Right to left: Jody Hurst, Kristy Wooldridge, Mallory George and Shane Rodgers pose for a picture in West Lauderdale's library on Wednesday before George was announced as interim head girls basketball coach.

With coach Matt Lum no longer at the helm of the West Lauderdale girls basketball team, the Knights were in need of a leader. They did not have to look far for their newest head coach.

West Lauderdale High School Principal Shane Rodgers announced assistant girls basketball coach Mallory George, who has coached with the team for two seasons, as interim head coach for the upcoming season at a press conference at the school on Wednesday.

“We’re doing this with the intentions of moving forward in the future and trying to find a long-term replacement for coach Lum, who did a fantastic job for us. Coach Lum moved on, and we can’t thank him enough for what he did for us while he was here, but coach George will fill in this year to get us through so that we can find a long-term replacement.”

Rodgers added that George could potentially be a candidate to fill the role long-term if she decides to apply for the role. George, a 2016 alumnus of the school, said she is honored to become the head coach at the high school she once played for, and she would love to have a future with the team.

“Basketball has always been my heart, and so I’m so glad to come back and help all the girls figure out what we need to do to improve this year and continue from there,” George said. “Jesus is going to have my back, and we’re going to work really hard on fundamentals and just getting stuff to where it needs to be.”

George will be joined by assistant coach Kristy Wooldridge, who previously played and coached at West Lauderdale and is also George’s mother. George said she is excited to coach with her mom.

“She’s always been there for me ever since I played sports, so it’s kind of comfortable for me to have someone that I’ve always looked up to, and she played in college, so she taught me everything I know.”

Wooldridge played at Mississippi University for Women, and George played at Blue Mountain College. West Lauderdale athletic director Jody Hurst said it is great to have alumni return to work at the school.

“A lot of people think (coaching) is about getting college scholarships and all this stuff,” Hurst said. “We want our kids to have a great experience here. We want our kids to have fun. We want our kids to play hard. We want them to compete the whole game, and that’s what we look for in kids. The other stuff comes when you learn how to do those things.”

Josie Kidd, a 2007 alumnus that played softball and basketball for West Lauderdale and was previously a junior high coach for the school, will also serve as an assistant coach. Kidd previously coached George in softball at West Lauderdale.

“I think it’s great to have pride in your school, and to want to come back to your home. Except for college, I’ve been here since kindergarten,” Kidd said. “We want to create a sense of family with the kids, and a sense of pride in their team, and hard work, and not only develop them as basketball players, but as young ladies as well.”