Sarah Gizzi steps down as New Palestine girls basketball coach: 'Her impact has been huge'
Following a record-setting run as a player and a highly successful tenure as head coach, Sarah Gizzi is stepping down as New Palestine girls basketball coach, according to the Greenfield Daily Reporter.
It was a tough decision, Gizzi told the Daily Reporter, but it's the right time to step away. "It’s so near and dear to my heart. That’s what makes it hard."
"There will be a little bit less pressure and a little less planning, but I’ll definitely be in the gym a lot," Sarah said. "I told the girls I will be at a lot of their games, and look forward to coming back and watching them and making sure they’re doing OK."
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Gizzi went 98-51 over her six seasons as head coach with two sectional titles and five sectional finals appearances — three of which came with her daughter, Saint Francis commit Isabella, on the roster. She made the decision after accepting a new position in the Southern Hancock School Corporation and in order to watch her children (Maximus, Isabella and Julius) play.
Gizzi (née Haynes) shined at New Palestine as a player in the early 1990s. She set the school scoring records for a game (36), season (468) and career (1,612), pulled in 670 rebounds and led the Dragons to two sectional championships (1992, 1993). A member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame's 2019 girls basketball Silver Anniversary Team, Gizzi was an Indiana All-Star and valedictorian her senior year, and tabbed second team AP All-State.
More:She broke her mom's New Pal scoring record. Now Isabella Gizzi has her brother's in sight.
“Her impact on our program has been huge," New Palestine athletic director — and Gizzi's high school coach — Al Cooper told the Daily Reporter. "(Someone like Sarah) doesn’t come around that often, that kind of person, that kind of leader for your program. I know she loved it and it was a difficult decision for her. We’re going to miss her leadership and what she provided for us.”
Gizzi led New Pal to sectional championships in two of her first three seasons as head coach, ending a 14-year drought with a title in 2018. The Dragons' 2020 sectional championship came with Isabella on the roster as a freshman. The defensively stout guard averaged just 11 points her first season (14 a year later), then emerged as an explosive scorer as an upperclassman, totaling 1,043 points over her final two seasons.
Isabella broke her mom's single-game scoring record as a junior (40 points vs. Southport), then her single-season scoring record as a senior (592 points) to surpass both her mom and older brother (Maximus) as the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,676 career points.
"It's been the most special thing ever to get to coach her," Sarah said of Isabella in December. "She's so tenacious, and it's really cool that we've gotten to enjoy this (time together)."
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana girls basketball: Sarah Gizzi resigns as New Palestine coach
