Three years ago, after a long career coaching baseball at Brooks County High, Robert Shipman decided it was time to make a change. “I always said that when my youngest son, Eric, graduated, I wanted to move into a more baseball-oriented profession. He graduated in 2012 and it was time to move,” he recalls. Shipman didn’t go very far, just across the county line to Valwood School. There, along with Tiftarea baseball coach Brad Porter, he started Genesis Baseball Academy.
Designed to develop young men both athletically and spiritually, Genesis is the product of a lifetime of baseball instruction and real world experience. “It’s something I have wanted to do all my life. I started at Doyle Baseball and I always wanted to do something similar,” he says. First at the prestigious Doyle academy as a player then later as a coach, he learned what it takes to develop players and showcase them to college and professional scouts. “I showcased my sons in baseball. There’s a whole system to getting your name out – practicing, improving each day, choosing a school, filling out paperwork. We help with that as well helping players get better on the field,” says Shipman.
Genesis will utilize facilities at Valwood School and Tiftarea Academy for its clinics, camps, and academies, all of which can be found at www.genesis-baseball.com. In addition, Shipman is still coaching and teaching fulltime at Valwood. About to begin his third year with the Valiants, the team has improved steadily each season he’s been there. Shipman’s first year, Valwood went 5-13. Last year saw tremendous improvement; the Valiants went 15-9 and made it to the second round of the playoffs with 19 players. This season, Shipman is expecting 25-28 players and he would like to go farther in the playoffs. “We’ve got a lot of work to do between now and then though,” he says.
This year, Shipman will face his friend and partner, Brad Porter, on the field. It won’t be the first time the two friends have played each other. But now Valwood and Tiftarea are in the same region and the games are going to count toward the postseason. “We’ve moved up and now we’re playing for keeps,” laughs Shipman.
• 13: Years coaching
• 3: Number of sports Robert Shipman has coached during his career – baseball, football, and softball; also the number of sons he has (Robert III, Aaron, Eric), all of whom had opportunities to play their respective sports at the next level – Robert and Aaron, baseball; Eric, football.
• 22: Number of states in which he has coached baseball
• 4: Number of provinces in Canada in which he has coached
• 1: Number of times Coach Shipman has had his name in USA Today. He was a featured representative of the Doyle Baseball Academy, one of the best baseball schools in the country
• 2 ½: How many years his professional baseball career lasted with the Minnesota and Detroit organizations
• 10: The round in which Coach Shipman was selected in the 1987 MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers
• 12: How old current Valwood head football coach Ashley Henderson was when Shipman coached him in baseball. “I coached him on an all-star baseball team back then. He’s a football guy but he has the heart of a baseball player,” says Coach Shipman.
• 98: Shipman’s estimate on how many Valwood graduates attend college. “I love the culture here. There are so many talented kids. You have talented athletes but you also have talented musicians, actors, and students. There are lots of opportunities here and if you get a diploma from Valwood, it’s almost a given that you’re going to college,” he says.
Facts and Figures/South Georgia/February 2015
Robert Shipman
Robert Preston Jr.
