FHS fills two head coaching positions
Elliott takes over golf program, Lohof named girls track coach
Don't forget about the Flathead High School coaching vacancies.
With Class AA Glacier High School getting ready for its inaugural prep sports season starting in August by hiring all new coaching staffs, some of the new hires have left openings at Flathead.
Flathead filled two of their positions this week: girls track and golf.
Future FHS Athletic Director Frank Jobe announced Kim Elliott, the Bravettes' basketball coach, who guided the team to a third-place finish at state last week, will be the new golf coach, and Kirtlye Lohof - a 1999 FHS grad - will be the new girls track and field coach.
Lohof, 26, was notified about two weeks ago that she will be taking the reins left by Jerry Boschee, who will coach at Glacier.
"I'm very excited," said Lohof, who was a heptathlete at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore. "I'll be filling some big shoes, but I know what the pride and tradition is all about at Flathead. I've experienced it."
Lohof was a sprinter and jumper for the Bravettes during two of their 11 state championships (1998 and 99) since 1988. She participated at the state meet all four years on the relay teams. Her head coach was Jim McKay and events coach was Boschee.
"I'm going in with a lot of guidance, which is comforting," she said. "I've been volunteering off and on and hanging out with (Boschee)."
Lohof coached the FHS ninth grade volleyball team last season and coaches the Kalispell Junior High track program. She teaches social studies at the junior high, but will be teaching at the high school next year. She got her undergraduate degree in history at Lewis and Clark and went on to Willamette University in Salem, Ore, to get a master's in teaching.
Elliott learned Thursday that he will take over for Alice Ritzman, who is stepping down to help with both Flathead and Glacier programs as a technical adviser. He was an assistant with Ritzman the past four years.
"She (Ritzman) told me to go for it," Elliott said. "I would have never done it without her guidance. She removed herself from the position to help with both programs. She has done such a great job and I'm excited to try and help carry on what she's started. She'll still be in the picture as much as possible."
Elliott said he got into coaching golf as his daughter, Shawna, went through the program under Ritzman.
"(Ritzman) shaved 20 strokes off her score in one season and now she golfs at Rocky Mountain College," Elliott said. "So I figured: Can I learn from this lady or what? So I sat back and kind of got my undergraduate through her and now I'll work at getting my master's."
Elliott said there was a lot of good applicants for the job, but believes his knowledge of golf in Montana and the needs of the courses and other coaches from around the state paved the way for him.
"Golf in Montana is tough for high school kids because of how much school is missed," he said.
"I hope I can bridge the gap for student-athletes between the course and the classroom."
Elliott is a science teacher at Kalispell Junior High. He earned his master's in exercise physiology at the University of Oklahoma after getting his undergraduate degree from the University of Alberta. He grew up about 400 miles north of Toronto.
"Kim is a dedicated, hard-working individual who has the students' best interests at heart," Jobe said.
"He has a deep love for Flathead High."
Elliott said, "I'm excited to work with the guys at Buffalo Hill Golf Course and all the other courses that help golf grow. It's a sport of a lifetime. You can play it forever. People give up basketball eventually, but they can play golf forever."