GHS head basketball coach Susan Nunn is set to retire this spring after a 33-year teaching career. She spent 27 combined years coaching at the middle school and high school levels building relationships across a generation.
Nunn’s coaching career started at Ball Ground Elementary fresh out of college. She coached middle school basketball in Pickens before spending eight years doing the same in Gilmer. Nunn was an assistant to Kim Charles at Gilmer High and took over the head coaching reins in 2017.
“One thing I’ll miss most is getting to work with groups of girls like I have,” she said. “I’ve worked with hundreds of girls, and that has been so much fun. Getting to know them beyond basketball has been a joy.
“The second thing I’ll miss is the game day atmosphere, especially like that last one against North Hall, and region tournament and state tournament games. You can’t emulate that atmosphere in other parts of you life, and that’s an exciting thing.”
GHS posted a 82-54 record with Nunn at the helm. The Cats reached the state tournament in each of Nunn’s first four seasons. The high watermark for wins came in ’18-’19 with 21.
Gilmer then played for region championships in back-to-back seasons and also earned consecutive trips to the Sweet 16.
“Even going back to my middle school days at Gilmer and in Pickens, there have been some really exciting moments at practices and in games. Knowing that I’ve worked with girls who have gone on to play basketball or other sports in college, it’s so exciting to know that they’ve gotten to do that for their future,” Nunn said.
“My daughter used to laugh, and as she got older she said, ‘I find it so sweet you come home and talk about ‘my girls’ this or ‘my girls’ that like they’re my family.’ And I said, ‘They are.’ I love them like my family, and they will always be part of my family. It’s not just that coaches impact players, those players impact us, too.”
Some former GHS players shared their thoughts on Nunn. Mallory Kiser said, “My favorite thing about Coach Nunn is her willingness to always push you to do better. Whether it was on the court, in school, or in life. She was always in your corner and made you want to be better.”
Anne Elise Williams shared, “Coach Nunn helped me gain confidence in myself on and off the court. She kept our heads held high no matter the outcome of the game.”
Nunn expects to be at plenty of sporting events in the future. For now, she is ready to spend some time with the next generation in retirement. Nunn has four children and eight grandchildren and cannot wait to be around them more.
“I’m looking forward to babysitting and playing with those who are not in school yet,” she said. “Hopefully, I’ll be able to help out by picking up kids at school and going to their ball games.
“A lot of them are in sports now in park and rec, so I’ll get to attend more games and be grandma. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”