Hislop named to the Montana Coaches Hall Of Fame

Polson High School tennis coach Bob Hislop said being named one of the 11 coaches that will be enshrined in the Montana Coaches Association Hall Of Fame is both “humbling” and “very cool.”

“It’s very humbling when you look at the coaches that you get to go in there and be associated with,” Hislop said. “There are some ridiculously good coaches who are being enshrined and who have been in the Hall of Fame before.”

Hislop said he felt achieving the dubious distinction of being a Hall Of Famer is an honor he said he felt he shared with his players, mentors, and assistant coaches.

“I wish I could make a list of all of my assistant coaches I’ve had and close friends that were coaches in Bigfork that are reasons that I am doing what I am doing,” Hislop said. “Receiving this honor is one of the coolest things that I’ve ever done other than having kids and getting married. I think it’s because of all of the great assistant coaches.”

Pirates’ principal Scott Wilson said he felt Hislop’s honor was “well-deserved” as he reached the distinction of becoming one of the best in the state.

“He has developed a program that is always competitive, put together a string of Divisional Championships, and what he has done is impressive,” Wilson said. “He is very dedicated to the sport and the kids are willing to put in the extra time needed. He’s always looking at ways to improve the tennis program.”

Before arriving in Polson in 1991, Hislop was a boys basketball assistant coach, and head track coach in Malta from 1981 to 1985, during his time in Malta, he coached a girls state track championship team, and also coached in Bigfork from 1985-1991 as the head basketball coach and assistant track coach.

“I really think the girls in Malta had a lot to do with why we were able to win state,” Hislop said. “The girls there were just thoroughbreds. Even though I ran in track, I didn’t know much about it when I first started coaching. We had really good assistant coaches. I just want to put that out there because they went to work and really helped us capture the state championships.”

Hislop acknowledged he is aware of the competitive landscape and the bottom line atmosphere of winning that exists in any competition but said he also gains gratification from teaching students the technical aspects of the sport.

“To teach these kids a lifetime sport, even if you never win a championship, it’s gratifying to work with them and meet them,” Hislop said. “When I hear from them years after, it becomes like a tour of my career because I’ve had so many kids that I stay in contact with 25 and 30 years later that have congratulated me. I tell them all that they are a big part of it.”

When Hislop was first hired to be the Polson boys’ tennis coach in 1991, he had a lot of resurrecting work to do.

“We had quite a bit to do because the year prior, they finished second in the state and graduated everyone from that team,” Hislop said. “We only had one or two sophomores and we had to start from scratch. Back then, the athletic facilities were so bad.”

The Pirates’ and in 93’ the Lady Pirates’ tennis program that Hislop eventually took over weren’t the powerhouse state-contending teams they are today.

Polson, in conjunction with Polson High School, was able to raise over $200,000 and $140,000 for construction and maintenance on the Linderman Elementary School tennis courts.

The first decade Hislop, his students, the school and the community all worked hard to make make the Pirates and Lady Pirates’ team return to prominence.

As a result of the hard work, Hislop is on the cusp of another milestone where he will have 500 victories in duals for both boys and girls in his career with Polson.

“I’ve been very lucky to have the type of kids that I have today,” Hislop said. “Those are the kinds of people that I would like to see coach future generations because they are quality kids going out of our program. Going out and doing that thing, it’s kind of neat.”

Wilson credited Hislop’s honor to the amount of time he’s devoted to tennis.

“One of the things that is the situation with Polson tennis is that not all of our kids get into tennis until junior high or middle school and even sometimes in the first year of high school,” Wilson said. “The kids have been willing to put in the extra time to succeed and Bob has always been available to them.”