He's stepping away as one of Colorado's coaching greats.
After 37 years leading his teams on the court, Gary Childress is finally retiring from high school basketball.
Over his long career, Childress won over 500 games at six different schools, becoming just the eleventh head man in state history to reach that mark. He's now 9th all-time with 512 victories.
"It means the world to me, because coaching was all that I wanted to do from the time I was little," Childress said. "To be able to make coaching my life's work has been a huge blessing."
Childress is perhaps best known for his time at Grandview High School, where he spent sixteen years. During that time, he led the Wolves to three final four appearances and four elite eights.
In state, he also coached at Limon, Yuma and Palisade before ending his career with three more years at Vista Peak.
On top of that, Childress spent two years at Ferndale High Scool in Washington.
Despite the impressive resume, the accomplishments on the floor were never his only priority.
"I would sincerely hope that my legacy would be that I helped young men become better basketball players, while helping to make their teams better," Childress said. "But, most of all, I hope (my legacy) would be partnering with the other adults in their lives to help them grow into men of high character and integrity."
In his 37 years, Childress led his schools to a total of eight elite eight appearances and five final four berths.
"I guess the most important lesson I learned was that of servant leadership," Childress said. "It's not about any one player or any one coach, but it's about serving others. A coach has an awesome responsibility to help young people at a very formative age."
He may have won 500 games, but it's the similar number of young adults he impacted that Childress will remember in his retirement.
