Rick Kelm, head coach of the Ripon Tigers, has been selected as the Green Bay Packers High School Coach of the Week, the ninth recipient this season, the Packers announced Friday.
Ripon finished 14-0 overall and appeared in their first state title game Thursday night vs. Brodhead/Juda, winning 21-7. The varsity team has 46 players with 8 assistant coaches.
Kelm, Ripon's head coach since 1998, spent 1995-97 at Omro as an assistant under Ed Gross, a member of the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association.
Kelm attended college at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, serving as an assistant from 1981-84, and graduated in 1985.
He then became an assistant at Sun Valley High School in Monroe, North Carolina from 1985-86.
Kelm, a native of Ripon, Wis., attended Ripon High School where he played football for Jim Watson. He also played basketball and baseball.
He and his wife, Karen, are parents to Aaron, 11, and Rebecca, 6.
Ripon opened up the playoffs by beating Valders, 48-13, in the opening round and later proceeded to beat Oconto, 56-42, in the second round.
The Tigers postseason stayed alive with a third round win over Winnebago Lutheran, 41-26, and Wittenberg-Birnamwood, 56-20, in the semifinal.
In its four playoff games before the state final, Ripon has averaged more than 50 points a game.
The Packers will recognize one outstanding high school coach as their Coach of the Week winner during the 2003 high school football season. As a Coach of the Week winner, Kelm and future recipients will be awarded several items and privileges, including a $1,000 donation to the school's football program from the Green Bay Packers and the NFL, as well as recognition of the award on www.NFLHS.com, the NFL's high school football website.
Nominations for Coach of the Week should be submitted by 9 a.m. every Monday to Cathy A. Dworak, Manager of Community Relations, at coachoftheweek@packers.com (e-mail) or by fax at (920) 490-5937. Please include the nominee's name, address, school, phone number, and reason he/she is deserving of the award.
