Albany State Golden Rams: Well done, sir

For more than four decades, Dougherty County Director of Athletics Johnny Seabrooks has been a fixture on the Southwest Georgia sports scene, first as an athlete, then as a coach (28 years) and these days as an administrator. And earlier this week — when Seabrooks was inducted into one of Georgia’s many sports Hall of Fames — he finally received a small piece of recognition for his enormous contributions.

It was quite a sight, the traveling rec center, whirling up and down the back roads of Brooks County, a tiny 1972 Volkswagen Beetle stuffed with balls, bats, volleyball nets and whatever else Johnny Seabrooks could cram into his car. And there was Seabrooks, who looked as tall as a Georgia Pine, crawling out of that little car. It was quite a sight, indeed. More recently, Seabrooks was sitting in his office at Hugh Mills Stadium, smiling and laughing at the memory, his eyes dark and deep as his mind drifts back to that bare bones beginning.

Who would have known that little bug of a car was starting out on a journey that would last a lifetime for Seabrooks? He delivered a one-man gym to the kids in Brooks County more than a generation ago — and then just kept on delivering. He’s the newest member of the Hall of Fame — the one they seem to have built just for Seabrooks, who was inducted into the Track and Cross Country Coaches of Georgia Hall of Fame on Wednesday in Atlanta.

Seabrooks said he was shocked, stunned and overwhelmed when he got the call, but those who know him best feel it was overdue for a man who has spent most of the last four decades teaching, mentoring and giving back to the kids of Georgia. Not a bad legacy for a guy from Florida. Hard to tell now. Seabrooks has dug both of his feet — and his heart — into the Georgia clay, where he spent 28 years coaching in high schools and 37 years in one capacity or another overseeing high school athletes.

He has been the Dougherty County Director of Athletics since 2002 — that’s where that winding road led the young man who took a job as a roving physical education teacher in Quitman 38 years ago after graduating from Albany State University (Ga.). “I had three elementary schools and I rotated between them,’’ remembers Seabrooks. “They didn’t have gyms. We played basketball on a dirt court. But just to see those kids. They were so excited to have a P.E. class. When I showed up it was like I was heaven-sent. I had plenty of energy, and I loved it. I really loved it.’’ That hasn’t changed.

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