By Dan Truttschel
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
Students at Wilmot High School returned from spring break this week with thoughts of warm weather and the quickly approaching end of the year filling their heads.
However, it won’t be long until football is on the schedule, and when it comes to the 2014 campaign, that means a new person at the helm of the program.
But he’s certainly no stranger to the school.
Erick Kaiser, who is in his sixth year at Wilmot, was named earlier this year as the new head varsity football coach. Kaiser replaces Mike Greinke, who resigned at the of the 2013 campaign.
Kaiser, who has been an assistant coach at all levels with Wilmot and was co-defensive coordinator with Jared Franz last year, is excited to take over the program.
“I’ve been given an amazing opportunity,” he said. “I appreciate the vote of confidence from the Wilmot administration and plan on doing the best I can to prove them right.”
For Kaiser, who teaches math at Wilmot, to make the next step to the varsity made perfect sense.
He knows where he and his wife, Nikki, an English teacher at the school, want to be – and Wilmot is it.
“I’ve been at Wilmot for six years now,” he said. “It was my first teaching job out of college, and I’m lucky enough to work in the same building as my wife.”
“We’re both thankful to work in a district that supports us. Wilmot is the place I wanted to be, so it only made sense I’d take my next step in coaching at this school.”
Work already has begun
Once his hiring was made official in January, Kaiser wasted little time in getting right down to work.
And there’s a lot to be done, just because of the nature of the job, he said.
“Any time a person tackles a new challenge, there are obstacles to overcome,” he said. “With a head coaching position, it’s a life decision.
“It has to be known going in that the time commitment is going to alter every aspect of your personal and professional life. It was a decision my wife and I spent a lot of time thinking about. I’m extremely lucky to have a wife and family that has been nothing but supportive. That’s made the transition much easier.”
The majority of the coaching staff will return next year, and Kaiser has met with them regularly as the plans have begun for 2014.
As for the players themselves, they have headed to the weight room consistently with eyes on success as well.
“I’m looking forward to working with good kids and a great (coaching) staff,” Kaiser said. “Luckily, there’s a strong base built at Wilmot that I’ll be able to rely on.”
And Kaiser, a product of state powerhouse Edgar, wants the players to turn all that effort into ownership of the program.
In other words, it belongs to them, and they have a big say in how their season plays out and what kind of experience they enjoy.
-
-
-
-
-