Alm hits the ground running in new role as Polk County head girls basketball coach

Since her selection as Polk County High School’s girls basketball coach, Brandy Alm has been talking to a lot of people. And taking a lot of notes.

“I’ve got so many ideas,” Alm said. “I’ve been spreading out five notepads at home that I’ve got filled with notes.”

Hitting the ground running might be the best way to describe Alm’s approach as she takes over the Polk County program from Craig Culbreth, who retired from coaching in March. With her background as Polk County Middle School’s head girls coach, many of the players now in high school will be familiar. The demands of a high school program will be an adjustment, and getting a feel for those has been Alm’s focus to date.

“I’ve been talking to a lot of my past teammates and coaches,” said Alm, who starred at T.C Roberson High School and Newberry College. “I talked to my old AAU coach, who’s now the head coach at Carolina Day (Joe Carrington). He invited us to play a little jamboree-type deal there this summer.

“I’ve been talking to a lot of coaches and figuring out where to start.”

Among the places Alm plans to start is with the next generation of Wolverines. She hopes to hold a basketball camp in late June for local youth players, to both start building the future of the program while also helping its present bond.

“One of my favorite things growing up was going to T.C. Roberson’s camp,” Alm said. “All the high school girls worked it. We are going, hopefully, to have the first all-girl Lady Wolverine Basketball Camp.”

For the current Wolverines, Alm hopes to soon begin getting time in the gym with them, and summer team camps will follow as players and coach resume the relationship first formed in middle school.

“The most important thing right now is getting in the gym as often as possible,” Alm said. “That’s the fun part for me, teaching and playing. I like to play, too.

“The girls have been excited. It was nice to walk into our first meeting and they were like, ‘Hey, Mama Alm.’ It’s nice to see those girls and talk to them again. I’m looking forward to being with them.”

The move to high school coaching carries with it a return to the place that first sparked Alm’s desire to coach. Following her graduation from Newberry, Alm opted for a career in real estate. But the chance to serve as an assistant for former Polk head coach Chris Mintz began a journey that has now taken Alm back to the Wolverine sideline.

“My dad says I should have done this from day one,” Alm said. “I was always going to coach recreation or AAU, but when they asked me to help in 2007, and I got in the gym and started working with the girls, I was like, wow, this is what I want to do. It sparked something in me. I decided then I wanted to pursue this and see what would happen.

“Over the years I’ve had middle school parents say, if you ever have the chance to coach at the high school, would you? I said of course. I never doubted I wanted to do this.”

When the Wolverines take the court this winter, expect to see the same in-your-face defensive approach that marked Alm’s middle school teams.

“We are going to be aggresive defensively, period,” Alm said. “We will be a disciplined team, but we will be a strong defensive team. My favorite thing to say is that defense will create offensive opportunities. We will look to run and have some organized transition, but we have to know when to hold up.

“Our style won’t change, but each game and who will play will dictate how we play. Our core, who we are, won’t change.”

One thing that will change for Alm next year is not coaching with her husband, Polk County Middle football and boys basketball coach Billy Alm. The Alms often had their teams travel to games together and occasionally practice together, allowing the two to offer advice to one another. Brandy Alm says she’ll miss that most of all with her move.

“Being here with him has helped me a lot,” she said. “He has made me a better coach and a better teacher. Some people just have the gift for coaching and teaching, and he definitely has the gift.”