If you go to Fannin County High School basketball games, then you know Randy Hallmark.
Hallmark is assistant to Fannin County High School girls head coach Ryan Chastain. Together, they led the team to the A Division 1 Georgia High School Association State Basketball Championship over Banks County in 2025. The season included a 16-0 region record, and a 29-2 overall record.
Hallmark, 73, is a well-known and well-respected coach. He’s spent 54 years leading young people to success. He is not going anywhere.
“My goal is to do six more years and whatever happens, happens. I’m at 54 now,” he said. “I love watching them play and when you see them work hard and see them successful. It just makes you feel good. I enjoy working with Ryan.”
Retired from teaching world history since 2010, he has spend 14 years in Fannin sports. Coaching keeps him feeling young and it gives him something to do.
“I've watched all the Perry Mason reruns that I can stand,” he said.
Sports has been a part of his life since he was a child.
Growing up in a military family, he went to four high schools. Cascade High School in Everett, Washington, Newburgh Free Academy in Newburgh, New York, Washingtonville High School in Washingtonville, New York, and Etowah High school in Gadsden, Alabama. He graduated from there in 1971. He wrestled and ran track there. He played linebacker and center for each high school football team.
His football coach at Washingtonville was Dallas Cowboy guard Dale Memmelaar. “He allowed me to use his shoulder pads that he had when he played for Dallas because I was the only one that they would fit,” he said.
Memmelaar taught him that a coach always is there when things aren’t going right and to talk nicely to players when they do something wrong.
He loves football and basketball the most because they are fast paced.
He first began coaching football in 1971 at the Etowah high school as a senior. He also coached basketball for the first time at Hinson Middle School in Gadsden.
His first teaching job was at Bullock Memorial in Union Springs, Alabama, in 1980 coaching offense and defensive line in football, boys basketball and golf. He helped lead the golf team to a state championship that year.
In 1981, he moved to Pepperell High School in Rome. He coached football and was a first time girls basketball head coach.
He said those seasons were mediocre. “I had to work to figure it out,” he said.
It was there he received the best piece of advice he’s every had: find what you can do best and do that and then you work from there.
“In my case, I was looking to play better defense. I didn't worry too much about the offense as much as I did the defense. That’s kind of where I've been the whole time. Let's build our defense and then we'll put the offense around it,” he said.
In 1986, he landed in Rebel country teaching world history. For four seasons, he coached offensive and defensive lines and secondary, with Rebel football coach Marty Jackson. He also coached boys basketball three years.
His last five years in Fannin County, he coached with Duane Hedden at the Fannin County Middle School. At one point, they had 30-1 run.
“Duane gave me the defense and he took the offense,” he said. He also coached boys middle school basketball.
“Everybody kept asking us one question. How come y'all aren't at the high school? Because we were winning,” he said.
He and Hedden were close. “We'd fish together. We'd hunt together. We'd get in trouble together. I still today miss him,” he said.
In 1994, he moved to Stockbridge High School. He coached girls basketball there.
In 1999, he taught world history at Lovejoy High School. He coached girls basketball. His first year was as an assistant under Mike Maddox. The team made the state playoffs. His time there included appearances in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. They never had a losing season.
He started the volleyball program at Lovejoy. He coached it four seasons.
In 2006, he moved to Jackson High School in Jackson, Georgia. He coached girls basketball and made the playoffs one season.
Then, came retirement. But not from sports.
For the Fannin recreation department, he coached a 10-and-under all-star basketball team to a state championship. This team included such players as future Lady Rebel state champions Maggie Ledford, Izzy Jabaley and record scoring leader Reese Lewis, and Copper Basin Lady Cougars record scoring leader Alexis Hyatt, Riley Akens and Kloie Ballew.
“Nobody even came close to beating us. There is not a soul that could touch us,” he said.
He hasn’t coached recreation ball since that team. “When you win the state championship, you kind of have to back off,” he said jokingly.
Hallmark loves being an assistant coach and says the secret is realizing it's not your program, it's the head coach’s program and you're helping him with that program. It can't be I want to do it this way. It's got to be what's going to be best for us as a whole. And do it that way.”
As a head coach, it’s different. ”You've got to make a decision on which you want to do. If you got a good assistant that can say, hey, this could work out better this way. Then you can listen to it and maybe add to it,” he said.
When he is not coaching, he enjoys fishing and cruising. And, spending time with his family.