The Tim Goodson Gymnasium is Official

By: Shelia Mader

In the small rural community of Jackson County, there are names that immediately appear associated with an area of the county. Whether it’s farming, business, sports, or any other area, certain names are forever engrained with that culture. For girls’ high school basketball, the name that stands above all others is Coach Tim Goodson.

For those who don’t know his history, Goodson coached girls’ basketball at Marianna High School where his teams earned three, not one or two, but three state championships under his tutelage. Goodson was a 1953-born alumnus of the very school he led those three teams to repeated state championships. The 1980s set the bar high for girls basketball in Jackson County and it remains unmatched today. The three banners hanging in the Coach Tim Goodson Gymnasium will forever be a testament to a decade that hasn’t been repeated since.

They captured back-to-back championships in 1984 and 1985 before closing out the decade with the 1989 State Championship.

Last Friday night, family, friends, former players and students gathered at Marianna High School for the unveiling and official naming of the gymnasium.

Goodson’s widow, Myrlene Goodson held back tears as she spoke of the love her husband had for the game, the teams, and the individual players. Goodson said, “My husband struggled and worked 10 years in coaching as a double amputee. And his motto was ‘Don’t quit’. He was home from the hospital just four weeks and reported to work, and it was indeed a pleasure to support him. The respect those girls showed him let me know he was in the right place and doing the right thing.”