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44 maconmagazine.com | October/November 2024 G e r a l d F i t c h nucleus of my family. That was the main reason why I began coaching here, and I'm so thankful that I did it. My family is the best thing that could ever happen to me, and I enjoy being close with them and experiencing life with them. What's your coaching philosophy? How does this translate to off the court? Basketball is temporary and it's just a road to something greater, and the greatest thing is your life. So, I'm teaching them how to be young men, I try to teach them how to be disciplined, respectful – all of the things that I know they can take with them. I don't approach it as a basketball coach, I approach it as a life coach. I've had 29 coaches in my life, and I know that four stuck with me because they had different types of relationships with me, which were much bigger than just basketball. It's easy to just be a basketball coach and say, do this, do that. But that doesn't benefit their life 10 years down the line. I workout with them. I play ball with them. They're always talking about how H E R O E S A M O N G U S C C e n t ra l G e o r g i a Te c h n i c a l C o l l e g e M e n's B a s ke t b a l l H e a d C o a c h a n d As s i s t a n t At h l e t i c D i r e c to r INTERVIEW BY TALEEN HANNA | PHOTOS BY MATT ODOM oach Gerald Fitch grew up in Macon with a strong love for basketbal, graduating from Westside High Schooll. A er playing for the renowned University of Kentucky in college, Fitch had opportunities to play for the NBA and went on to a successful overseas career, playing basketball professionally for nearly 15 years. With this wide range of experiences playing basketball with the pros, Fitch has returned home to coach the Central Georgia Technical College (CGTC) Men's Basketball team. His attitude is teaching his players about more than just the game. Tell us about the first time you played basketball. I remember it pretty vividly; I was around four years old and I had a neighbor who used to have a basketball net. A group of people in the neighborhood would play and I would watch. I was nervous because everyone else was older than me; but I was still trying to play. Immediately, it was easy to do. That's what made me like it a lot, because I could make the shots and dribble the ball easily. I fell in love with it early because I was good at it. How has Macon played a part in your life? I'm originally from Columbus, GA, but we moved here when I was in second grade. We moved a few places around Macon. One of the places I stayed was Murphey Homes, and I have a lot of childhood memories there because it had easy access to the gym. I had a lot of support growing up and coming up in my basketball career. Macon pushed me to be successful and wanted to see me do well. What led you back here, to coach at Central GA Technical College? I had been overseas and when I used to visit, I had strange feelings – as if my family didn't know me, since I was away so much. To me, playing, it didn't seem that long. But that [was] two years. I would come home for a month, and I just started feeling as if I was losing touch with my family. One thing that I wanted to do when I retired was be close to my family. So, when this opportunity with Central Georgia Tech came about, I thought it was perfect because I would be in the