SAVANNAH, Ga. () — Savannah Country Day boys tennis coach Lamar Kirkley celebrated 50 years of coaching and teaching and he says he’s not done yet.

The school held an event in his honor on Thursday evening. Coach Kirkley will begin his 24th year of coaching the boys’ tennis team this year. Each season his squad has made the playoffs. They have won 15 region championships, Reached the Elite Eight five times and finished as state runners-up three times, including in 2023.

He has also coached varsity football, middle school football, varsity track, varsity boys basketball, and varsity boys and girls cross country. He told News 3 coaching is about more than wins and losses.

“I teach pre-K through fifth [grade] and then I see them grow up, go all the way through school,” Kirkley said. “Then I see them graduate. Then I see them go to college and graduate. And then I’ve got a ton of them here that I have their kids now. I’ve got one family that I taught the grandparents, their sons and the grandkids that were here tonight. Three generations.”

Coach Kirkley will start his 24th season as the boy’s varsity tennis coach in a couple of weeks.