Ep. 22 – Leadership Focus Series #1 – Coach Susie Gardner
In this inaugural episode for the Leadership Podcast Series, Mercer Hall of Fame Coach Susie Gardner talks about her evolution as a coach/leader from the late 80s early 90s to the modern day, her ‘why’ and her non-negotiables, and how she develops leadership in her players. She also talks about the important questions she asks parents and players while recruiting that would lead to key insight on the character of the player being recruited.
Coach Gardner’s Bio:
Coach Susie Gardner has an extensive basketball coaching career developing basketball players and leaders. She started at Andersen Junior College in South Carolina before working as an assistant at San Diego State University. She then took the Head Coach Position at Austin Peay State University, where her teams compiled a 112-93 record, including three consecutive NCAA post-season births, the 2003 OVC regular season title, and “Coach of the Year Honors” that same year in the OVC.
After Austin Peay in 2003, Gardner moved to the SEC and became the Head Coach at the University of Arkansas. During her 4 year tenure, Gardner led them to their best start in school history going 15-1 in 2007 and a top 20 ranking, and produced Arkansas’ first SEC player of the year in Shameka Christon.
Gardner then spent three seasons (2007-10) as an Assistant Coach under Florida Head Coach Amanda Butler, helping guide the team to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2009.
Coach Gardner was then named the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Mercer University in 2010. The Bears saw seven postseason tournaments, four NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournaments, two WNIT appearances and two WBIT appearances.
During 2017-2018, Mercer had its first 30-win season while going undefeated in the regular season and winning the Southern Conference regular season and tournament titles. The 2018-2019 season was similarly successful, with her team winning the regular season and tournament titles, with Coach Gardner being named Coach of the Year and two of her players earning Player of the Year honors.
Overall, Gardner spent 14 years at Mercer where she garnered a 247-189 overall record making her the all-time winningest coach in Mercer program history.
Coach Gardner has also written a children’s book called “1, 2, 3, Team,” which teaches the importance of working together and being a good teammate!