playing baseball at the collegiate level? “My parents said that ever since I was two I never put down the baseball. I played hockey for about five years, but I still played baseball. I stopped hockey about two years ago, but I’ve always loved baseball. I would be the kid on the beach – instead of being in the water, I would be throwing the ball with my dad. I would always be playing baseball. I’ve just loved it ever since I started playing it.”
Highlight of high school baseball career: “My sophomore year I broke my hand, and I wasn’t able to try out so I was put on the jayvee team so when I did recover, I could at least play. Once I started playing, I played real well, and I ended up getting called up to the varsity team, which was awesome to hear after not being able to even try out. I played in a couple of big playoff games for the varsity team, and we won some big games.”
Coach Mike Schaefer says: “You talk about work ethic, and I think what separates all these kids (who are signing) is that they’ve all committed a ton of time into getting better. Whether it’s hitting from a tee in their backyard when they’re three years old, everyone has put in a ton of time on their own as well as with their teams to get better, and that’s something that Chris does.
“He’s just an unbelievable kid. He does well in school – his work ethic translates there as well with his grades. As far as the team, he’s a motivating team player. He’s a guy that doesn’t look at his statistics, but he really wants to help the team and wants to win. If you had many of these kids on your team, your teams would be perennially great. He’s just a good person, a good kid, a hard worker and someone who is a good poster child for our program.”
About Chris:
Favorite food: Buffalo wings
Favorite music: R&B
Favorite movie: Remember the Titans
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