It’s like a flip of a switch — Gina Skelton can go from laid-back to intense in a second. The switch? Whether or not she’s on the basketball court.

Skelton was the girls basketball coach at Quitman when I arrived in Meridian in early 2014, and it wasn’t long afterward that her Lady Panthers were making a run in the MHSAA Class 4A state tournament. The 2015-16 basketball season was a sweet one for the Quitman girls, who finished 27-6 overall, 12-0 in Region 5-4A, and defeated Florence 58-48 to capture the Class 4A state championship.

It was the fourth title she’s won as a coach, and following that season, Skelton returned home to Wayne County, where she now coaches the Lady War Eagles. On Jan. 5, Wayne County’s 58-17 win against East Central gave Skelton 900 career wins over the span of 40 years coaching the sport she loves. Even before we spoke Sunday afternoon, I knew Skelton would be quick to credit her surrounding cast, and she did exactly that.

“What do these milestones mean to you?” I asked her, and her response was both humorous and gracious: “That I’m old and have had really great players and assistants. I don’t take credit for all of those wins in any way. I’ve been very fortunate and blessed. I’ve had some of the best assistants you can imagine, and they don’t get enough credit, and they deserve that credit.”

I had the pleasure of observing Skelton while she was coaching at Quitman, and it was quite clear none of her players would be taking any shortcuts during practice, and if they made a mistake during a game, they were going to hear about it. Skelton is an intense coach. What stood out, though, is you could always tell just how much she loves her players, even during moments they might be getting scolded. And her players played hard for her, both because they love her and because it was what was expected of them.

Once she’s off the basketball court, Skelton is one of the friendliest, most down-to-earth people you’ll meet, so I had to ask if others have pointed out the sharp contrast in personality.

“Even my friends will tell you that, when I go into what the girls call ‘coach mode,’” Skelton said with a chuckle. 

Like all high school coaches, Skelton has had to navigate trying to get through a season during the COVID-19 pandemic. She admitted the weight of that task has been heavy — to the point where she hadn’t thought about getting win No. 900 for several weeks before that East Central game on Jan. 5.

“We’ve had so many games get canceled, we were all just so happy to be able to play,” Skelton said. “From one day to the next, we don’t know if games will be canceled or which kids will be playing. We’ve only played six games, and I don’t think I’ve had all of my players in any of those games. It’s an awful feeling. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so unprepared, and for a coach that’s just really difficult.”

Her team isn’t in tip-top playing shape, Skelton said, and the only way to improve conditioning at this point is to keep playing games.

“We’ve tried to stay positive,” Skelton said. “Basketball is such a long season that by the time you get to division play, everyone is kind of tired. The way we’ve tried to look at it is, other teams that have been able to play may be tired, and we’ll just be getting started and hopefully peaking at the right time.”

The thing that keeps Skelton going is what’s kept her going for four decades: a love for teaching the game’s fundamentals.

“It’s really exciting to me when you work on something with the girls, then all of a sudden you see the light bulb turn on and it clicks,” Skelton explained. “That’s such a good feeling, just working with the kids. They keep you young, and there’s always something different every day. There’s never a dull moment.”

Forty years in the same profession has made Skelton appreciate other aspects of coaching, such as the competitiveness and the people she’s met throughout her career. Skelton has a special affinity for her fellow coaches, and she said it’s one of the things that has made her career so rewarding.

“It’s just a special camaraderie-ship,” Skelton said. “No one else understands what we go through. When I do decide to hang up the whistle, besides missing the teaching, competition, players and assistants, I’ll miss that camaraderie-ship. No matter where I am in the state, if I have a flat tire or my car is broken down, someone will be close by that we know — and that’s not just basketball. I’ve met so many coaches in the profession, from football to softball to baseball.”

Normally, I would have followed that question up with a question about whether she knows when she might “hang up the whistle,” but something else piqued my curiosity. I asked her what she thought she might have done if she hadn’t become a coach, and I usually expect a long pause whenever I ask this question. She answered it right away.

“Honestly, my second career choice would have been the military,” Skelton said. “My dad was in the Navy. I like the order, the organization, the challenge of physical fitness and all of that.”

Not a surprising answer, nor was it surprising when I saw Skelton had gotten win No. 900. She’s always quick to credit others, and deservedly so, but I imagine the passion she feels for basketball and for her players has a lot to do with reaching that milestone, too. Congratulations, Coach Skelton. I hope the rest of the Lady War Eagles’ season goes on with as few hiccups as possible. 

Drew Kerekes is the sports editor at The Meridian Star. He can be reached at dkerekes@themeridianstar.com.