In 25 years of coaching, Chandler Dennard of Bulloch Academy has had many successes. His biggest successes were the kids' lives he touched and helped develop.
“I had some great players and a bunch of kids that worked really hard,” Dennard said. “For me it was all about the kids...I loved coaching them.”
Grice Connect got to interview Coach Dennard, learning his background with sports, the lessons he’s learned and the legacy he hopes to leave upon his retirement.
View the interview questions and answers below.
GC: What is your background in sports? Which ones did you play?
CD: I played 4 sports in high school (5 if you count football through the 9th grade). I played basketball, golf, baseball, and ran track. I was always a sports junkie and grew up in a neighborhood with a bunch of kids my age. Whatever sports season it was, we were outside playing it. Also, I had some older cousins that were great athletes that I grew up watching.
I went to college wanting to be a high school coach. I let my parents talk me out of it; they said there was no money in it. They were right about that. But deep down, I always knew it was something I was meant to do. It was kind of funny. I spent my first 10 years out of college trying to do everything but coach and then finally in 1999, it was like God said, "Okay, Chandler...I'm going to shut the door to every career path you have but one," and that was coaching.
GC: What sport was your favorite to coach and why?
CD: During my coaching career I coached basketball (boys and girls), softball, track, golf, and middle school football. I learned something from every sport I coached, but basketball was always my favorite. I've always loved basketball and was a student of the game from a young age. Coaching basketball is what I knew I was meant to do.
I will tell you this: coaching softball is a close 2nd. Here's a funny story...I think I can tell this now; the statute of limitations has passed. When Coach Clint Morgan (who was the AD at BA at the time) hired me to be the Boys Basketball Coach at BA, I was on the way home after accepting the job and he called me to ask me if I had ever coached softball before. I told him that I hadn't, but that I played baseball in high school, played slow pitch softball, and that my girls played fast pitch softball. He said, "Good. You are now also the new softball coach at BA." I had never coached softball in my life. I immediately went online and ordered every video I could on coaching and teaching girls fast pitch softball.
I remember my first meeting with the softball team (my oldest daughter was a freshman on that team) and I'm telling them all the success that my teams had in basketball. One of my players (Kaylee Lanier) said, "Coach , that's great but have you ever done anything in Softball!" I told her, "Nope, but I've never had a losing season in basketball, and I'm not planning on having one in softball." She said, "That's good enough for me." That team went onto be the State Runner Up in softball in 2006. We never had a losing record in Softball.
GC: What would you say the most important lesson you learned in coaching was?
CD: That if you work hard good things are going to happen. It was a lesson I learned when I was a player in high school. I went to my Dad to complain about my playing time, and after giving him a laundry list of reasons why I should be playing more, he told me that it sounded like to him that I needed to work harder. My Dad was right then, and he was right during my coaching career. I was fortunate to have hard working teams; that's what made them successful.
GC: What group of athletes were most influential in your journey as a coach?
CD: That would be hard to say. I've had a bunch of very special teams. I've got so many players that still keep in touch with me. I cherish those relationships. I've also got a lot of former Assistant Coaches that I still talk to on a weekly basis. Nine of those coaches have one State title of their own. I think I got just as big a thrill out of that as I did winning my own.
GC: Why retire now?
CD: I'm fixing to be 57 years old. I was an assistant coach for a couple years but didn't really get into coaching till I was 32. By that time, I had 2 young girls (Kaylee and Lauren). Most of their childhood and some of my best memories are the bus rides home with the family. They are starting to have kids of their own, and I want to be able to spend time with the grandkids...maybe teaching them how to play.
GC: Do you feel like you’ve accomplished all that you wanted to?
CD: I think so. You always remember the ones that got away. Hindsight is always 20/20, but I feel blessed with the success our teams had and with the consistency we played. I've had a lot of good friends and mentors, who were great coaches, that were not as fortunate as I have been in my career.
Here is a full list of the sports teams and schools Chandler Dennard has coached at:
Brentwood School (1998-2006)
- Served as Assistant Coach in 1998. Head Boys Basketball and Girls Track Coach 1999-2006.
- Boys Basketball - Went to the Final Four 4 straight years 2003-2006. Won State titles in 2003 and 2004.
- Girls Track - Won two State titles and one State Runner.
Bulloch Academy (2006-2017; 2020-2024)
- (2006-2017 Boys Basketball and 2020-2024 Girls Basketball) (Girls Softball 2006-2015)
- Basketball - Took basketball teams to 4 final fours...1 boys and 3 girls. State Runner up with girls in 2022.
- Softball - Went to 4 Final Fours and was state runner up in 2006.
Personal Records
Basketball Overall Records
- 457 wins and 188 loses
- 15 Region Championships
- 9 Final Fours
- 2 State Titles
- 3 time State Coach of the Year
- 3 time Augusta Chronicle Coach of the Year
- In 23 years as a head basketball coach...had one losing season...we went 12-13.
Softball Record
- 4 Final Fours
- 3 Region Titles
- 1 State Runner Up
- In 10 years as a head softball coach...never had a losing season
Track Record
- 6 Region Titles
- 2 State Titles
- 2 State Runners Up
When asked if people could describe Coach Dennard in three words, Dennard said they would call him “competitive, passionate and caring.”
That has been shown through the many years of coaching he has done and the many lives he has been privy to being a part of. Something he hopes the athletes he’s coached learned from him was “to work hard and make the most out of the gifts that God has given you.”