By: Joe Delaney

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

I had a chance to sit down recently with one of the greatest high school coaches in the state and southeast.

Yes, I’m talking about our own Bobby Brockman from Glynn Academy.

We had a great conversation the other day and could have talked for hours.  Brockman and I go way back as both my sons went to Glynn and Knox played for Bobby some 15+ years ago.

Growing up every kid wanted to go to the soccer camps on Jekyll. It was amazing on those Saturday mornings. Bobby Brockman was a major player in all of this.

I was fortunate to live in Clearwater, FL for 3 years in my late 20’s and became enamored with pro soccer, as this was the prime time of the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Watching pros like Rodney Marsh and Steve Wegerle from the Rowdies take on Giorgio Chinaglia and the New York Cosmos in front of 60k fans was a great way to get indoctrinated into the game.

Years later I was fortunate enough to coach youth soccer on Jekyll and our 3 v 3 team was you guessed it………The Rowdies.

We had a ball and finished 7^th in the 3 v 3 nationals in Disney. I don’t think I’ve ever seen 11 and 12 year old kids have so much fun. Well, seeing as though the Rowdies had something going, the next year the Rowdies coach was Bobby Brockman! We laughed and laughed about those good times.

Brockman and I grew to be good friends over the next few years and I watched the guy accomplish great things on the southside of Brunswick.

How is a 462-95-22 record over 31 years? Well, that’s a start but it may not be Bobby’s true legacy.

Bobby Brockman didn’t coach games, he coached players. And that was his greatness. Go find somebody who played for him. Ask them about Bobby. They will all tell you the same things. Simply the best. Over 500 kids and they all love the guy.

He always had his teams ready to play. A worker, a mentor, and a leader. Let’s look at some of the good times and what Coach Brockman had to say.

Glynn had many good players who Brockman brought up through the Jekyll league.

The best? Bobby mentioned the following and said, “I know I’m  gonna miss some but here I go.”

Let’s start with the Craven boys. Enough said. Ritchie and Andy had it all. How about Lee Swafford, David Blackshear, Matthew Lee, Johnny Melcher and Connor Behrend?  All great players for the Red and White.

Brockman also mentioned the families that were entwined with the program over the years. Names like the Fendigs, Cravens, Plotners, Swaffords and Bulataos. It truly was more than a team. It was a family that went on for 31 years.

Glynn flourished under Brockman. Try 17 region titles, 9 elite 8 appearances, and 3 Final Fours in 31 years. Add in 15 Region Coach of the Years.  So, I had to ask Brockman who were his favorite teams and he said every one of them.

The best teams? Coach Brockman mentioned the 2002 final four team and the 2011 final four squad.

Last but not least was Glynn’s Final Four team from last year.

Favorite wins?  He mentioned Shiloh in 2002, when we went to Atlanta and took out a good Atlanta squad 4-0.

More recently, Richmond Hill for the 400th win and last year’s team taking out St Pius and Lassiter, two very good Atlanta Schools.

Brockman was particularly happy with the Lassiter win. Seems as though Lassiter came down to Brunswick with a bad attitude and talked all through the game how Glynn wasn’t very good.

I can’t say what they were really saying but you get the drift. Well Lassiter, the two-time defending state champs, had a long bus ride back to Atlanta losing 3-2. Don’t mess with Coach Bobby!

So now the 2025 season is in the history books.  A tough second round loss to Veterans 1-0 ended it.

And all good things must come to an end. Brockman has coached his last game for Glynn.

After 31 years, he is retiring and moving to the Ocala area. Family issues necessitate the move but he will be back often with camps and visits.

Coach Brockman will go down as one of if not the greatest soccer coach in South Georgia.

He built the Glynn Program and through the liaison with Jekyll had a profound impact on soccer growth in south Georgia.

But his lasting impact is that 31-year-old family he built. Safe travels my friend and God Bless.