In not-so-shocking news on Tuesday, Lumpkin County Lady Indians coach David Dowse has resigned from his teaching and coaching position following his team’s State Runner-Up finish in Macon last week.

Dowse told local media that he shared the news with his team on Monday.

“52 consecutive years in the classroom as a student and educator,” says Dowse. “I’m just out of juice to make it to 53. I don’t know where my path will lead, maybe coaching, perhaps something else. I just know that my classroom will no longer be defined by four walls and a chalk board. It’s tough because I love our sport and I love the kids.”

The move is not entirely surprising in that Dowse has been seeing this senior class through that includes Mary Mullinax, Lexi Pierce, and Kate Jackson, a trio among the best to ever suit up for Lumpkin County. He guided the program to a 26-5 season and State Runner-Up finish. He inherited a program that hadn’t won more than 7 games in well over a decade before he came on board.

Dowse led the Lady Indians to a 9-win season in 2017-18 to jumpstart the dynasty. That followed with a 17-win season in which the team was ranked #7 in the state at one point. Then a 15-11 2019-20 season that included a playoff berth and #6 ranking. 2020-21 featured a Final 4 trip and 25 wins with a region title and #1 ranking. Last season was a 30-1 campaign with a State Championship, region title, top ranking, and countless memories. With the entire cast back for this season, including Averie Jones and Ciera Brooks, the Lady Indians won the regular season region title and were ranked #1 during the season.

Dowse finishes his Lumpkin tenure with a 6-year record of 122-46 with a State Championship, State Runner-Up, 3 Final 4 runs, 4 overall playoff trips, 3 region titles (regular season or tournament titles), and state rankings in 4 different seasons.