Coaches provide lessons on court, in life

Horton, who has been with GCT for 20 years including 16 years as the head or assistant coach, said the game has changed since she started coaching.

The game did not have rally scoring, teams played to 15 and players would serve the ball to a certain area, the coach said.

Since then, the game has picked up in both speed and intensity and Horton said the players in Northeast Arkansas have started seeing more honors.

She said when she started, teams from Northwest Arkansas like Siloam Springs were the top teams in the state. Now, the 5A East is the toughest conference in the state, Horton said, noting a blended conference with 6A teams has made teams work smarter and harder.

Horton said GCT has had volleyball for 23 years and is considered the babies of the conference. The team has caught up with the skill level of other teams that have been around longer and has been to the state tournament several times.

She said the team has also worked to compete against teams like Jonesboro, Valley View and Marion, while it can be intimidating.

Teaching players

Horton said it can be sometimes daunting to teach players in today’s world, but it can be enjoyable.

She noted a coach can work with 22 kids, with a different upbringing, morals, values, find a way to blend everything together, and finding a way to win with humility. She said she has also been blessed with players that have good grades.

Horton said the 35 years has also been a learning experience and that she will miss it due to being a competitor.

“The kids have changed my life,” Horton said.

A pair of her players said Horton has also helped to provide lessons on the court as well as lessons in life.

Ellie Stanford said the best thing about Horton is her involvement in her player’s lives and that she is always happy, loving and understanding.

Ella Gay said Horton also has been fair to people, willing to teach lessons.

Those lessons are often quotes on a blackboard every day. Horton said she provides those lessons to help mold the players into becoming better adults and that the message is simple.

“I’ll take a good kid over a good athlete, any day,” Horton said.

Track, softball coach to retire

Horton is not the only coach set to retire this year at GCT.

Softball and track coach Dean Livingston is also retiring after 34 years in education.

Livingston, who also teaches eighth grade science, has been at GCT for 25 years and was at Delaplaine for nine years before that.

He said he has enjoyed his career and will miss seeing the kids compete. Livingston’s teams won five state titles at Delaplaine, at the time, one of the smallest schools in Arkansas.

He said his best memory in coaching was winning the first state title at the event in Hot Springs and that it was especially important for the kids and for a small school.

Later, the team went to a track meet in Jonesboro to compete against 6A and 7A schools. Livingston said the team was not intimidated and finished second in that meet.

Livington said he plans to continue working when he retires.

“My hobby is working,” Livingston said, noting he has mowed yards for 25 years in the summer and has worked as a part-time lumberjack.

What’s next

Horton said she plans to spend time with her family when she retires. That time includes a special goal of becoming a kidney donor for her husband, Michael.

Horton said her husband is now down to about 12 percent use with the kidney and needs a living donor. She recently went to BJC Healthcare in St. Louis and has passed all of the tests.

She expects to learn more about the results in about a week.

Horton said she will also be trading in volleyball matches for grandparents days as well as visiting her three children and three grandchildren.