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A familiar face will grace the sidelines this fall for Polk County’s boys soccer program.

George Alley, currently an assistant for Polk’s girls soccer program and a longtime active coaching presence in the area, has been chosen to take the helm of the Wolverine squad, his hiring was officially approved Monday by the Polk County Board of Education.

Alley brings more than two decades of soccer coaching experience, his background including coaching stints with Highland Futbol Club, Carolina United Soccer Club and Polk County Middle and High schools. He has also served as a staff coach for the University of North Carolina Girls’ Soccer Camps since 1996 and coached girls basketball at the high school level early in his career.

“I took a year off, and then it was, what am I going to do next?” Alley said. “Coaching was one of the things on my list because it’s always been part of what I’ve done, even when I had other jobs.

“It’s something I want to try to do full-time. So when there was a possibility that this job is available and they can get me working at the school part-time, I wanted to do it.”

Alley is also working in the Polk County athletic department office while preparing to ramp up his coaching duties. He hopes to meet with Polk County’s returning players this week.

In addition to his athletic background, Alley has also served as executive director of Outreach, owner and CEO of Foothills Crawlspace, park superintendent of Harmon Field and executive director of the American Red Cross in Columbus. He has a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of New Hampshire and a Master’s in Public Affairs from Western Carolina.

Alley will be the third coach in three seasons for the program. He replaces Matt Corn, who led the Wolverines to a 4-15 record last fall before resigning due to a professional opportunity.

“I love it here,” he said. “Knowing a lot of the kids and a lot of the families, I’m just glad they gave me the opportunity. I’m hoping to stick around for a bit.”