By Gene Stanley/Sports Correspondent
Girls basketball coach Kim Nails recently passed the 500-win milestone for her career, which encompasses coaching at Gadsden High, Gadsden State and most recently, Southside High.
“It’s for my whole career, counting Gadsden State,” the 1984 Glencoe High graduate said. “It just means I’ve been at it for a whole lot of years.”
Nails’ career started in 1989, helping Danny Kimble at Gadsden High. The next season, she was tabbed as the Lady Tigers’ head coach, and there’s been no looking back.
“I’ve had the opportunity to work with a lot of kids and I hope I’ve had a positive impact on some of them,” she said. “A long time ago, a lot of people invested a lot of time and energy on my behalf and I got into coaching to share that investment with other kids.”
Plenty of those were wins. At Gadsden High, she accumulated a 270-79 record in 12 seasons. She led the Tigers to four Final Four appearances.
In seven seasons at Gadsden State, she had a 146-45 record. The Cardinals won two Alabama Community College Conference state titles under Nails’ tutelage.
Nails took over the Southside program for the 2007-08 season.
Nails was inducted into the Etowah County Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.
She played basketball for four years at Glencoe High and was selected to the All-Etowah County and all-area teams for four years and as an all-state player for two years.
Nails also lettered in volleyball, tennis and track for the Yellow Jackets.
Nails attended Jacksonville State University, where she lettered as a point guard for four years. Nails was a member of the All-Gulf South Conference Academic Team for three seasons and an NCAA Division II Academic All-American for two years. She was the Gamecocks’ team captain on the first JSU women’s team to make the NCAS Division II National Tournament.
“I look at it more as sharing what I know with the kids more than the wins and losses, which take care of themselves,” Nails said.