By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Hiring from within an already successful women’s basketball team, Watauga High School announced on Sept. 11 that Bill Torgerson is the new head coach of the women’s program.
Torgerson is not new to either the Watauga program nor to basketball. Since June 2020, he served as assistant coach under former head coach Laura Barry, who earlier in the summer resigned her position at Watauga to become an assistant coach at Davidson College.
Torgerson previously served in numerous other basketball coaching capacities, including:
- Peak Blue Travel Basketball Coach – Spring/Summer 2023
- Parkway Middle School – Head WBB Coach – November 2019 – February 2021
- Greenwood High School, Greenwood Indiana – Head WBB Coach – June 2018 – May 2019
- Vance High School (Now Chambers), Charlotte NC – Assistant MBB Coach – October 2002-March 2003
- Fort Wayne Carroll High School, Fort Wayne Indiana – Assistant MBB Coach – October 1999 – March 2001
- North Miami High School, Denver Indiana – Head MBB Coach – August 1994 – May 1999
- Olivet Nazarene University, Kankakee Illinois – MBB Student Assistant Coach, 1993-1994 Season
Togerson’s “day job” is as lecturer in the English department at Appalachian State University since the 2019-20 academic year. Prior to serving at App State, Coach Torgerson was an Associate English Professor in the Institute of Writing Studies at St. John’s University in New York City and has also taught high school and middle school English courses in the public schools of both Indiana and North Carolina.
In accepting the new basketball role, he reflected on the opportunity to use the game as a platform for growth and personal development.
“I’m thankful and excited for the opportunity to continue to build on the success that Coach Laura Barry has established during her seven years leading the Watauga program. One of the things I most admired about Coach Barry was her leadership around the idea of creating a family atmosphere among members of the program, and that she stressed the notion of having a growth mindset,” said Torgerson.
“It’s especially rewarding for me that I have worked with some of these players since they were in the fifth grade,” he added. “We are extremely fortunate to have in the women’s basketball program young women with high goals and an intense desire to be in the gym regularly. I will do all that I can to try and help support their goals and empower them in their pursuits both on and off the court.”
In announcing the hiring, Watauga athletic director Dustin Kerley reinforced the decision that Torgerson was the right person for the role.
“During Coach Torgerson’s time at WHS,” said Kerley, “he earned a great reputation as a very detail oriented and hardworking coach. We are excited for the future of our women’s basketball program and feel that Coach Torgerson can continue to keep our program competing at a very high level. He cares deeply for all of the girls in our program and is passionate about using the game of basketball as a platform to have a positive influence on young people.”
Torgerson told High Country Sports that the returning team members are already hard at work.
“The team is currently working out, splitting time between gym workouts and speed/strength training several times a week,” said Torgerson. “Our first practice also starts tryouts and this will be October 30th. The varsity team kicks off the season as they did last year, at the Providence Day Super Scrimmages in Charlotte. The team will notably play in the Charlotte Hoops Classic for their first regular season game and compete over the winter holiday break in The John Wall Tournament in Raleigh.”
Torgerson takes over a program that tied Hibriten with 8-2 records atop the Northwestern Conference in 2022-23, before losing to Charlotte Catholic in the fourth round of the NCHSAA 4A State Playoffs. Under Barry, the Pioneers rolled up an overall record of 124-55.
