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u. 0 ~ w w :> w z - c c ::l 0 w 0 ..J <( 0 z I U'l 0 0 z 0 1- 1- Q :r:: t- Cl) a:: Coats turns lessons into Hall of Fame ,career By Alan Hinton The Hattiesburg American It took Willie '1'ennie" Coats about a quarter-second to · respond to the question of what was the main factor in his coaching footbaJJ teams to 181 victories. He said his success came from lessons learned from others. "1 had a great high school coach and had great college hard work. He woo in every– thing." After starting, and starring, in football, base– ball, and basket– ball at Stonewall HighSchool (near Quitman) for four seasons, Coats went on to play football as a quarterback and free safety and coats "Pie Vann is in the national Hall of Fame, Heifer Stuart coached baseball and was an assistant in football, Pete Taylor and Roland Dale coached me. My coaches were one reason for my coaching success," Coats said . That success has earned Coats, a retired coach at East Central Community College, Decatur High School, Hatties– burg High School, Pearl River Community College, and a Hattiesburg, Pearl River, ECCC for a second stint, the Missis– sippi Pride professional team, Choctaw Central, and Newton CountyAcademy. Coats, who was named all– state in 1954 and played in the 1955 Mississippi high school all-star football game, has an overall football coaching record of 181-108-1. He also coached baseball at ECCC. He has one son (Timmy) collegiate career at LSU. "My dad loved baseball, loved it deeply," Coats saill. "I got into sports and had a little talent and my dad and coaches developed it. I was like a pig in slop, I couldn't get enough of it. "I always knew I wanted to be a player or a coach. I love to compete." Ironically, even though

Coats is known for his football knowledge and skills, he could have easily turned to another sport. "Harry Hickman of Hatties– burg was a scout with the Chicago Cubs, and he saw me play at Southern and semi-pro," Coats said. "So I signed a pro– fessional baseball contract with See CoATS on page B2 --- ... w z ... ' <( 0 0

baseball as a middle infielder at Mississippi Southern College (now the University of Southern Missis– sippi), where he learned under the tutelage of other out– standing coaches and played football for the 1958 UPI col– lege division national champi– onship team.

who is a football coach at Morton and another (Stan) who is in the Mississippi National Guard. He also has two daughters- Patti Coats Ezell (a second grade teacher at Newton County Elementary School) and Kristi Coats. At one point, Kristi played on the LPGATour after a successful

coaches," Coats said. "My high school coach was K.C. McKee, who later became a principal and superintendent. He never played a high school football game in his life, but he learned the basic fundamentals and stayed with them. He believed in fundamentals, discipline, and

number of other places, a spot in the Mississippi Association of Coaches Hall of Fame. He will be inducted Friday at the Jackson Hilton . Coats made his name in foot– ball- at stops in Clara, Semi– nary, Lumberton, East Central, Decatur, Quitman, Delta State,

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