NEWS FILE PHOTO
Former Medicine Hat High Hawks Sr. boys basketball head coach Chad Watson holds court during a timeout in the Hawks’ 81-77 win March 2 over the Raymond Comets during Purple Shirt Night at MHHS. Watson was hired by Medicine Hat College Rattlers to coach the women’s basketball team.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
From Hat High green to Rattler yellow, Chad Watson is going back in time in a new role.
The Medicine Hat High School athletic co-ordinator and former senior boys basketball head coach has joined the Medicine Hat College Rattlers program as the new women’s bench boss.
Watson played for MHC from 1999-2002 before embarking on 22 years of coaching at the high school, club and provincial levels. He wanted to join the MHC staff and work alongside men’s head coach Rich Humphrey to coach his son Trey, who committed to the school this season.
He saw the opportunity to coach the women’s team and is excited at the chance it provides.
“My kids are all grown up and I was looking for some new challenges moving forward,” Watson said. “When this opportunity came up, I was already trying to get into the college game, I decided to become an assistant coach at the college and this opportunity, I wanted to put my name forward and see if I would have the opportunity.”
He says he fell in love with Canada when he first moved from the United States to Medicine Hat as a college athlete, and he’s happy to be back with his alma mater.
“It’s a pretty special feeling.”
Watson recently served as the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association boys’ basketball commissioner and is the MHC mental health/wellness coach for student-athletes, and the 2026 Alberta Special Olympics basketball chair.
“Medicine Hat College Rattlers Athletics and Recreation are happy to have Chad Watson join the staff as the new head coach for women’s basketball,” said Terry Ballard, manager of athletics and recreation. “Chad has a great history of coaching basketball at Medicine Hat High School and in the club system locally. We look forward to him bringing his experience to our organization.”
Watson is looking forward to working with the women’s team.
“We’re a little bit behind because we were late to start but the girls are working extremely hard,” Watson said. “I run a lot of complex systems, so it’s going to take some time, but for the most part the girls are buying in and I’m excited to see the finished product throughout the year.”
He’ll still working at Hat High as the athletic co-ordinator and Watson says the culture he’s looking to build with MHC is one that’s been molded through years and with help from fellow MHHS coaches and staff. Watson has focused on growing the sport of basketball in Medicine Hat, whether at the high school level or the youth age.
It’s a passion for the sport he says only further fuels that desire to grow the game, and he enters his new role with the same hope.
As for how he plans to grow the game at MHC, and Watson says it starts with excitement in the Snake Pit and the culture of the program.
“The first thing that I have to do is get alumni back in and I have to get the girls that have played for this program to be in the stands, and I have to create excitement,” Watson said. “The first thing that I’m going to try and do with this team is make sure everybody falls in love with basketball and is proud to represent the Medicine Hat College Rattlers.
“The practice stuff is going to come. I have a great lineup of coaches that are already in the building working with me, working with the girls. Once you know the buy-in happens, which it started the first couple days of practice. Something I try and strive with all my teams is that we’re a family.”
The women’s basketball team takes to court for the season home opener on Oct. 26 at 6 p.m. in the Snake Pit against the Lethbridge College Kodiaks.
