John Berry begins his first season as a graduate assistant coach after a stellar career as a Redhawks jumper. He will use that expertise in the jumps to help the team as his primary duties will be to serve as the team's jump coach.

As a Redhawk he saved his best for last during the 2008 outdoor season. He qualified for the 2008 NCAA Track & Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa just missing out on All-American status, as he finished 15th overall with a leap of 24'-11.75" in the semifinals.

That finish capped a year in which he won six individual titles in the long jump during both the indoor and outdoor seasons including the OVC Indoor and Outdoor titles. Also among the highlights were a seventh place finish in the NCAA Midwest Regional, three times being named OVC Field Athlete of the Week and being named the OVC Outdoor Male Field Athlete of the Year. He ranks fifth on the school's all-time long jump charts with a leap of 25'-1.50" and holds the Student Recreation Center long jump record with a distance of 24'-10.50".

Berry, was a three-time NCAA regional qualifier and NCAA provisional qualifier during his career as a Redhawk which included a tenth place showing at the 2007 NCAA Mideast Regional. His junior season he finished second in the long jump at the OVC Outdoor Championships and third in the OVC Indoor Championships. Berry was also an accomplished triple jumper and high jumper during his Redhawk career. As a freshman he finished fourth in the triple jump at the OVC Indoor Championships.

As a prep at Parkway South High School in St. Louis, Missouri he was a state finalist his senior season in the long jump, finishing fourth to garner All-State honors.

Berry graduated with a degree in criminal justice from Southeast Missouri State in May 2008 and is pursuing his masters in the same program.