The hardest decision I have ever made

After a decade and a half of inspirational speeches, practice drills, game planning and plenty of victory celebrations, head Whitefish girls soccer coach Lini Reading is hanging up her clipboard to spend more time with her family.

“It’s surreal,” she said. “It’s the hardest decision I have ever made. It took me two months to write my (resignation) letter to the girls. I just need more time with my family. My daughter has been part of the program, and as she gets older she becomes more of a peer and not just a cute little kid. She’s going to be 12, and what if she takes up golf or something else? I need to be there for her.”

Since she took the helm of the Lady Bulldogs in 1994, Reading has turned the program into one of the most successful in the state. Her team captured Montana’s first-ever Class A state championship in 2001 and added another banner in 2006.

Between 1992 and 2000, there was no class designation, but Whitefish was the only Class A-sized team that consistently made it to the state tournament to compete with Class AA-sized teams.

The Lady Bulldogs were state-champion runner-ups in 2005, 2007 ( a game that went to double overtime) and 2008. Last fall they became only the second No. 2 seed (from their division) in Class A history to make it to the championship game of the state tournament.

There has been only one state tournament that the Whitefish girls soccer team hasn’t competed in. Reading’s tenure was marked by consistently strong performances during the playoffs.

“It’s come so far since the beginning,” she explained. “The talent level, the game has grown. It’s been pretty amazing to watch. It’s about parental support, and about feeder programs.”

This last season was especially trying for Reading and her team, as many of her girls were close to Logan Arnst, a Whitefish High School student who died in a car accident last fall. Several players traveled by bus to Seattle to be with him in the hospital, and the tragedy hung over the team well into the playoffs.

The girls rallied to make the state championship game, but for the second year in a row, they had to play with less than a full roster and on a long road trip. The seniors in that game played in four state championship games in four years.

Reading said the thing she will miss the most will be the young players who she took under her wing.

“The kids. I love the kids,” she said. “The friendships and relationships that you develop with kids and parents, watching them develop from scrawny young girls into beautiful young women with great hearts.”

For Reading, wins and losses have never meant as much as teaching life lessons on the field.

“As a coach, being able to share is the most rewarding thing,” she said. “I grew up pre-Title 9, and soccer wasn’t known at all in Montana, at least not as an organized high school sport. I got experience in college, and I started coaching to help provide an opportunity to kids that I didn’t have in a game that I love.”

There is little doubt that Reading will still be on the sidelines in the future, although in less of a pressure-packed role.

“I have no desire not to coach,” she said. “I pray I can be around a little bit and help out. If whomever takes over needs a little help, I will be there. I will also understand if they don’t need me around.”

Asked to name a favorite memory from her stellar coaching career, Reading was hard-pressed to find a single moment.

“I have so many good memories,” she said. “It’s been a long 15 years, I’m just glad I could be a part of it.”

The Whitefish School District is currently seeking applications for a girls head coach. For more information, call activities director Jackie Fuller at 862-3505.