By By Matthew Nascone
Coaching children in the sport of basketball is what gets Andy Gorum going. The new head girls basketball coach at Escambia Academy has 17 years experience in shaping young players' minds, but he said he does it for the love of watching the children have fun.
"I enjoy working with kids," Gorum said. "And I like watching them while they play the game."
Having retired from coaching the Escambia County Middle School girls basketball team in May of 2005, Gorum said he got bored and wanted to come back.
Gorum is taking over a program that won the state championship in the AISA Class 2A division two years in a row from 2003-05. The team was knocked out in the late rounds of the tournament last year and Gorum said he wants to keep the success going, but the reality is that it may take a couple of years for the team to get back to winning titles.
"I know we lost a lot of players last year," Gorum said. "And right now we have a lot of guards and not many post players. I will look to condition them and get them ready for the season. I hate to use a clich/, but I believe this year could be a rebuilding year for us."
The style Gorum coaches is a very simple one.
"Basically, I like to condition the girls a lot," he said. "Because if we get defeated, I don't want it to be because we ran out of gas. Second, I learn each player's strengths and weaknesses because I have to know where to put them on the court."
Gorum was born in Atmore, raised in Huxford and he has lived in Atmore for about 20 years now. He played basketball for Huxford from the fifth grade to the ninth grade and he was an Atmore Blue Devils for his 10th and 11th grade years. He did not continue with basketball after his junior year of high school.
He did continue his education past junior year and after graduation from ECHS in 1969 he went on to receive a Bachelor of Science in social studies and physical education from the University of South Alabama in 1976. Two years later he received a master's degree in social studies, with an emphasis on history from Troy University.
Gorum said when he is not in the classroom or on the court he likes to partake in a little outdoor fun.
"I hunt or fish for anything that walks, swims, crawls or flies," he said.
He has been married to his wife Wanda for 25 years and they have three children. Lindsey, 24, is a graduate from the University of Alabama, 21-year-old Aaron is the currently pursuing his double major at Troy and Megan, 17, is home schooled.
Gorum said taking charge of a program with such rich tradition would be a tough task. But he said it will be a fun ride and he hopes to continue the winning ways of the Lady Cougar basketball team.