Cooper Kinney
A local Chattanooga organization will receive thousands of dollars after a current MLB prospect convinced Gatorade to help him give back to his local community. While many great baseball players see their summers focused solely on honing their craft on the diamond, former Baylor star and the Tampa Bay Rays first round pick Cooper Kinney often found time to work with kids in another area of Chattanooga.
Kinney recently won the $10,000 national grant prize on behalf of the Gatorade Player of the Year Play it Forward grant.
He also made an additional $1,000 donation, and he donated the $11,000 in total to Southside Youth Development.
“He’s seen kids from all different places try to play high school baseball, and he understands not everyone gets the same opportunities,” his father Mike Kinney says. “Seeing that while growing up resonated with him, and to help a group that’s trying to help young kids play the game, it just speaks to his upbringing and what he’s seen growing up.”
In order to win the Play it Forward grant, Cooper had to submit a video explaining why Southside Youth Development deserves and will benefit from the grant and donation. Kinney spent time as a high schooler getting to know the kids in the southside of Chattanooga, many of which now attend The Howard School.
“I was first introduced to Jonathan Johnson, as the coach of a crosstown school (The Howard School),” Kinney said in his video submission for the award. “and during a field trip to help revitalize the high school field, we spent time working to get to know the children from around the community.”
Southside Youth Development is an organization that promotes and extends the impact of youth sports in the southside community. Kinney continued to say “They are creating opportunities for children in this community, and giving them an opportunity to play organized baseball.”
Kinney compared Southside Youth Development to the MLB’s existing “Play Ball.” The organization is looking to host a sandlot league, revitalize two different fields, and recruit community volunteers and coaches. Howard coach Jonathan Johnson is one of the co-coordinators for Southside Youth Development and is one of several who will figure out how to use the donation to further SYD.
“SYD is incredibly grateful that Cooper chose our non-profit worthy of the $1,000 grant. When I received news that we won the $10,000 National Grant Prize I was astounded,” coach Johnson says. “The funds will be utilized to purchase more baseball equipment and continue to improve the baseball field at Emma Wheeler Homes in the downtown Chattanooga area.”
“Our coaches and volunteers firmly believe that one adult can make a lifelong impact in a child’s life through mentorship, allowing opportunities for education, experiences, and exposure and providing what could be a lifelong vision for their lives.”
Co-coordinator Drew Barton echoes much of what Johnson says. He believes the first year of the SYD summer program was successful, and that this unexpected influx of cash will only help the program grow and thrive around the Emma Wheeler homes.
“It’s going to benefit us in so many different ways. It’s going to help us get equipment, and revitalize those fields and make it something the community can be proud of,” Barton says. “It’s going to be great for the community to have something like this right in their backyards.”
“You can see God working in that community through the blessings being poured out. There are great things happening in the community, and we want to get the word out about the awesome things happening around the Emma Wheeler homes.”
While 2021 was the first year of the Southside Youth Development program, president Xavier Cotto says it proved to be an uplifting and unifying force in a community some refer to as an island. He says that field improvements may be on the way.
“One of the positive things that comes from building a baseball field is that it can bring unity to that community,” Cotto says. “We were out there with the kids (this summer), and we had some parents and grandparents start to come out to the games. It just provided another opportunity to bring the community together and cheer on their kids.”
“We definitely give huge props to Cooper and his dad, because this stems from their heart and wanting to help us,” Cotto says. “We’re just trying to help the kids and provide some facilities and opportunities for them.”
His father Mike says the younger Kinney hit his first professional home run earlier in the day, but as the award shows, his son is more than just a great baseball player.
“He’s done a really good job of moving in an area of excellence in sport, academics, and faith,” Mike Kinney says. “Cooper’s as good a kid as he is an athlete, and he’s got a tremendous faith base. He has a passion for helping other people, and he’s just a tremendous young man and we’re super proud of him and the opportunities that have come his way.”
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The Southside Youth Development Association has benefitted from a grant made possible by former Baylor baseball standout Cooper Kinney. In addition to his own personal donation, the organization received at $10,000 grant from the Gatorade Player of the Year Pay It Forward Foundation on behalf of the recent Tampa Bay Rays' signee.