Liz Altmaier said she couldn’t walk away from the players and had no choice but to move up and become the new head girls basketball coach of the Washington-Liberty Generals high-school team.
Altmaier had been an assistant coach with the team the past three seasons, and developing a strong relationship with the program and players. So when the job as head coach opened, taking over, she said, was the only decision.
“We have a great group of players who want to get better, and we hope to continue the continuity here,” Altmaier said. “I just couldn’t walk away from that. We have strong senior leaders and some really good young players.”
Washington-Liberty had a young team last season, with multiple freshmen and sophomores on the roster, and won just a few games. Altmaier, however, saw improvement in the team.
Prior to working at W-L, Altmaier coached as a girls assistant at Marshall and McLean high schools in Fairfax County. She also coached select travel basketball and skills camps.
In college, she played Division I varsity basketball at Harvard University. During her time there, Harvard won two Ivy League championships.
In high school, Altmaier was a three-year starter at Pinewood School in Los Altos, Calif. Her teams won two state and many other championships.
She was chosen to all-state, all-section and all-league teams.