Veteran coach and educator Sean Glaze has been hired to lead the Gilmer High School boys basketball program.
He was approved by the Gilmer County Board of Education at its regular monthly meeting last Thursday. Glaze, 55, just wrapped up his 30th year on a basketball sideline and has coached both girls and boys over that span. He arrives in Ellijay after spending the last two years as an assistant at Reinhardt University.
“When I first reached out about the job, I didn’t know much about Gilmer,” Glaze said. “I was at a point after being retired for a few years working as a speaker and trainer and enjoying that, I became restless. I really missed the idea of being a part of something bigger than myself.
“That’s something we’ve preached as a coaching staff where we’ve been successful. Our job is to have people who are committed to being valuable contributors and part of something bigger than themselves. I had started to miss that and looked and saw the position was open. I talked to my wife (Amy) and said I’d really love the opportunity to lead a program again knowing the fire of coaching and competing and building culture and developing people and being part of a team was something I still very much enjoy.”
Ahead of his time in Waleska, Glaze made coaching stops at eight high schools. He has accumulated 166 career wins as a head coach and got his start at his alma mater.
“I have benefited from being surrounded by some really good people my entire career. I don’t know if I have one mentor. I’ve probably got a corral who I’ve benefited from,” he said.
“I started at Pebblebrook in 1993, which now makes me sound like a dinosaur. I unexpectedly fell into coaching. I did not expect to be a teacher and coach. When I didn’t get accepted to the University of Georgia’s law school, I decided I was going to teach for a year and reapply.
“By Thanksgiving of that year, I coached cross-country and basketball. I called my wife and told her I knew where I was supposed to be. I think sometimes providence has a way of putting you where you’re intended to have an impact, and I fell in love with teaching and coaching.”
He was at Pebblebrook for five years as a ninth-grade coach and varsity assistant. By 1998, he moved on to Temple High to take over the boys program, and they eclipsed the previous year’s wins total in both seasons while he was at the helm.
He then coached at McEachern High for five years as the junior varsity coach and varsity assistant. From there, he spent two seasons at Pope High as the girls head coach beginning in 2005. He led the Greyhounds to their first trip to state in five seasons. They won 19 games in 2006-07 after the program only won a pair of games two years prior.
“When I took over at Pope and knew I had a little talent that had underperformed in that first year, I knew something had to be different,” Glaze said. “That was the beginning of when I really poured myself into culture and connections and all the things I eventually used.”
His next stop was Woodstock High where he was the boys head coach from 2007-12. The Wolverines claimed just one win in the year before his arrival, and by year three, they turned in the best season in school history.
“Obviously you’re developing players into great teammates and building better skills and leaders, but so much of what I think I’ve benefited from is the leadership and culture stuff that has helped us turn around programs and maybe overachieve at times,” Glaze said.
Glaze coached JV boys basketball at Cherokee High for three seasons and was a varsity assistant. The then enjoyed another three-year stint at Kell High as the girls head coach where they reached the playoffs each year and were undefeated in region play in 2016.
Glaze’s last stop before a two-year break and heading to Reinhardt was at Cass High. He led the Colonels to three straight winning seasons and qualified for state each year.
“One of the things when I first came up to Gilmer to interview for the job, I was really impressed with the leadership team,” Glaze said. “One of the things you realize after you’ve coached long enough, is that a good position isn’t always one that has amazing talent. It’s the ones that have an amazing administration who is going to understand the challenges and what you want to do when you come in to build a culture where players really thrive.”
Off the court, Glaze has served as a corporate team building speaker. He has written five books on the importance of leadership and building culture.
“That is a natural outgrowth with what I’ve done with basketball programs I’ve worked with over the years,” Glaze said. “I’ve always seen my job to develop myself as a leader so I can better develop the people I have the privilege of working with. We want to make sure we’re building a winning culture with teammates who are committed to being a small valuable piece to something more significant.
“Individual success is always a symptom of playing for the name on the front of the jersey and not necessarily the name on the back. Developing that sense of camaraderie, teamwork and selflessness and investment in team success is something that can give everyone a sense of pride.”
Glaze said his teams will play an up-tempo style and apply as much pressure as possible.
“We want to give the kids the chance to play to their strengths,” Glaze said. “I’ve always believed that defensively you want to create a team mentality and toughness to depend on people to be where they’re supposed to be and apply pressure and help and manage rotations.
“Offenisvely, my job is to take advantage of the individual talent that every year is going to provide. Coming into this season, I think we have two or three players who have the chance to be very good contributors to a team concept. I’m really excited to get on the court and see who they are and what we can provide to be the best they can be as a Gilmer Bobcat.”
Glaze is set to meet with Gilmer players today. He will teach English at GHS as a 49 percent employee. He has been married to wife Amy for 30 years and they have three adult children.