Rival soccer coaches, longtime friends

Last night two families got together and celebrated their teams' state tournament berths with brats, burgers and tall tales.

It's not a particularly startling scenario until you realize they include the coaches of two teams that regularly compete against one another and could, if all goes well, meet in the boys' state soccer finals on Saturday.

Linn-Mar Coach Corey Brinkmeyer and Washington Coach J.P. Graham have been fast friends since meeting as high school juniors in Illinois 22 years ago when the two participated in the American Legion Boys State program. Soccer was a recreational activity offered as part of the program, and they played on the same team.

The friendship might have lapsed after high school, but Graham, who initially attended a junior college, wanted to transfer where he could continue playing soccer and pursue his career goals. He looked up Mount Mercy and saw that Brinkmeyer was on the team, so he wrote him a letter reintroducing himself and inquiring about the school and the team.

'It was one of the few letters I can remember getting,” Brinkmeyer said, joking.

That letter, which Brinkmeyer saved, is a great source of amusement now, but it helped cement the bond the two have forged. Graham transferred to Mount Mercy, they shared time on the soccer field and in education classes, and the rest is history.

They actually are part of a Mount Mercy 'Mafia,” so to speak. The school has a number of alumni in coaching positions around the area, including Jefferson Coach John O'Connor, who was teammates with Brinkmeyer and Graham. If there's a 'Godfather” to this mafia, it is longtime Mount Mercy and Xavier Coach Amir Hadzic, for whom the three played. Graham remains an assistant to Hadzic, while teaching and coaching at Washington.

The four regularly compare notes on the competition but feverishly work to defeat each other. That's particularly true of Graham and Brinkmeyer.

'I think its something we look forward to,” Brinkmeyer said. 'I'd argue we probably emphasize it more because of the relationship, because as much as we love each other we want to beat each other even more.

'It's not uncommon that in games we play, the losing coach is screaming and yelling a little bit more (than usual).”

Brinkmeyer and his wife, Amy, asked Graham to be the godfather to their first child 13 years ago, and when he was born they named him Graham, after their friend.

'There are very few opportunities in life to actually choose somebody to be part of your family,” Amy Brinkmeyer said. 'I knew that he would be a great influence on our child's life because he's so giving and generous and has no ego. You never feel judged when you're around J.P. He's so welcoming and loving and open-hearted and open-minded.”

'When it comes down to it, he has your back no matter what the situation is,” Corey said.

Their bond is a product of shared interests, values and temperament.

'They are both pretty easy going,” Amy Brinkmeyer said. 'They both love soccer. They can sit and watch it for hours. Corey is very good at talking to people and keeping relationships alive, and J.P. is the same way.”

'Chalk it up to dumb luck,” Corey said, joking. 'We are both very passionate about everything we do, from teaching to our families to soccer, and I think that's something we can both relate to.”

Graham credits his college community with helping foster the long-term friendship.

'Mount Mercy is a small community, but the ones who become your good friends stay that way,” he said. 'We all came from someplace else, and we rely on each other.”

It's a sentiment that godfathers of all kinds can relate to.