Aaron (left), Misha (center) and Peter Berry (right) at a graduation ceremony.
The Berry Family: Turning Tragedy into Tenacity
11/30/2021 11:36:00 AM | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis
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By Kalee Graff
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- The Berry family underwent a life-altering change 11 years ago.
People know Noah Berry as a respectful and high-performing athlete on the Cal Poly men's tennis team. What people don't know is the tragedy his family experienced which later inspired him to get where he is today. In 2010, Berry's aunt, uncle, and two cousins were in a horrendous car crash. The incident killed his aunt and uncle and left both of the children, Peter and Aaron, to wake up not only as orphans, but paralyzed from the waist down. Without hesitation, Noah's parents immediately adopted the children. That was the start of the new Berry family.
Before discussing how and why this experience aided Berry's success with the grind, it is important to understand what the grind is. Most college students deal with grades and their social life, but student-athletes have much more daily stressors and it is almost impossible to prepare for.
"High school was so much easier," Noah said.
Peter (left) and Aaron Berry were injured in a 2010 auto accident.The basic things that contribute to the student-athlete grind are the emotional and physical stresses that come from balancing school, sports, and a social life, all at the same time. However, some other examples that can apply to some, but not all athletes, that contribute to the grind include but is not limited to injuries, physical health, mental health, breakups, and tragedies.
To get a better picture of what a student-athlete goes through, Berry shared what a typical day looks like for him.
It starts off with an alarm at 7 a.m. to begin his morning routine for the day. 8:30 to 11 a.m. he is practicing tennis. 11 a.m. to noon consists of him lifting weights. 12:10 to 2 p.m. is spent in class. 2 to 4 p.m. is his very first break of the day to go home and eat lunch, shower, and do whatever he thinks is needed for that day. 4:10 to 6 p.m. is his second class of the day. The hours of 6 to 10 p.m. is spent going home to eat dinner, do homework, and/or catching up on house chores. Berry said he usually falls asleep around 10:30 p.m.
Should he push off homework to be able to hang out with his friends? Should he eat a less nutritious meal to save some time to watch television? Sometimes Berry is so gassed from his day that he just needs to do nothing in his free time, but that means he is now cutting into his weekend time. Weekend time is crucial because student-athletes don't get the same weekend as typical college students. Student-athletes either have practice or are traveling to compete.
Peter (left) and Noah BerrySo, the real question is, how does Berry's family help him stay mentally and physically strong for the grind he has to endure?
The inspiration starts all the way back in 2010.
"The first two years after the car crash was spent making sure Peter and Aaron didn't die," Berry said.
Even though Berry was only 8 years old, he recalls the differences in his life before and after the crash because he was forced to grow up.
"We lived with a night nurse and, when the night nurse was not there, I would transfer Peter and Aaron from their wheelchair to the shower, the car, and their beds."
He also prepped medical supplies for their nightly routines and made sure they slept with leg braces on and straps around their backs for poster. The last difference in his life Berry recalls was how "the younger one for sure looked up to me." Usually, children as young as Berry have role models instead of being them, so it was a challenging role to take on.
However, Berry now gained two brothers and he took full advantage of it. Noah, Peter, and Aaron loved to work out together at the gym in high school. Noah would have to help with manual gym labor, but was always astonished to watch his brothers who were in wheelchairs bench three times their body weight. He was even more impressed to see how many extra workouts and practices they wanted to fit in even with a disability. Peter and Aaron later went on to receive full rides to the University of Alabama for wheelchair basketball and Peter will be competing in the next Paralympics.
"Growing up and watching someone that young overcome such difficult obstacles was very motivating for me in tennis and everything else I've done," Berry said.
He expressed that the brothers watching their friends continue their lives while Peter and Aaron's lives were essentially on pause in the hospital was one of the toughest emotional tolls he thinks they experienced. He knows, however, that they came out of the experience even stronger.
Peter Berry defends for the Alabama wheelchair basketball team.Freshman collegiate athletes are not expected to have a huge hand in their team's success. However, in 2021, Berry was named Big West Freshman of the Year and first-team All-Conference for Cal Poly in both singles and doubles. Peter and Aaron's work ethics and story are what Berry says helped made that possible. "We are super involved in each other's sports, so I made sure to call them with these achievements," Berry said.
However, Noah is not the only Berry athlete at Cal Poly. Misha Berry is a freshman on the women's tennis team and shared similar thoughts as Noah on the grind and what gets her through it. Misha has only been a college athlete for two months, but described the grind as, "(It's) never stopping, but finding joy in the hard work. Basically, getting school done, going to practice even when you don't want to, doing more than necessary, and feeling good about it afterwards."
In just the two months as a student-athlete, she already felt the need to look to Peter and Aaron to get through the grind. "No one sees the things they have had to overcome, and being able to witness that first-hand has made me work harder and be a better tennis player and person in general," Misha said.
Even though the car crash has helped Misha and Noah push through their daily obstacles, it is important to note that the accident does not define Peter or Aaron. "I see them as completely normal kids now, so the memories are what drive me," Noah said.
Misha's favorite memory of the brothers occurred when she was at a tennis tournament in Austin, Texas.
"They had their national championship elsewhere, so I watched them live with other family members. We were all screaming at the television even though they could not hear us and they ended up winning," Misha said.
Watching the interactions with Noah and Misha, it is quite evident that the love in the Berry family is strong and contagious. The family bond helps get all four student-athletes through the grind.
Both Noah and Misha shared some advice for incoming student-athletes.
"As far as school, I use Google Calendar and a whiteboard in my room to make sure I am organized and on top of my schedule," Noah says. "As far as sports, think about your team on those tough days when you don't want to get out of bed, because no team is going to win if one person does not want to be there. You have to suck it up and show up for that other teammate who is also struggling."
"Love the pain and love the grind because, if you don't, then why are you here," Misha added. "Have goals and know you are no longer doing it for yourself anymore, but for your team and your school."
The grind is tough, but not undoable.
"With a positive attitude, support, and hard work, you can do anything you want. Sure, the process might take longer or be more difficult, but remember this is what you're built for," Peter Berry.
Photos courtesy of the Berry family
Kalee Graff is a communication studies major at Cal Poly
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