By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Glynn County Athletic Director Steve Waters is a friend of mine. I’m honored to say that.

In the world we live in today friends matter when you are dealing with adversity.

My friend Steve Waters is dealing with the most gut wrenching grief you can have as an adult and that is the loss of a child.

Family and friends will gather this week to honor his son Bennett, who is now suffering no more.

Steve Waters will go down as one the best athletic directors in Glynn County history.

He is invested in this community and really loves his job and the results show it.

When you grow up in Glynn County and attend public schools you are either going to graduate from Brunswick High, or Glynn Academy. I graduated from Brunswick High and Steve graduated from Glynn Academy. Like I said you have to attend one or the other. The county is split right down the middle you either bleed Blue and Gold or Red and White. You come to expect that and that is how great rivalries are generated.

When Steve took over the AD position, almost a decade ago, the entire county was in need of huge facility upgrades. Steve had a vision to make Glynn County second to none in the area of facilities, and the first place this Glynn Academy graduate started was at Brunswick High School.

Yes, you read that correctly Brunswick High School. Let’s take a look at the BHS athletic facilities we love today.

• Bud Couch Field: A state of the art high school baseball stadium built on the site of the old BHS campus facing Habersham Street where this old Pirate attended classes back in the day. Covered stadium seats, press box, batting cages, concession stands, is one of the two best high school baseball stadiums in all of Georgia with the other being on the south end of town called Adam Wainwright Stadium for Glynn Academy also constructed under the watchful eye of Steve Waters.
• The Brunswick High Gymnasium affectionately known as Brunswick Square Garden: The finest arena for high school basketball in this part of the state. This happened under the watch of Steve Waters. There is also a 2015 State Championship banner on full display there that happened under the watch of Steve Waters.
• Brand new million dollar track at BHS: Athletes and the local community enjoy on Altama Avenue
• State of the art girls softball stadium: On the campus of BHS that is so nice the local college uses it on occasion.
• Brand new field house for the Brunswick High football program: Has two brand new locker rooms, a multipurpose room, kitchen, and new coach’s offices.

Most of these things above were done before facility upgrades at Glynn Academy were done. Glynn has a new baseball field, girls’ softball field, new multipurpose football facility all under the Waters watch. At the middle school level, new baseball fields at all middle schools and other great things.

The crown jewel of facilities in Glynn County is Glynn County Stadium.

There upgrades done there like new Jumbo Tron scoreboard, parking lots, and the end zone addition of new locker room, stadium overlook, and private boxes, athletic department offices.

The great thing is great things are still on the drawing board for upgrades all around the county. Those are the things we can see.

The things we can’t see is the willingness to do what is needed to promote Glynn County Athletics on a broader scale across the state.

The coaching searches are done professionally and Glynn County now attracts and keeps the best coaches in their profession in all sports.

As the Waters family deals with loss I wanted to put into writing how much I personally, and a grateful community appreciates a job well done by our Athletic Director Steve Waters.

Our community is there for you Steve and from a Pirate graduate to a Red Terror graduate, I appreciate you my man.

Over the past decade nobody has done more for BHS Athletics on a grand scale than Steve Waters.

He not only bleeds red and white, but he also bleeds blue and gold and has earned the right to be called a Pirate, and most importantly a true friend.

Thanks Steve Waters for a job well done from a grateful community.