The Green Bay Packers have announced that Trent Nyhus of Turtle Lake High School in Turtle Lake, Wis., has been named the Packers High School Coach of the Week. The program is presented by Buffalo Wild Wings.
Nyhus just wrapped up his first season as head coach for the Lakers. The team finished with a 5-4 regular season record and ended with a first-round playoff loss to Edgar High School. While many would view this season as a success for a first-year head coach, the impact Nyhus made with his team off the field is what stands out the most. From community service projects, a military appreciation game, and having his players greet students as they enter the school on gameday, Nyhus has worked hard to enhance the already strong culture at Turtle Lake. One of his proudest accomplishments has been the creation of a youth football program for the school.
"We would lose our kids from third grade on up to sixth grade; they would go play tackle football in communities around us," Nyhus said. "Some people would have good experiences with it but most of the experiences we heard were poor. It was just something that I wanted to stop, and I wanted to make sure our numbers were staying up. Our [team] leadership committee ran it on Saturday mornings after games. Me and an assistant coach would set it up and supervise, but we let the team take ownership of it because we're a small school; these [high school players] are these kids' heroes, so being able to be out on the football field with them is huge."
Nyhus is an alumnus of Turtle Lake where he grew up and participated in football, hockey and baseball. As a member of the Lakers, he played offensive line and middle linebacker under coach Doug Kahl. Nyhus went on to play one year of football at UW-Stout before transferring to the University of Minnesota Crookston, where he played football through his senior year. Nyhus' coaching career began as a coaching intern for spring football at UMN-Crookston in 2012. That fall, Nyhus returned to his high school alma mater and was an assistant coach under Coach Kahl. Following Kahl's retirement, Nyhus was named head coach of the Lakers this year.
For Nyhus, the Coach of the Week award reflects his and his team's love for each other and their community.
"We say it all the time, we break down with 'love.' Love is the highest thing you could ever say to somebody. I just want to show the community, especially being from Turtle Lake, how much I do appreciate and how much I do love Turtle Lake. We want the community to be involved in everything we do. If there's a community service project that they want us to go do, we're more than happy to do it. Last year, I think we had three or four random projects that we did for different businesses. We had farmers reach out for help, we do an annual spring clean-up each year for the community, so that's a huge thing. That's what this award means to me, is showing the love for Turtle Lake."
Nyhus and his staff oversee a program of 36 players. His assistant staff includes Ben Kisling, Ryan Donath, Troy Wagner, Hoyt Rose and Joe Rademacher. In addition to coaching, Nyhus owns his own insurance agency, the Nyhus Agency. Nyhus and his wife, Janie, have three sons, Tevin, Tate and Trey.
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.
