Gadsden, AL – Gadsden State Community College has named longtime coach Eddy Norris as the new head basketball coach for the Lady Cardinals. With 34 years of coaching experience at both the collegiate and high school levels, Norris brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to the team.
“I’ve been blessed,” Norris said. “It’s been 34 successful years of coaching, and I’m very proud of that.”
Norris has a longstanding commitment to developing student-athletes both on and off the court. “I want to help develop skills for people so they can do great things for themselves,” he said. “As coaches, we want to inspire others to do great things. We want them to be the best that they can be.”
A 1982 graduate of Sand Rock High School, Norris excelled in football, basketball, baseball, and track. His basketball accolades include being named to the All-State First Team and earning Region 6 and Area 12 Most Valuable Player honors. He also played in the 1982 Alabama North/South All-Star game. His name is etched in Alabama high school basketball history, ranking in the Top 10 in four rebounding categories.
Following high school, Norris played basketball at Snead State Community College, serving as team captain, before transferring to the University of Montevallo. He was named Team MVP and received the Neal Shirley Award for Most Outstanding Student-Athlete in 1986. After graduation, he spent three years coaching at the University of Montevallo before pursuing a doctorate in education at the University of Mississippi.
In 1990, Norris returned to Sand Rock High School, where he had a successful coaching career spanning two decades. He later served as an assistant coach at Albertville High School and spent three years coaching at American Christian Academy in Tuscaloosa while his son, Riley, played basketball for the University of Alabama. His daughter, Jordan, also had a successful athletic career at Jacksonville State University.
In 2023, Norris returned to northeast Alabama to coach basketball at Coosa Christian Academy, leading multiple teams. In addition to basketball, he has coached youth soccer, winning five state championships. Across various sports, Norris has accumulated 1,127 career wins.
Norris’ appointment follows the resignation of former head coach Marty Dixon in December. Dixon, who had coached the Lady Cardinals from 2015 to 2019 and again in 2023, brought Norris on board as an assistant coach to help rebuild the program. Following Dixon’s departure, Norris assumed the head coaching role while maintaining assistant coaching duties.
“It’s not about me,” Norris emphasized. “It’s about the team. We want to turn this program into a competitive program. That’s our mission. We are united as a team. It’s more ‘we’ than ‘me.’”
Currently, the Lady Cardinals stand at 9-10 for the season, following a narrow 62-57 loss to Coastal Alabama Community College on February 3. Despite the setback, Norris remains optimistic.
“They played really hard,” he said. “We fought until the end. We were down by 12 at the half, but we cut the lead to five and made a good run in the fourth quarter. It looks promising moving forward.”
Norris is prioritizing recruiting efforts, which he sees as essential for the team’s long-term success. Recently, six student-athletes have visited Gadsden State, with three more scheduled this week.
“Recruiting is the first step,” Norris said. “The next step is getting them to compete successfully for Gadsden State.”
To support the team’s development, Jackson Millander, Gadsden State’s cross-country coach, has volunteered as an assistant coach, along with team manager Ashton Moody.
“Jackson has been a huge asset,” Norris said. “He and Ashton have both really stepped up to help.”
As he works to shape the future of the Lady Cardinals, Norris is focused on building a cohesive and disciplined team.
“We need continuity,” he said. “Once a good system is in place with a good team playing for one another, we’ll accomplish a lot. We are in the building phase to get there. I know we can do it.”
Under Norris’ leadership, the Lady Cardinals are aiming for a competitive resurgence, with a focus on teamwork, accountability, and success both on and off the court.
