Longtime Susan Moore girls’ basketball coach Natasha Smallwood was hired today as the new coach at Class 7A Albertville.
Smallwood, a graduate of the Blountsville school, compiled a 227-70 record in 10 years as head coach. She has spent her 22-year career in education teaching and coaching at Susan Moore.
“I was not looking to move,” she said. “I was offered the job and looked into it and had some conversations with the superintendent (Bart Reeves) and principal (Jordan Phillips) and it just, honestly, felt like the right time to change. I prayed about it and felt it was God’s leadership in this direction.
“I spoke to my Susan Moore girls last night,” Smallwood said. “It was very difficult. They were obviously sad and reacted the way I expected them to. That’s always the hardest part of change. They are very supportive, and they are going to be OK. I have faith they will be successful next year and will find a good coach to keep the players moving forward.”
Susan Moore was ranked sixth in the final Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 3A regular-season poll and finished 25-5 last season, falling 63-55 to Plainview – the eventual state runner-up – in the Northeast Region final.
Smallwood led Susan Moore to three straight AHSAA State Finals in Birmingham, finishing second in 2022 with a 72-69 overtime loss to Prattville Christian. The Bulldogs were 30-5 in 2022 while Prattville Christian finished 36-1.
Albertville finished last season at 8-19 and Smallwood said she is eager to get to know the players and work toward next season.
“I know they have a lot of girls throughout the program who are very interested and excited about basketball,” Smallwood said. “They are working already, I think, two days a week doing skills work and shooting to get better for next year. I think there is a big talent pool. I’m meeting with them tonight at a community/player/parents meeting.”
Basketball is a major part of the Smallwood family. The coach’s father, Bobby Waddle, and her brother, Justin Waddle, have worked with her as volunteer assistants and they will continue in that role at Albertville, she said.
“My dad has never been a head coach, but he has always been a volunteer coach at Susan Moore,” Smallwood said. “He was one of my assistant coaches when I played there. When I took over as head coach, he became my junior high girls’ coach and an assistant for me with the varsity.
“I plan to keep some of the staff at Albertville, but I haven’t made that decision yet because I haven’t met all of them.”
Smallwood’s oldest daughter, Cali, just finished her freshman year at the University of Montevallo where she was named the 2024 Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Year. Cali’s mom played two years at the University of Montevallo before a knee injury ended her career and she finished her degree at Athens State. Smallwood’s youngest daughter, Lani, was a 5-foot-7 guard on her mother’s team last season and will be a junior at Albertville.