Schwaderer, Watson new tennis coaches

Whitefish High School has two new head coaches joining the tennis program this spring. Mike Watson will lead the Lady Bulldogs, and Chris Schwaderer will head up the boys team.

Watson coaches the freshman girl's basketball team and freshman football team. This will be his first season with the tennis team. He plays tennis recreationally and says his tennis skills are "raw," but that he is looking forward to coaching the girls. He said there will be seven seniors on this year's squad.

"It should be a lot of fun," he said. "We had about 21 girls come to the first meeting, and I'm excited about having a lot of seniors and the leadership they will provide."

Schwaderer is an English teacher at the high school. He is a past head coach of the Bulldog track team and assistant tennis coach in Lewistown. He says that after a short hiatus from coaching, the time is right for him to get involved with Bulldog sports again.

"The (boys tennis coach) job was just right," he said. "Coaching is something I've always seen myself doing. I've got a young boy now, and I think he'll be proud of the idea that his dad is a coach."

Tennis practice starts March 15, and the first varsity match is April 10 at Bigfork.