Roc Batten comes from a family of coaches — and the desire to mentor high school athletes through sports runs through his veins.
Batten was recently hired as the football coach at Savannah Country Day. He took some time to tell his story in a phone interview Tuesday before meeting with players, coaches, parents and administrators later in the day at SCD.
Growing up in an inner city section of Detroit, Batten was a standout quarterback and defensive back at Bishop Gallagher High School and also played basketball, baseball and participated in track and field. His mother, Michelle Batten, was a local legend as a track and field coach and a member of the Detroit Catholic League Hall of Fame, while his father, Ronald Batten Sr., was a respected longtime youth league football coach, who also coached cross country and track.
His sister Makiba Batten was an All-American in discus at Florida State University and is now the head track and field coach at Western Michigan University.
His parents always pushed academics, and Roc Batten excelled in the classroom as well as athletics in high school and came south when he earned a football scholarship to Vanderbilt. As a junior with the Commodores, Batten was one of the team’s top players as a defensive back when he had 52 tackles and three interceptions.
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An injury in the spring game before his senior season ended his playing career. But Batten stayed in the game on the sidelines — first as a student coach, then a graduate assistant and then as a full-time coach at Vanderbilt in charge of outside linebackers and recruiting.
He then moved into the high school coaching ranks and had an impressive run in Tennessee at Montgomery Bell Academy, Battle Ground Academy and Ensworth School.
“That injury ended my playing days, but it was a blessing because it turned me to coaching, which has always been in my blood,” said Batten, 48. “I love coaching at the high school level because it gives you a chance to help build young men at a key stage in their lives when they are excited about learning. You can really be a mentor and have an impact on their lives. And you can really teach the game.”
Married for 22 years to his wife Rae, the couple have three children. Their oldest daughter, Aliyah, attends the University of South Florida. Their son Isaiah is a rising junior and a quarterback, while daughter Makaylah is a rising sophomore who plays soccer, basketball, volleyball and track. They will attend SCD.
Batten was a product of private schools and said he has enjoyed coaching at the private school level because of the combination of academics and athletics.
“That’s why Savannah Country Day was the right dynamic for me,” Batten said. “I love the campus, the community feel and the atmosphere. Everything fit for my family and my career as it’s a school of balance with academics, athletics and enrichment programs.”
Batten will replace John Mohring, the former Georgia Southern All-American linebacker who went 16-16 in three seasons with a pair of playoff appearances before taking the head coaching job at Wayne County High.
Batten will be the third coach at SCD since Dennis Coyle left after a 10-season run that ended in 2018, but Batten said he is in for the long haul.
“I think the timing of everything is great,” said Batten, who said he will work as an administrator at SCD. “We’ve hired a new athletic director with James Franklin and we’ve already been collaborating about the future over the phone. I think we can bring a new energy and build on all the things that they have done at Savannah Country Day in the past.”
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
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