State, regional championships part of 18-year tenure
By Troy Sparks
Correspondent
Judy Harms has been known for taking passion to the basketball court as the Whitewater Unified High School girls basketball coach, and she has overseen growth, development and maturity of young women on the Whippets’ court.
Harms is stepping away from her position as head coach after 18 years.
Harms said it was an “emotional decision but confident that it was the right one” to retire as head coach of the Whitewater girls basketball team, effective Monday.
“It’s been an amazing run,” she said. “Although there’s never a time to retire from something anyone is so passionate about, it feels like this is the right time.”
The Whitewater girls basketball team had an impressive run in Harms’ 18-year tenure. In the last seven years, the Whippets were 152-23 overall (87 percent) and owned a 56-game Rock Valley Conference winning streak. They won the Division 3 state championship in 2015. Harms was the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association coach of the year in the 2014-15 season.
Harms will continue as a physical education teacher. Her husband Gary said that she is perfectly healthy and she believes that it’s time to start a new chapter in life.
“I will continue my role as an educator at Washington Elementary School, cheering on the Whippets from a different angle. I’m most proud of the relationships built along the way and seeing those associated with our program apply the many lessons learned on the court itself,” Harms said. “My coaches, the players and those associated with opposing teams and the Whitewater community have all been instrumental to my longevity as a coach. I thank them all.”
For more on Judy Harms, pick up the April 12 edition of the Whitewater Register.
