Grant High School gets new girls basketball coach
Grant High School is getting a girls basketball coach who knows how to win and knows the North Suburban Conference.
Kathie Swanson, who has been the head coach at Libertyville and Elk Grove high schools, has been named to the top post in Fox Lake.
The Grant Community High School District 124 Board of Education approved the hiring of Swanson on Thursday night. She will also teach social studies at the school.
"Kathie is one of the most successful coaches in Lake County," said Grant athletic director Dick Knar. "I am extremely excited to have Kathie not only as a coach but as a teacher and mentor for our student-athletes."
At Libertyville from 2006 to 2012, Swanson had a 126-49 record and won three NSC championships in a row. Her 2010-11 team went 29-1 (school record for wins).
She also led the Wildcats to back-to-back regional titles in 2010 and 2011.
In both seasons, the Wildcats won championships in the Buffalo Grove and Mundelein holiday tournaments.
At Elk Grove, Swanson's two teams were 19-11 (2012-13) and 9-20 (2013-2014).
"We are lucky to have such a successful coach join our staff," Knar said. "I am looking forward to watching our girls basketball team this year and in the future. Kathie's teams always play great defense and they play with a lot of passion."
Swanson, a graduate of Maine West High School in Des Plaines, said she is excited to return to the NSC where Grant will play in the Prairie Division for one more season before joining a new conference for the 2016-17 season.
"It's a nice opportunity to come back to the North Suburban Conference because I know of lot of the coaches, and it will be interesting to be on the other side," Swanson said. Libertyville is in the Lakes division, while Grant is in the Prairie.
"I am looking forward to the chance of helping the Grant program to the next level. Anybody who has seen my teams play in the past know we stress playing strong defense, being fundamentally sound and pushing the ball in transition."