Teressa (Thomas) Bolden and Trina (McKenzie) Smith are both former teammates and well-respected Alabama High School Athletic Association Coaches. This year both coached their teams to the AHSAA Final 4 that was held in Birmingham, AL. Bolden and Smith played for the Panthers from 1991-1995 under Coach Judy Morgan. After graduating from Quitman, both played basketball and graduated from Jones Junior College and later both played basketball and graduated from The University of West Alabama.
McKenzie-Smith started her coaching career in 2002 at 5A Jackson High School located in Jackson, AL. She has been the head coach for 19 seasons with an overall record of 335-183. She has won (9) Area Championships, (9) Sweet 16 appearances, (6) Elite 8 appearances, (1) Southwest Regional Runner-up, (1) Southwest Regional Championship and has (1) Final 4 to add to her resume. In addition to coaching, McKenzie-Smith teaches Kinesiology and Sport Officiating. She is also a certified CPR instructor, loving mother of one (Madison) and wife of Mr. Melvin Smith of Mobile, AL.
Thomas-Bolden started her coaching career in 2006 at 4A Livingston High School located in Livingston, AL. After (3) successful coaching season, she moved to 1A Linden Alabama where she continues to coach to this day. She has coached for a total of (15) season and has a 200-110 career record. She has won (7) Area Championships, (8) Sweet 16 appearances, (7) Elite 8 appearances, (4) Regional Runner-up, (3) Central Region Championships, (3) Final 4 appearances, and (1) State Finals Runner-up. In addition to coaching, Thomas-Bolden is General Science teacher, loving mother of two (Taylor and Tre) and wife of Mr. Celester Bolden Jr. of Bay Springs, MS.
