About The Forest-blade. (Swainsboro, Ga.) 1996-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 2021)
4C The Forest-Blade • ummiEmaniielConntyLive.com • Swainsboro, Georgia • February 24, 2021 A tribute to Coach A by ALEXIS PARKER ROBERSON Alexandria Lanette Walden will go down in history as the first African American fe male head coach of the Swainsboro High School Lady Tigers basketball program. Walden began her coaching journey as an assistant coach for the Statesboro Blue Devils in 2009 until 2014, when she received a call from the late great Coach Bob by Andrews that com pletely changed her life. Walden credits Coach Andrews as a great men tor and inspiration to her and many others. Addi tionally, his mentorship has helped to develop her personally and pro fessionally. Walden graduat ed with honors from Swainsboro High School in 2005. She enrolled in East Georgia State Col lege, then transferred to Georgia Southern University where she received her Bachelor's Degree in Multimedia Communication with a minor in Exercise Sci ence with an emphasis on Coaching Behavior, and she earned her Mas ter's degree in Higher Education from Ashford University. With her ed ucational success, drive to motivate and mentor youth, and her love for the game of basketball, Walden was a top can didate for the position of head coach. Walden holds many accomplishments throughout her coaching career as a head coach. Those accomplishments include being named Coach of the Year Re gion 3-AA, 2015-2016; Region Champs 3-AA Girls Basketball, 2015- 2016, Sweet Sixteen State Playoffs Region 3-AA, 2015-2016; Re gion Runner-Ups 3-AA, (2014-2015 1 st Round State Playoffs)(2017-2018 State Playoffs 23-5 Sweet 16); 4 th in Region 2-AA (2016-2017 First Round State Playoffs)(2018-2019 Sweet 16); and current 2020-2021 3 rd in Region 2-AA, pending where the playoffs may lead the Lady Tigers this year. Walden's coaching re cord of wins/losses is now current 123-62. Pro fessional Learning Com munity Training, 2014. As an assistant coach, under the leadership of Coach Jeff Sier, Walden's accomplishments in clude two -time Region Champions, Sweet Six teen appearances, and Elite Eight appearanc es. Many of her former players have been cho sen as All-State and All- Star participants. Under standing the importance of an education, Walden has always stressed the importance of earning a degree. As a result, sev eral of her former players graduated with honors and have played or are currently playing bas ketball on the collegiate level. She also coached a player who currently plays in the WNBA. Walden has been coaching for 13 years with the last seven years coaching in Swainsboro. Even more rewarding is the fact that Walden was selected as the Teacher of the Year for Swainsboro High School during both 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school terms. Walden is fully dedicated to her students as a teacher and to her players as a coach. She has followed through with a com mitment to her players to ensure that she will not only coach them the game of basketball but how to become and maintain being a student athlete as they learn how to compose themselves on and off the court. Further, she has ensured her players form a sis terhood throughout the season and thereafter. Her coaching staff has been developed with expectations of carrying out her mission and vi sion for the Lady Tigers basketball program. Walden has refocused the Lady Tigers basket ball program by ensur ing that her players are involved in the com munity in ways to give back. Walden and her team follow through with weekend communi ty service at Brown Hill Chapel Baptist Church in Swainsboro, Ga; par ticipate in Toys for Tots; and so many other com munity-based outreach programs. She is a very vocal coach who will stand firmly behind her players while holding them to a high standard of achievement for their future success. One of Walden's quotes she loves to refer back to as an educator and coach is "Learn from yester day, live for today, and hope for tomorrow." The quotes reflect her philos ophy for those students that feel they have too much distracting them from learning and being a better person. Walden is supported by her loving husband, Mark Walden III, and children, Mckinley and Mark Walden Jr. Walden is continuing a legacy that was started by her late grandmother, Mrs. Agnes S. Parker, who was the first African American to own and operate a childcare cen ter in Swainsboro. Her teachings are sure to have aided in Walden's passion and commit ment to others. During years when Walden played high school basketball and in termural sports on a col legiate level, she begins to embrace her knowl edge of the game of any sport played. Walden set high standards as head coach for all former/cur rent players apart of her program. As head coach she has turned the Lady Tigers basketball pro gram around in the right direction for the better. Her patience and resil ience as a strong lead er and individual have touched lives across the board regarding the stu dent body and in the community. In honor and celebration of Coach Alexandria Walden for Black History month, her family (sisters, husband, children and nephews), coaching staff, former players, current players and basketball parents would like to show our appreciation for how much she has done with the Swainsboro High School Lady Tigers Basketball Program as being the first African American female Head Basketball Coach. Here are some thoughts from former / current players, former / current coach ing staff, former/current parents, and former/ current managers that have been touched by Coach A playing under her leadership: "Coach A, If I had the chance to say some thing, I'd say... You are phenomenal, influen tial, aspiring, caring, loving, a back breaker, and the BEST COACH ever! No matter the situ ation we NEVER LACK! You always make sure we have anything WIN or LOSE!! Through the years you've stressed the importance of being a young lady and car rying yourself well on and off the court. Your presence is everything although we hate when you say "on the X, BASE LINE, or 35 seconds." Constructive criticism is another term you have stressed over my years of playing, many can and can not take it but all you want is for us to be better, get better, and do better. I could type so much more, but COACH A., you DESERVE this!! I love you!! P. S.