KALISPELL — Sam Tudor has resigned as the Kalispell Flathead girls basketball coach, activities director Bryce Wilson announced Wednesday.
Tudor coached the Bravettes for three seasons and led the team to an appearance in the Class AA state championship game last season. Flathead won the Western AA divisional championship to earn a No. 1 seed for the state tournament, where the Bravettes would eventually fall to Billings West in the championship game.
"Sam has been a leader the moment he stepped into the building," Wilson said in a news release. "His connections with our students have been amazing as he worked with our girls. Sam left teaching in August to pursue another career, but believed it would still allow him to coach the girls. The past six weeks he has realized that he would not be able to coach to his high standards.
"I have enjoyed working with Sam and felt blessed to help mentor him through his coaching tenure here at Flathead. He was one of the most involved coaches in the building as students looked forward to being in his classroom. As we move forward, we will work to continue the success that the Bravette program has achieved these past two years. Sam’s commitment and dedication to the program truly made the difference and it showed in their lives and on the scoreboard."
Tudor took over the Flathead girls program in 2020. The Bravettes failed to qualify for the state tournament in his first season but placed third at the 2022 Class AA state tournament when they were the second seed out of the Western AA.
Prior to his tenure at Flathead, Tudor had a successful run coaching the boys at Class B Bigfork. He guided the Vikings for five years, reaching the state tournament four times and advancing to the state championship game three times. Bigfork won Class B state titles in 2018 and 2019.
Wilson said the process to find a new head coach is under way.
