“Life’s Been Pretty Good”
Words and music by Leonard Running
with Ms. Ulin’s 5th Grade Class
©2022 Leonard Running
Life’s been pretty good for Coach Tim Gusso;
A favorite of the Spearfish Spartan teams;
He showed us with a little heart and hustle,
There isn’t any goal that’s too extreme
Tim came to Spearfish looking for some knowledge
Maybe use his skills at basketball –
Took classes when BH was still a college
And learned that books and lessons were not all.
Yes, life’s been pretty good for Coach Tim Gusso;
He found out early coaching was his thing.
To help his players use their brains and muscle
And feel the satisfaction winning brings.
Then along the way Tim married Kathy;
They had four children and each one’s a jewel.
Then Tim became the ice man, he was happy
I guess that’s why we think he’s pretty cool.
Yes, life’s been pretty good for Coach Tim Gusso;
He knows that basketball is just a game.
But die-hard fans have fire in each corpuscle
And if you lose nobody knows your name.
And now Tim’s life is somewhat less demanding;
He’s out to see the world and have some fun.
There aren’t too many buckets he’s left standing,
Except maybe to shoot a hole in one.
Life’s been pretty good for Coach Tim Gusso;
A favorite of the Spearfish Spartan teams;
He showed us with a little heart and hustle,
There isn’t any goal that’s too extreme
There isn’t any goal that’s too extreme!
Tim Gusso was born on June 4th, 1951, in Watertown, South Dakota to Norman and Delores Gusso. He has three brothers and one sister – Nick, Cork, Tammy, and Chad. Tim went to a small school in Florence, South Dakota and only had about 11 kids in his whole grade. Most of his favorite memories from school were centered around playing sports like basketball, baseball, and track. He has a few funny memories from his childhood. The first was when his older brother wouldn’t stop teasing him about having girlfriends, so to get back at him, he put his baseball bat in his brother’s new bike spokes. He also remembers one time at recess, he was playing basketball and shot an airball and it ended up hitting his 2nd grade teacher right in the head!
While attending high school, Tim was active in basketball, baseball and track. After graduating high school in 1969, he attended Black Hills State when it was still a college. He played basketball and baseball during his 4 years there. He went to school to be a teacher and a coach – which had always been his dream. He was inducted in the BHSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.
Mr. Gusso’s first job out of college was in Lake Andes as a teacher and a coach. In 1985, he started teaching and coaching at Spearfish High School. His favorite part of coaching basketball was the preparation for games, the practices, and of course, winning! Throughout his teaching career, he taught business, accounting, and technology. At one point, he also owned the Ice Business in the Black Hills which was one of his favorite jobs! This went full circle as his kids helped with the business and now, one of his grandchildren, Drew, works there in the summer!
Tim married Kathy after meeting her at BHSU. They will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this year! Together, they have four children – TJ, Amy, Dominic, and Emilee. He is proud of each of them for their accomplishments in their adult lives. He also has ten grandchildren (his oldest being our teacher, Miss Ulin) that keep his life and heart full.
Tim retired in 2015 after being a teacher for 41 years and a coach for many of them as well. He now enjoys going golfing as much as he can in the summer, (one thing on his bucket list is to make a hole-in-one!) He also loves watching his favorite baseball team, the Atlanta Braves – especially this year when they won the World Series! Tim and Kathy also love traveling to see their children and grandchildren.
Mr. Gusso has lived in Spearfish for the past 37 years plus his time in college and has made a difference in so many people’s lives. The most important piece of advice that Tim gave us was that it doesn’t cost anything to be kind to everyone around you!