- I played for Coach A starting my 6 th grade year during the summer. Every summer I had the opportunity to play with her JV girls in several games during summer league. So, on count, Coach A has coached me for 6 years this season." Current SHS Lady Tigers player " She's always been the best role model, mentor, coach and someone I could always talk to. Definitely the life of the party! I had the honor to play for Coach Alex in 2008-2012. I think, I'm old now!" Former Lady Blue Devils Player "She's a good person. A good mother. If I need ed someone to talk to I could go to her. Coach Alex's coaching career in Swainsboro started when I became a fresh man in high school. I played under her all 4 years. She was sup portive and showed me tough love. Now I am a junior in college and she still supports me and is there anytime I need her." Former Lady Ti gers Player "If I could say any thing about OUR sis ter as a coach it would be, she's never afraid to evolve her coaching style to fit her team. With ev ery challenge she's faced, she finds a way to reach the young ladies she coaches." Former SHS Lady Tigers Manager/ Assistant Coach " I done played for Coach A for 2 years now and she is a good coach. She is outgoing, she cares for her team. She will do anything to keep us straight and she makes sure our grades good as well as make sure we are good outside of basket ball." Current SHS Lady Tigers Player "Coach Alex Walden is a dedicated coach who inspires her athletes and students to become the best versions of them selves. Her authentic approach pushes them outside of their com fort zone, while guiding them along the path to success. Emanuel Coun ty is blessed to have Coach Walden as an ed ucator coach, and men tor." SHS Counselor/ Lady Tigers Basketball Cheerleading Coach " Coach Alex is so much more than a coach, she is a great teacher, motivator, and mother figure to so many of the kids she has impacted throughout her coaching and teaching career... since accepting the posi tion as head coach, Alex has had to fight through adversity from all angles, but has proven that she can produce a winning program not only on the court but off the court... her program produc es great citizens to the community.. .most of the players in her program are honor students/ graduates and they even do community service once a month... anyone who has been blessed to come through this pro gram will tell you Coach A is one of a kind!" Hus band and Current Lady Tigers Community Vol unteer Assistant Coach "Coach Alex is one of the BEST people I've ever met! She's outgo ing, loving, caring, fun ny and so much more. She will always keep it real with you, there is no sugarcoating!! She's like another mother to me. She has never let me down and I admire her in so many ways. I love her so much!" Former Lady Tigers Manager "I'd say she's a really great coach! She's fo cused on working with the ream as a unit and building so everybody is ready for anything that may come at them, and that's great because you're building a sol id foundation." Former Lady Blue Devils Player 2009-2013 "Coach A is caring, hardworking and pas sionate about basket ball." Current SHS Lady Tigers Manager "Coach A is truly a car ing coach. She doesn't come to practice just to coach us on our game and leave, she treats us like family, she treats every single one of us as we're her daughters. She's always checking in making sure we've eat en, making sure we're doing good academical ly, keeping us on track teaching us life lessons, she gives us her all. She always looking for op portunities to give us and she is always fight ing for her girls. She's a coach you can look up to as a role model and mother figure because even when she's tired, "she's always grinding". WE all love her for that because we have a Coach who is always putting in work if not for her fami ly or herself, then for her team." Current Lady Ti gers Player "If I could say any thing about Coach A, I would say that she has impacted the life of so many women including mine. Coach A is not just a basketball coach. She is a second mother, a tutor, counselor and anything you could possibly need. She not only pushed me to be the best basketball player I could be but the best woman I could be. Even though I have graduated high school and my basketball career has ended I can count on Coach A to be there if I need her. My life has been changed for the bet ter since Coach Alex has come into it." Former SHS Lady Tigers Player 2015-2019 "Coach A has been a positive influence in my children's lives on and off the court. Charlsey played for her from 2015-2019. She always made sure the girls had what they needed in the classroom, in the lock er room, on the court, in their homes, etc. She made sure the girls were registered for the SAT/ ACT tests and had access to scholarship and col lege information. She not only focused on grades and basketball but she also provided opportuni ties for the girls to partic ipate in community ser vice projects within our community. Although my daughter has grad uated and is in college, Coach A still reaches out to check in with her. Not only has she been there for Charlsey but she has been there for Tyler. She checks on him and has made herself available if he needs any help or just needs a pack of crackers. Coach A definitely left a mark on our family and a lifelong friendship has been created through her love for young people and basketball. We salute you Coach Alex!" For mer SHS Lady Tigers Basketball Parent "'Coach A,' as she is affectionately called, returned to Emanuel County during my 10 th grade year. I started with her as Manager, then Coach's Assistant, and now as Assistant Coach, Head of Junior Varsity Girls Basketball. She has sent 5 girls to play bas ketball at the collegiate level from Swainsboro High School. She coaches as well as teaches at SHS, and stresses these things to her students and her players: life skills, basketball skills, deci sion-making skills and much more. To her play ers, she emphasizes that they are students first and athletes second. Be fore "Coach A" returned, SHS Lady Tigers had not made it to State Playoffs since 2012-2013. Since her return, we have made it to State Playoffs every year except last year. She has produced 3 of our 1,000 Points Club mem bers. Asia Brown, a for mer player of "Coach A," holds the record of high est points scored in a sin gle game at SHS. Jasmine Faulkner, also a member of the 1,000 Points Club, was Assistant Coach un der Coach Walden in the 2014-2015 basketball sea son. "Coach A's" overall record as of today is 123
