78 Photo Essay: Cody Brown

Jasper High School Head Soccer Coach, Outside Linebackers Coach

Words by Terrell Manasco | Image by Al Blanton

Ever since he was a boy, Cody Brown has been involved in sports. As a Walker High School student, he was active in basketball and track. He also played football under Coach John Holladay, for whom he has great respect. For a guy like Cody, a coaching career was a no-brainer, but his love of sports wasn’t the sole factor in his career choice. 

“I was very blessed growing up with my family. My parents were good role models,” Cody says. “Having a really good dad was the main structure in figuring out my life. My dad is basically my best friend. I realized I wanted to do that for other kids who didn’t have that in their life.”

After high school, Cody attended Shelton State Community College on an academic scholarship before transferring to the University of Alabama as an education major. In 2019, he returned to Jasper High as the Vikings’ head soccer coach and outside linebackers coach. Coming in as a new coach took some adjusting, he admits, but the staff is now “really tight.”

“The biggest thing for me was learning to be a head coach right away,” Cody says. “I was originally going to be the assistant wrestling coach, along with football. Then, (athletic director) Jonathan Jordan, said, ‘What do you know about soccer? Our head coaching position just came open. Would you be interested in that?’ I said ‘Absolutely!’”

In addition to coaching, Cody also teaches eighth grade history. He jokes that it’s “not the most exciting subject for everybody,” but insists he truly enjoys the interaction with his students. 

“I get to go to work every day and hang around with kids,” he says. 

 The retiring history teacher was his former mentor, the much-revered Greg Tinker, and replacing Tinker meant Cody had some gargantuan shoes to fill.

“He was one of the biggest influences in my life, going back to the eighth grade,” Cody says. “Somebody like him who showed that teachers can make a difference… I wanted to come back and do the same thing for other people.”

When asked where he sees himself and his wife, Alyssa, in five to ten years, Cody says they love Jasper and plan to stay here. “We want to maybe build our own house and have a small spread,” he says. “Just living the simple life. Maybe some horses and farm animals.” 

In other words, Cody Brown will probably be “hanging around kids” for a while—a simple man making a difference in the lives of others. 78