Unwrapping a Program

Tory Wooley and Chase Teichmann crossed off numerous items from their wish lists well before people began shopping during this holiday season.

And the Georgia Gwinnett College basketball coaches have brought joy, excitement and, so far, plenty of wins to the Office of Athletics, campus and Lawrenceville community as the Grizzlies have tipped off their inaugural men’s and women’s seasons in the new Convocation Center.

The teams’ first games took place on the same night, October 23, with much excitement and fanfare, and the college celebrated Grizzlyfest two days later with another basketball doubleheader – with four exuberant victories.

Both teams have continued to enjoy success this season. Wooley’s women’s team won five of its eight home games, including the program’s first victory over a ranked NAIA opponent. Meanwhile, Teichmann has guided the men’s squad to a No. 25 national ranking and 10-3 record. The team has scored over 100 points in three of its five home games.

Building their programs from scratch meant the coaches had to purchase everything from the college’s first basketballs to practice equipment and everything in between. They also had significant input on designing game-day uniforms, formulated challenging schedules, and, most importantly, recruited the first group of players that’s proudly represented the Grizzlies on campus and within the community.

“It was a lot of hard work getting the program up and running, but it definitely has been special and worth all the effort,” says Wooley, who came to GGC after spending 11 seasons as head coach at his alma mater, Point University (Georgia). “I’m not just a program builder; I’m a people builder. Building this program with the right people and right pieces is special. It has taken a lot of patience. I thought we did a good job of bringing in the right pieces (players and staff).”

Teichmann adds, “I got to build this program and team exactly the way I wanted to from day one. That was very enticing to me … I never thought I would be in the situation of building a program, but I’m glad that we’re done with the leg work and have gotten down to practicing, getting better every day, and then playing games.”

Teichmann was familiar with five of the incoming players from his days leading Florida College to national rankings, Continental Athletic Conference championships and postseason play in the NAIA national tournament. He had a 100-27 record in four seasons as the Falcons’ head coach.

Wooley and Teichmann were hired 15 months before their teams’ first games. They both hit the ground running and welcomed the opportunity to settle into learning more about GGC and Gwinnett County area.

“Having the year to build the program really helped with high school recruiting,” says Teichmann. “With the transfer portal, you don’t really know who is going to be out there until March. That gave me time to familiarize myself with the area and establish relationships with high school coaches and teams.”

Wooley adds, “It is a testament to the administration that they gave us time to build the program and do it the right way. We were not rushing things.”

Both coaches were fortunate that helpful advice on the formative steps for their programs could be found within the GGC athletic program that started in 2012-13. Men’s soccer head coach Steve DeCou and softball head coach Kat Ihlenburg established the building blocks of their successful programs. 

“Both Steve and Kat have been amazing. If I have a question, I shoot them a text or call them, along with the other coaches. It takes a team effort,” states Wooley, who has guided GGC to a 7-5 record.

Teichmann recalls, “Early on, I leaned on others more than lately. Everyone was very willing to help. Steve could recall what I was going through with aspects of the job, moving a family to a new area and life experiences. Those conversations were invaluable.”

One of the biggest and most visible decisions both coaches made was the design of their teams’ uniforms.

The coaches weren’t the only people who were busy preparing for the inaugural basketball seasons. Office of Athletics and Convocation Center staff members visited other University of Georgia System colleges with basketball teams to seek advice about staff needs and responsibilities for home games. Administrators also reviewed basketball schedules so that they didn’t conflict with GGC’s academic calendar or overlap with home fall and spring sports seasons.

Georgia Gwinnett College Athletics now has eight intercollegiate teams. They have won 21 NAIA national championships and 34 conference titles – and hope to add even more in the future.