The Packers have announced that Brian Ryczkowski of Ashwaubenon High School has been named the Green Bay Packers High School Coach of the Week. The program is presented by Jack Link's Protein Snacks.
Ryczkowski, in his first year as the varsity head coach of Ashwaubenon, led the Jaguars to a 24-13 victory against Green Bay Preble, on Sept. 6. With the win, Ashwaubenon starts the season 3-0 for the first time since 2014. Ashwaubenon looks to remain unbeaten as they travel to Sheboygan South to take on the Redwings on Sept. 13.
Heading into the game, the Jaguars were looking to change the narrative against the Hornets, having lost the last three regular season matchups by a combined margin of only 12 points.
"Before the season, the kids came up with the theme 'Prove Them Wrong,'" Ryczkowski said. "There'd been a little bit of a one-sided result in the past couple of years with Preble winning. So every week they approached the games with the 'Prove Them Wrong' mentality. That's how they've been going about each week, whether it was a team they beat in the past or not. Against Preble, we got up early, and kept our foot on the gas. This has been a whole group of coaches, parents and players working together to try to get the ship going in the right direction and trying to 'Prove Them Wrong' every single week."
Ryczkowski, originally from Suamico, is no stranger to the Jaguars' football program, having played football for longtime rival, Bay Port High School, under Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame member, Coach Mike Williquette. Ryczkowski also played basketball and baseball for the Pirates. Following high school, he played quarterback at UW-Whitewater under head coaches Lance Leipold and Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame member Bob Berezowitz, graduating in 2008.
Ryczkowski began his coaching career in 2009 as an assistant coach for Fort Atkinson High School and went on to join the coaching staff at Big Foot High School in 2011. In 2013, Ryczkowski accepted the head coaching position for Little Chute High School. Ryczkowski led the Mustangs to a state runner-up finish in 2014, and finished last year with a perfect regular season record and a WIAA Division 4 Level IV playoff berth.
Ryczkowski embraces the challenges that go along with taking the Jaguars' football program to the next level.
"You want to honor the past traditions of the program, but you also want to come in with a plan and expectations, and be able to mix those two things together to create a great product," said Ryczkowski. "There's a ton of people that have been helpful, from parents to very knowledgeable coaches. Seniors to freshmen, we are trying to get everyone on the same page where people are helpful to each other, we're good to each other, but yet we have our anybody, anywhere mentality, and we're not going to back down from a challenge.
"We're very happy to be selected for this award. The [game wins] that we have experienced so far have been great, but the recognition for our coaching staff and players that this award provides is an absolute honor.
Ryczkowski and his staff oversee a program of 100 players, with 70 of them suiting up for varsity games. His assistant staff includes Mike Brenwall, Trevor Campbell, Calvin Collins, Curt Cootway, Joey Dax, Jason Fisch, Steve Johnson, Jesse Lindauer, Jay Marcks, Nick Nesvacil, Kevin Ramage, Greg Roberts, Bill Schroeder, Jeff Steinhorst, Ted Velicer, Casey Weber, and Colton Zimmerman.
In addition to coaching football, Ryczkowski is also a math teacher at Ashwaubenon High School. Ryczkowski and his wife, Jayne, have four daughters, Madison, Brooke, Elizabeth, and Emily.
About the Green Bay Packers High School Coach of the Week Program:
The Green Bay Packers Coach of the Week program, presented by Jack Link's Protein Snacks, supports football outreach efforts by giving high school coaches the recognition they deserve. On a weekly basis, for ten weeks throughout the high school football season, the Packers will select one high school coach as the Coach of the Week. Each honoree will be awarded several items and privileges, including a $2,000 donation to the school's football program from the Green Bay Packers, Jack Link's Protein Snacks and the NFL. Winning coaches will also receive recognition on Packers.com, WisSports.net and Wifca.org, and will be mentioned in the Packers Gameday program.
Nominations for Coach of the Week should be submitted by 10 a.m. every Monday to Ryan Fencl, Football Outreach Specialist, at coachoftheweek@packers.com. Please include the nominee's name, address, school, phone number and reason he/she is deserving of the award.
