Schools
Swanson Steps Down, Led Wildcats to Win 3 NSC Titles
Kathie Swanson's six-year run as Libertyville High School head coach was highlighted by three consecutive North Suburban Conference titles and a 0.873 winning percentage.
Fans of girls basketball must have wondered about this selection. In 2006, head coach Amy Holtsford stepped down and the search was on for a new head coach.
With the state of Illinois open to the school for more coaches, the athletic department picked a freshman coach with one year of coaching experience under her belt.
Six years later, that pick of Kathie Swanson looks pretty good. After all, the Wildcats have won 69 of their last 79 games, good for an .873 winning percentage.
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Swanson has stepped down from her post after a 21-7 mark this season.
“It’s my time to move on,” Swanson said. “But what a great experience. We had quite a bit of achievement. But it hasn’t been easy. It took a lot of hard work.”
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Swanson isn’t closing the door to coaching again. Her resume includes three consecutive North Suburban Conference crowns — that’s in a league that includes two Hall of Fame coaches in Stevenson’s Tom Dineen and Zion-Benton’s Tanya Johnson.
“We always had a battle with those teams,” she said. “It’s a credit to the players.”
Sure, Libertyville had some fine players such as guards Savannah Trees and Kaca Savatic. But her program did not bring in a string of Division I players.
“Kathie put a lot of time and effort into her coaching,” said athletic director Briant Kelly. “She will be missed at Libertyville.”
Swanson is a teacher at Round Lake High School and thus wasn’t around her team during the day. She gave credit to assistant coach Melissa Gorski.
“It was definitely a challenge,” she said. “Melissa did a good job at that. She got us going.”
And what did Swanson learn about coaching in her stint at Libertyville?
“Coaching is about relationships,” she said. “There are X’s and O’s. But it’s really about strengthening relationships with players.”
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“That sounds absurd,” she said. “But that was an incredible group of kids.”
After winning the North Suburban Conference Lake Division three seasons in a row, the Wildcats went on to topple Wauconda twice, and this season, Vernon Hills in the North Suburban Conference title game. Vernon Hills is headed to the Illinois High School Association Class 3A state tournament this weekend in Normal.
Kelly has posted the girls basketball job and is accepting applications.
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