The Green Bay Packers have announced that Bob Hyland of St. Mary's Springs Academy in Fond du Lac, Wis., has been named the Packers High School Coach of the Week. The program is presented by Buffalo Wild Wings
Hyland, in his 52nd year as the varsity head coach of St. Mary's Springs, led the Ledgers to a 35-7 victory over Lomira High School on Saturday, Oct. 8. While the win was key in keeping the team undefeated at 8-0 on the season, it also marked Hyland's incredible 500th victory as head coach. Hyland has the most wins of any high school football coach in the history of Wisconsin, second most nationwide among active coaches and fourth most of all time. Prior to the WISAA joining the WIAA in 2000, Hyland and St. Mary's Springs had racked up eight WISAA State Championships and six WISAA State Runner-Ups. As a member of the WIAA, Hyland and the Ledgers have won nine WIAA State Championships along with four WIAA State Runner-Ups. While the milestones have been a part of the journey, Hyland has always been more focused on giving back to the sport that has given him so much.
"Truly, I never really thought of it. I thought more about getting the first win. It took us almost two years," said Hyland. "So, I never really thought of it until recent years when people kept bringing it up. I was never in the game for these accolades. I just love giving back to what I got from football. So, to get to 500, it really didn't feel a whole lot different than any of the other games. It was just a number to me that I hit, and I still plan on coaching for another two years."
Hyland grew up in Wisconsin Rapids where he graduated from Assumption High School in 1966. While in high school he participated in football, basketball, track and golf. As a member of the Royals, Hyland played outside linebacker and fullback under coach Don Penza. Following high school, Hyland went on to play football at North Dakota State University as a guard under coach Ron Erhardt. Throughout his college career, Hyland was twice named to the All-North Central Conference team and selected as the league's outstanding offensive lineman of the year in 1969. He was inducted into the NDSU Bison Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981. Hyland's coaching career began as a student assistant for the Bison in 1970. The following year he took over as head coach at St. Mary's Springs.
Hyland is honored to win the award and sees it as a reflection of all the students and people who have helped him and the program over his career.
"The award is a great honor from the Green Bay Packers. It's really an accumulation of a tremendous amount of players over the years and support from the school and their families to be able to do something like this," Hyland said. "You don't put 52 years in without having worked with a lot of people and having a lot of support behind you. It really means so much for the school to be recognized for this achievement."
Hyland and his staff oversee a program of 65 players. His assistant staff includes Zach Wilderman, Kyle Krueger, Keven Grunwald, Joe Kemp, Kurt Krueger, Kyle Jefferson, Rob Hyland, Jim Baudry, Matt Knepfel and Nate Kaiser. Prior to retiring from teaching 12 years ago, Hyland was a math teacher at St. Mary's Springs Academy. Hyland and his wife, Carol, have one son, Rob, and one daughter, Molly.
About the Green Bay Packers High School Coach of the Week Program:
The Packers will recognize one outstanding high school coach as their 'Coach of the Week' winner during the 2022 high school football season. Winners are awarded several items and privileges, including a $2,000 donation to the school's football program from the Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Wild Wings and the NFL Foundation, as well as recognition of the award on Packers.com, Wissports.net and Wifca.org. Nominations for Coach of the Week should be submitted by 10 a.m. every Monday to Ryan Fencl, Football Outreach Manager, at coachoftheweek@packers.com. Please include the nominee's name, address, school, phone number and reason he/she is deserving of the award.
