MOLINE, Ill. — The varsity girls' basketball team at Moline High School is under new leadership.
At its April 8 meeting, the Moline-Coal Valley School Board voted to hire Katelyn McNamara as the new head coach for the 2024-25 school year.
“I am honored and excited to lead the Moline Girls Basketball program," McNamara said in a press release. "The commitment and vision of the administration and hiring committee make me even more eager to meet the athletes and get to work. There is some special talent in the program, and I’m committed to finding ways to channel that talent to make the program, and the girls as individuals, successful. I’ve always had a great amount of respect for Moline athletics, and I’m looking forward to being part of this community."
McNamara has years of experience coaching girls' basketball at the middle and high school levels in the region. She began her coaching career at Assumption High School in Davenport, winning four consecutive conference championships for the freshman/JV team. She then served as the Lady Knights' varsity head coach from April 2016 to May 2020, where her team made three appearances at state in 2017, 2018 and 2020.
While at Assumption, she was named 3A Region 8 Coach of the Year by the Iowa Girls Coaches Association (IGCA) in 2018 and was selected as head coach of the 2019 IGCA Iowa Senior All-Star game.
McNamara was the Geneseo High School sophomore girl's basketball head coach last season and has also spent time coaching in Edwardsville.
In addition to coaching, McNamara will also teach English at Moline High School.
She received her bachelors in Secondary English Education from St. Ambrose and currently teaches at Geneseo High School.
“Moline High School is very excited about adding Katelyn to our Athletic Programs," Todd Thompson, Moline High School's athletic director, said in the release. "We know that she will do an amazing job both as a head basketball coach and also an educator to our students."
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