Georgia College & State University

"Despite what some of these disrespectful and untrue posts say, Gretchen is a great coach. She puts all of her heart into coaching and you can see it. Even when and if I don’t believe in myself, Gretchen shows that she does. If she is not coaching, she is planning an event for Georgia College Athletics or helping another coach with something. Her goal is to create the best student-athlete experience and she has accomplished it. If a player is slacking on their academics, she holds us accountable. She is not perfect, but no one is. Her door is always open for you to talk about anything you are dealing with. She understands a lot because she was a college athlete too. She cares about so much more than the wins and loses unlike what another post said. She cares about her team so much and we can tell. Gretchen has done so much for the volleyball program and athletic program as a whole and she will be missed so much! "

"Gretchen believed in me when I didn’t ever believe in myself. She has also been understanding, and always puts her whole heart into everything she does. She’s not perfect of course but her love for this program overshadows everything. Life’s not perfect and we have one gym so our schedule isn’t always perfect and she’s not the best communicator but if you ask her she’ll tell you. You have opportunities to talk with her ab problems and what you know you want to work on. You will receive the same attitude that you give to her, and respect is a big deal with her. She makes it known she’s here for us, and does a lot for our program. I’m forever thankful for how much she has changed my life."

"Coach Gretchen was one of the most real coaches I’ve had. She is strong and passionate for the sport and she showed that in her coaching. She was intense at times but that’s all a part of the game, especially at this level. She made it her goal to connect with her players and give them a good school/sport experience and I’d say she achieved that very well. I’ve had many coaches but when it comes to the ones that have made me stronger and given me a healthier mentality, I had Gretchen. Thank you for making sacrifices for us and growing us as a team. You are appreciated a ton, and you will be missed. "

"My experience with Gretchen has been a very difficult one. I, as a player already struggling with mental health issues, went into a very dark place during my time as her player. Everyday, I would wake up and have a knot in my stomach from the dread of practice. I felt like I could never make any mistake, and if I did there would be a punishment. This was the kind of environment where I struggled to grow as a player and was unable to find any enjoyment in my sport. Gretchen is the sort of coach who only cares about her self image, and not the welfare of her players. If we won, there would be no practice, but if we lost, we would have such a gruelling practice that players would hurt themselves. She saw her coaching style as what was best for us to win, but in reality I was destroying our mental health and breaking our team apart. I believe Gretchen needs to take a step back and look at how her actions affect others, not just how they benefit herself. Overall, being her player made me almost quit volleyball and I think she needs to be evaluated before she really damages a player"

"I had coach Belcher as a pitching coach. When it comes to knowledge and experience, and a coach who truly cares about his players, you won’t find any better than coach Belcher. "