Mawdesley, Bulmer Named Head Basketball Coaches at EJCHS

East Jackson Comprehensive High School has announced Aric Mawdesley and Jake Bulmer as the head basketball coaches. Mawdesley will serve as the head girls coach and Bulmer, who was the interim coach for the 2023-24 season, will officially serve as the head coach of the boys team. 

Mawdelsey becomes the seventh coach in girls program history while Bulmer becomes the sixth head boys coach. 

“We are excited to welcome Coach Mawdesley to East Jackson and to remove the interim title from Coach Bulmer,” EJCHS Principal Dr. Matt Stratemeyer said. “Both of these coaches bring a tremendous amount to our basketball programs and I am excited for the continued growth our student athletes will experience under their leadership. Our goal is to build championship-caliber programs to be sustained for years to come and I am elated to support these two coaches in their endeavor.”

With the interim title this past season, Bulmer led the Eagles to the Class AA state playoffs, the school’s first playoff appearance in six seasons. Bulmer was an assistant coach for the Eagle program before taking over the interim role. He also was an assistant girls basketball coach at Peachtree Ridge High School in Gwinnett County for three seasons, prior to moving to EJCHS. Under Bulmer’s leadership, the Eagles averaged 66 points per game during the 2023-24 season, compared to just 58.5 points during the 2022-23 season.  

"I am super excited to be named the head basketball coach here at East Jackson. It is a privilege and an honor to lead these young men on and off the court,” Bulmer said. “The future of this program is bright, and I can't wait to get started and build on what we started last year"

Mawdesley most recently served as the head basketball coach at Habersham Central High School, last coaching during the 2022-23 season. He brings 21 years of teaching and basketball coaching experience at both the collegiate and high school level to East Jackson. As a high school assistant coach he has been a part of a GHSA 7A Elite 8 team, a FHSAA 4A Elite 8 team twice, a FHSAA 4A Final Four team, and also an FHSAA 5A State Championship team.  As a college basketball assistant coach at Truett MCconnell University he was a part of an NCCAA regional championship and an 8th place national finish.  

"I am honored to be taking over the girls basketball program at EJCHS,” Mawdelsey said. “I  am excited about being a part of the East Jackson community and I look forward to working with our student-athletes to build a championship-caliber program that competes hard each and every night, one that opponents know will give you a fight each time you step on the court."

In his nine years as a high school head coach, Mawdesley led his teams to the state playoffs on five occasions. Notably, at two of these institutions, his leadership marked their first state playoff qualification in at least a decade.  His head coaching resume also includes a run to the GHSA Elite Eight.  

Off the court, Bulmer and his wife, Marlee, have been married for two years and have two dogs, Max and Champ. Mawdesley and his wife of 24 years, Kara, who serves as a school counselor, have two children — Mekhi and Amara.