By Scott Walters
swalters@cdispatch.com
Tate Marsh spent four decades influencing young people and coaching high school athletics.
However, it appears Marsh touched far more than players in his time.
“He was simply the best,” retiring Oak Hill Academy baseball coach Marion Bratton said. “If you were down, he would pick you up. Some of the most fun times I ever spent coaching were with Tate. He influenced you every day.”
Marsh died Thursday at the age of 67. Funeral services are set for 2 p.m. today at Memorial Funeral Home in Columbus.
In the past three seasons, Marsh worked with Heritage Academy head football coach and athletic director Barrett Donahoe.
“He always had their attention,” Donahoe said. “On a Friday night, the kids took the field with confidence because they knew he had prepared them the right way. He was going to be tough on you but it wasn’t because he didn’t love you. He was simply going to show you the right way to do things.
“When the kids didn’t have success, it really bothered him. He was such a great man, great influence and teacher of the game.”
Bratton worked alongside Marsh, Herbert Davis and Richard Akins about a decade ago at Heritage Academy. While at the school, the Patriots played for two Mississippi Association of Independent Schools state championships.
“Those were easily the best times of my coaching career and I did it 40 years,” Bratton said. “It wasn’t just on the field. It was the hangout times. It was going out to dinner with our wives. He always had the positive attitude. He always had that spirit. He commanded respect from the players but from other coaches, too.”
Donahoe felt a strong bond with Marsh from his first days at the school.
“We had a really great bond,” Donahoe said. “As a young coach, he taught me so much about the game. The people at Heritage Academy will really miss his leadership and his guidance.”
Marsh played high school ball at Greensboro High School West in Greensboro, Alabama. From there, the playing career took him to Mississippi State and later the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. His 43-year coaching career included stops in Scooba; Dade City, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; New Hope and Columbus.
“He had like six or seven knee surgeries and that cut his playing career short,” Marsh said. “He had some stories, though. From his playing days, he liked to talk about playing alongside D.D. Lewis. After his playing days, he got his 30 years of coaching in in the state of Alabama before coming back home to this area.”
Bratton said two memories of Marsh, who did coach the 2014 football season with the Patriots, stand out above the rest.
“We remember Mark Gastineau, who went on to have a Pro Bowl-career with the New York Jets in the NFL,” Bratton said. “Well, Tate always helped out with the Senior Bowl. He did it for about 20 years. Well Mark gets there and he is from a small school in Oklahoma (East Central Oklahoma State) and he pretty much didn’t bring anything. So Tate carries him to the local high school where they get him a helmet and a couple of pairs of shoulder pads so that he can play in the game.
“So he plays well in the Senior Bowl and eventually goes on to a great NFL career. Once he got established, Gastineau sent Tate’s high school a $10,000 check for helping him out when he needed it the most like that. But that was just the type of person Tate was. There was never going to be no for answer. The kids totally respected him and they always knew he was in charge.”
The other memory happened closer to home.
“Well Tate helped me as an assistant baseball coach for one year,” Bratton said. “Was he a baseball coach? No. But was he able to relate to the kids and command their attention and help them be at their best? Well yes certainly. He could always do those things. Well Tate was about 6-foot-7 and one day in the time between school and baseball practice, he was laying down in the dugout. Needless to say, he took up the whole dugout. I have a picture from that day. I have it framed. It will always be a special memory for me.”
Donahoe has similar memories. He said the 2015 Patriots will take to the field each Friday night carrying the teachings of Marsh into battle.
“I felt fortunate to have three seasons with him,” Donahoe said. “He respected the game because the game had given him so much.”
Bratton said Marsh always had “the game’s best interest and the kid’s best interest at heart at the same time.” He always was an asset on Friday nights.
“Nobody was ever any better at making in-game adjustments,” Bratton said. “He always cool, calm and collected. No matter what the situation was, you always felt like he was in charge and had everything under control. Nobody could read the other team better. Nobody could make changes during a game better. You were always happy he was on your side.”
Follow Dispatch Sports Writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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