West Lauderdale volleyball coach Matt Lum is pictured during the Lady Knights’ home game against Clarkdale Monday evening.

West Lauderdale girls basketball coach Matt Lum had previously expressed interest to school administrators in coaching volleyball should the sport be adopted at some point.

Following the elimination of slow-pitch softball by the Mississippi High School Activities Association after the 2019 slow-pitch season, the Lauderdale County School District chose to offer volleyball as a fall girls sport in its member high schools. Fortunately for West Lauderdale, it didn’t have to look far.

In the mid-2000s, Lum coached volleyball at DeSoto Central High School, and he had no hesitation about picking up additional coaching duties for the current school year.

“I believe I’m the only one with any experience, so it just fell into place,” Lum said. “This is my 19th year (teaching), and every school I’ve been at I’ve coached multiple sports, so it’s something I’m used to.”

The Lady Knights’ season is now underway, and Lum said he has no regrets about agreeing to coach the sport.

“It’s fun,” Lum said. “It’s similar to basketball in that the action is non-stop and up-temp. Things have been going well.”

Three of Lum’s basketball players, as well as several girls who used to play slow-pitch, have joined the team. One of them, sophomore Math Blackwell, started playing beach volleyball at Bulldog beach this summer and decided to join West Lauderdale’s volleyball team once she found out the school district was adopting the sport.

“I was really excited,” Blackwell said. “It challenges you mentally. It’s different than any other sport because it’s not as much about conditioning as it is the plays you choose to take.”

Lum has found that all of his players have taken a liking to volleyball since practices began.

“They’re very enthusiastic each day,” Lum said. “We’ve been practicing for a while now and are finally excited to start playing.”

While he’s known for his intensity when coaching basketball, Lum said he’s still vocal coaching volleyball but not as much as he is during the winter. Unlike his basketball players — most of whom have years of experience prior to high school — his volleyball players are mostly new to the sport, so he can’t be quite as critical during volleyball games.

“The kids are still learning,” Lum said. “There isn’t as much background with these kids and the sport. It’s unique, but with all of them you’re still starting from the ground up, so you’re focusing on fundamentals and continuing to build.”

That doesn’t mean he expects less out of his players, however.

“He’s basically the same,” Blackwell said. “He’s tough on us and expects the best from us no matter what we do.”

It’s one additional responsibility for Lum, but he said the players make it worth the added hours coaching.

“Overall, these are high-character kids who really love the game,” Lum said. “They’re working hard and having fun.”