Annie Malkowiak makes history at Mt. Pleasant High School
UNIONTOWN, Pa. (KDKA) — Annie Malkowiak is making history at Mt. Pleasant High School.
"It's history, but it shouldn't be, right? I want this to be the norm," she said.
She is the first woman to coach a varsity boys basketball team in Westmoreland County. She is also the second woman coaching in the WPIAL, joining Tanya Garner of Nazareth Prep.
"I'm glad Mt. Pleasant took the leap and have enough faith in me to this, and I'm not going to let them down," Malkowiak said. "I'm anxious to get started."
Malkowiak is no stranger to hoops. She has quite the resume to back the school's hiring. She was a standout at Elwood City High School, where she scored just under 2,400 points. She went on to have an illustrious college career at California University of Pennsylvania and was inducted into the school's hall of fame.
Malcowiak then took her love of the game and turned it into a profession.
"I coached high school at California and Uniontown for a couple of years before I went to Cal and have always been affiliated with the program, whether volunteer or paid, for 21 years," she said.
Malkowiak has always coached girls and women's teams, so KDKA-TV asked her if she was going to take a different approach with the boys or change her style of coaching. She laughingly pointed out that "at the end of the day, the ball is still round."
"I think kids just need positive role models period," she added. "They need to be surrounded with people who are going to lift them, be positive, and them and be there for them. And that's what I'm going to do, our staff is going to do."
KDKA-TV asked Malkowiak what to expect from her team this season, and she said her kids are going to be well-rounded so they're going to go back to the basics. And she guaranteed the Vikings will be the best in-shape team around.