APRIL 7 • 2022 | 25

N

ineteen seasons. Nine 
Division 2 state cham-
pionships and two run-
ner-up finishes. Fourteen trips to 
the Final Four.
Those are the nuts and bolts of 
Barry Brodsky’s resume as coach 
of the Birmingham Marian High 
School girls soccer team.
With four consecutive state 
titles in his back pocket, a streak 
that was interrupted in 2020 by 
a season canceled because of the 
COVID-19 pandemic, Brodsky 
decided late last year to step 
down as the Mustangs’ coach.
He hasn’t had much time to 
think about how much he misses 
coaching these days as the spring 
season for girls soccer begins.
Brodsky, 66, is a certified 
public accountant with an office 
in Farmington Hills, and it’s 
income tax time for his clients.
“When I left Marian, I want-
ed to leave the program in 
good shape. It’s in good shape,
” 
Brodsky said.
“I was actually the coach there 
for 20 seasons. That would have 
been a nice round number to 
say, but I don’t count the 2020 

season. We only got in four 
pre-season practices before 
everything was shut down by the 
state.
”
Brodsky said he carefully 
considered his resignation deci-
sion last summer, and informed 
Marian in November of his 
desire to resign.
Several factors swayed his 
decision to step down, he said, 
including the COVID-related 
death of Marian Athletic 
Director and good friend Dave 
Feldman in January 2021.
Feldman was always available 
to answer questions and provide 
guidance for a Jewish coach at 
a Catholic high school, Brodsky 
said, and tremendously support-
ive of Brodsky’s team.
Without a soccer season to 
prepare for, Brodsky was able 
to spend three months this 
winter with his wife Jane at a 
condo they have in Palm Desert, 
California.
Besides enjoying the nice 
California weather instead of 
dealing with a Michigan winter 
back home in West Bloomfield, 
“I can work remotely out there,
” 

Brodsky said.
Brodsky wants to be able 
to communicate better with 
Spanish-speaking folks in 
California, so he’s been tak-
ing weekly online undergrad 
Spanish classes during the fall 
and winter semesters through 
the University of Michigan-
Dearborn.
“I’m sure I’m the oldest stu-
dent in my Spanish classes by a 
good 40 years,
” said Brodsky, a 
1973 Southfield-Lathrup High 
School grad and 1977 Michigan 
State University grad.
Brodsky earned a master’s 
degree in taxation from Walsh 
College in Troy in 1984.
Allie Brodsky, 26, played for 
her father for four seasons at 
Marian (2009-13), winning two 
state championships, before 
continuing her soccer career at 
Kalamazoo College.
She said her father’s decision 
to resign as Marian’s coach 
wasn’t an easy one.
“My dad isn’t one to walk 
away from something, espe-
cially something he loves,” 
Allie said. “I’m glad he’ll have 
more time for himself now. 
People don’t realize the amount 
of time a coach devotes to the 
job outside of practices and 
games.”
Allie said she and her father 
had a difficult talk before she 
decided to join him at Marian.
“He told me I had to prove 

to everyone -- him, the other 
coaches and players -- that I 
should be on the field playing,
” 
she said. “When you’re 14, that’s 
not the easiest thing to hear.
“My dad was the best coach I 
ever had. He pushed me harder 
than anyone else. I wouldn’t 
be the person I am today (a 
second-year medical student at 
Central Michigan University) 
without his coaching.
”
Allie said one of the secrets 
to her father’s success at Marian 
was his ability to individualize 
his coaching.
“He knew which girls he 
could yell at, and which girls he 
had to hold their hand a little,” 
she said. “He knew I could han-
dle being yelled at.”
Brodsky is happy about 
Marian’s choice as his successor 
as coach. Reid Friedrichs, an 
assistant coach for four years, 
was promoted to coach last 
month.
“I can’t say enough good 
things about Marian,” Brodsky 
said. “I coached fantastic kids 
who excelled athletically and 
academically.”
Brodsky also was the boys 
soccer coach at Birmingham 
Groves High School and 
Birmingham Brother Rice High 
School, winning a state cham-
pionship with Brother Rice in 
2009. 

Tips to stevestein502004@yahoo.com.

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Barry Brodsky and his daughter Allie at the University of Michigan 
women’s basketball team’s 64-49 win over Villanova at Crisler Arena 
on March 21 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

SPORTS

Barry Brodsky ends an amazing two 
decades as coach of the Birmingham 
Marian girls soccer team.

The Book Is Closed

Barry Brodsky and 
his wife, Jane, at 
their condo in Palm 
Desert, California, in 
January. 

