MARIETTA — She’s been known as “the General,” “Mama Love,” and “Coach Love.” Now, the tennis courts she led for decades will be known for her.
Cheryl Godsey Love was a teacher, coach, and powerhouse at Marietta High School for the 43 years she worked there. Though Love retired in 2010, her legacy has lived on through the countless students she inspired in her tenure.
One of those is Marietta City Councilman Johnny Walker, who graduated from Marietta High in 1978. Though Walker was never coached by Love, he said the tennis courts could not have a more fitting name.
“She’s the most wonderful teacher in this community that I probably know,” Walker said. “She was a force of nature then and she’s a force of nature now.”
The 10 tennis courts that sit on Marietta’s campus are unique, and, according to Betsy Kelley, who is one of Love’s former tennis players, all thanks to Love.
“She’s the reason we have 10 courts and nobody else in the state of Georgia does,” Kelley said. “She’s been such a supporter of the Marietta city school system for years, and years, and years.”