Sports

UPDATED: Bolingbrook Girls Basketball Coach Tony Smith Headed to Homewood-Flossmoor

Tony Smith led the Bolingbrook High School Lady Raiders to four state championships and two second place finishes between 2006 and 2011.

Updated: Friday, 9 a.m. 

The search for Bolingbrook High School's next girls head basketball coach will start immediately, Bolingbrook Athletic Director Rob Rose told the Bolingbrook Reporter

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"As a graduate of Bolingbrook High School, I remember a day when girls basketball wasn't anywhere near it is now," Rose told the Reporter. "They're going to be tough shoes to fill. Tony did a great job with building our program into one of the best in the country."

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"Numerous" high-profile candidates applied for the Homewood-Flossmoor coaching job, according to the Chicago Tribune

H-F Athletic Director Alec Anderson (who was previously the athletic director at Bolingbrook High School) told the Trib he was "extremely happy" Smith is taking the job. 

"We're hoping Coach (Smith) builds a great program here like he did at Bolingbrook," Anderson said. "We thought this was the perfect hire to take us to the next level. The applicants we received were second to none, and that shows people felt this is a very good job."

Smith told the Tribune it was "very tough to leave Bolingbrook." 

"We had a great time there," Smith said. "We got great support from Mayor Roger Claar, the community, the parents and the fans. My kids were great. They worked so hard and built the program. I know I left the program better off than when I got there. I hope to do the same thing at Homewood-Flossmoor. I'm so thankful for the opportunity I received at Bolingbrook."

Smith accepted an assisting coaching job at Eastern Michigan in 2011 before quickly resigning, according to the Tribune. 

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Bolingbrook High School girls basketball coach Tony Smith is leaving BHS, according to the Chicago Tribune

Smith is expected to announce Thursday he has accepted the head girls basketball coaching job at Homewood-Flossmoor. Smith led the Bolingbrook Lady Raiders to four state championships (2006 and 2009-2011) and two second place finishes (2007 and 2008). 

He was named the Bolingbrook Male Citizen of the Year in 2010 and was selected to coach the McDonald's All-American girls basketball game in 2013. 


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