Small Town, Big-Time Tennis

For the last 15 years, Thom MacLean has been building a championship-level tennis program in Chinook and when his run as head coach of the Sugarbeeters girls tennis team comes to an end this weekend, his work will be complete.

In the beginning, when Mac-Lean first got involved with Chinook tennis, the program was light years away from where it is now. Few athletes were involved and the team didn’t enjoy much success on the court. But that all changed when MacLean, who started out as an assistant, took the helm.

“When I first became the head coach, it was kind of a forgotten sport here,” MacLean said. “There were a few kids who did it, but nobody really thought about it. And I just kept doing it because I loved it so much. I have always loved tennis, and I have tried to make it fun for the kids. I think that’s what helped grow it. My assistant for the first nine years, Nancy Diemert, she was a player and she loved it, too, and I think making it fun for the kids helped. The kids have always kind of kept me young. It’s the best two months out of my year.”

Under MacLean’s leadership. Chinook tennis, which has always been just a girls team, started to grow. Eventually, there were more than just a few players playing and all of a sudden, the Beeters weren’t just another team playing tennis, they were a contender — a legitimate one.

"Thom and I started coaching the same year," Havre head coach George Ferguson said. "And when I first got the schedule my first year, it said our JV girls against Chinook. For us, it was supposed to be a JV only dual. But it wasn't too many years later that we had to start playing our varsity against their varsity because Thom had really turned them (Beeters) into a great program, and he did it really quickly. It was, and is, super impressive what he's been able to do in Chinook. He's just a really, really good tennis coach."

As the players continued to get better and better, the Beeters enjoyed more and more success at the team level, culminating in 2010, when Chinook won its first state Class B-C tennis championship. The title in 2010 was the first for MacLean, but it wouldn’t be the last under his direction.

Since that first championship, the Beeters have been a constant contender for the B-C crown. Dating back 10 years, Chinook has finished no worse than fourth at the state tournament. The Beeters have also won three more championships, three in a row in fact, as Chinook took the team title in 2014, 2015 and once again last year. In addition to their four team championships, MacLean has also led the Beeters to three third-place finishes, one second-place and two fourths.

“The last 10 years we have won four state championships and won eight trophies,” Mac-Lean said. “I think that is one the things I am most proud of, is the consistency that we have had. I mean in the last decade, the worst we have finished is fifth. That’s one thing. The other is just the kids — they are great kids. That’s one thing about coaching in Chinook is that you always seem to get these really great kids and that has made it really fun.”

While MacLean has coached four teams to state championships, he has also coached state champions in both singles and doubles. Mariah Swank was the only individual to win a singles state title under MacLean, winning the B-C state championship in both 2014 and 2015. And last season, MacLean coached his first doubles duo to a state title, as Lauren Harshman and Cortney Gunderson won the doubles crown.

“We have had just the three state champions,” MacLean said. “But just about every year, we have had kids that have placed. That has kind of been our strength, because we have had a number of kids who placed each year.”

When asked to choose the best players during his time as Chinook head coach, MacLean declined, saying there were too many just chose a few.

“I don’t really like to name kids individually,” he said. “Because we have had so many great players, and I don’t want to leave any of them out. But we have had a lot of kids that have done really well over the years.”

This week, MacLean’s coaching career will come to a close, as he and the Beeters get set to take part in the 2017 Class B-C state tournament, which starts Thursday in Missoula.

Chinook will have three players total playing in the tournament, with one individual Nicole McCracken, as well as the doubles team of Sierra Swank and Megan Pruttis. Swank and Pruttis won the doubles title at the Northern C in Havre last Friday, while McCracken finished third as an individual to punch her ticket to state.

“I certainly think we have a chance to do well,” MacLean said. “I expect Sierra Swank and Megan Pruttis to do well and we also have Nicole McCracken, who should also do well. I just don’t know that we have the depth like we have had in recent years. But if everything works out, who knows, we might have a chance to get a trophy. I am just going to enjoy it. Last year was supposed to be my last one coaching, so this was like an extra year I didn’t expect to have, so I am just glad to be back at state one more time with these kids.”

After 15 years, four state championships, a total of eight team trophies and three individual and doubles titles to his credit, MacLean has built one of the most impressive coaching resumes in the state, one that can only be enhanced by what happens this weekend. But regardless of what happens in his final meet, as MacLean is set to retire at the end of the season, it’s been an impressive run for a coach who took a run-of-the-mill program and made it one of the state’s best.

"Thom has just done an outstanding job," Ferguson said. "He has created one of the true powerhouse tennis programs in Montana because Chinook is right there every year. And I've seen it first-hand because we play them every year. And he's not just a great tennis coach, he's a great guy. I really hate to see him go. But what he has done with Chinook tennis, that will last forever. The last 10 years, it's been an incredible run for that program.

“I think the biggest key for our success, is just our passion,” MacLean said. “I have a lot of passion for the game, and I have tried to pass that on, and I think because of that and the fact that I have stuck around has gotten the kids to come out and play. And like I said, we have had some great kids over the years and that’s what I will miss the most. I have to thank everyone in Chinook and all the parents for giving me such great kids to work with.”

The Class B-C state tournament gets underway Thursday in Missoula and runs through Saturday.