Robert Anders has spent just over a year in his position as Sports Coordinator for the City of Brownwood, where he revels in the opportunity to show what Brownwood has to offer to baseball, softball and soccer fans from across the state.

“My job as as the Sports Coordinator for the City of Brownwood is basically to promote our sports facilities here in Brownwood to people who are not in the area, to event organizers in other towns who are wanting to host events in Brownwood, Anders, 34, said. “The big ones are baseball and softball, but we also use the Coliseum, the soccer complex, and we’re starting to incorporate the event center. So my job is to oversee all those events that come into town and make sure that anybody who is hosting a sporting event here in Brownwood is getting a great experience when they’re here visiting our town for athletics.”

Anders stated the most satisfying aspect of his job is the delight visitors express during their stay.

“The most rewarding part is when people come to our facilities and are literally knocked back because out how great the facilities area,” Anders said. “Jesse Sliger and his group out here do a fantastic job of keeping our baseball, softball and soccer complexes taken care of. Every single weekend we have people come in and say it’s a great facility, better than any facility they play at. I love hearing those comments, having people say they love Brownwood, want to come back and enjoy their time here. That’s the biggest thing. You can put all the money you want toward things, but when other people recognize what a great product and production you put on in Brownwood, that’s the biggest thing to me.”

While sports keeps Anders plenty busy, he hopes to expand his duties once the event center is completed in downtown Brownwood.

“Once the event center gets online, one of the things I enjoy doing is the behind the scenes planning of events,” he said. “That was part of my master’s degree I got at Howard Payne and one of the courses we took was event planning. I like it when a plan comes together, when you work hard and the clients or the organization gets the venue and the event is put together so well they have a great experience. As the event center gets built, that’s something I’ll transition to. I’ll do all my responsibilities on the sports coordinator side and then help over there. Organically, I feel that might happen, to shift my focus toward that. Something I also have a passion for is producing things that bring people joy while they’re experiencing it.”

Before taking over as Sports Coordinator for the City of Brownwood, Anders spent a dozen years at Howard Payne as first a baseball player, then assistant baseball coach.

“I played baseball two years there and then I coached at Howard Payne for 10 years,” he said. “I went on staff in 2011 with Coach Stephen Lynn. I had a great experience there and the things I’m super proud of are seeing those guys graduate and being successful with the jobs they’re at now, along with the experience of making five conference tournaments and the awesome trip we had when we went to Hawaii and played five games out there. The relationships I made, I still talk to a lot of those guys every single day. It was a great time in my life and definitely made me the person who I am today and put me in the position that I’m in today.”

Anders still coaches baseball at the youth level.

“I coach my stepson’s Dean rec league team and Hunter Sims and I, along with his wife Shannon and my fiance Kelcy, run the operations of our Sandlot organization, which is a travel organization here in town,” Anders said. “Our biggest focus in the player experience and player development. There’s a lot of organizations all over the place with a focus on playing 1,000 games and trying to win as many rings as possible and that’s great. But all four of us played college athletics and our biggest thing is you aren’t gonna remember all those rings when you’re 30, 40 or 50 years old, you’re going to remember the experiences you had. We want to make sure those guys love the game, enjoy being out at the ball park and have a great experience with the Sandlot organization.

Anders is soon to marry his fiance’ Kelcy Potts and will have two step-children, Lyla and Dean.