Dan St. Arnauld, Head Coach of Northern Elite (Niagara-Goodman-Pembine) High Schools, has been named Green Bay Packers High School Coach of the Week, the organization announced Tuesday.
"This is a nice honor for not only me, but for our kids as well," St. Arnauld said. "They're the ones who put in all of the time and effort. It's been a great success story, and we hope we can keep it going."
Northern Elite is currently 7-0, including a perfect 5-0 in Northern Lakes Conference competition, having outscored their opponents 313-46 on the season. The Predators' 38-12 victory over the Crivitz Wolverines last Friday carried them one step closer to their fourth consecutive conference championship.
"We're on the doorstep. If we can win one out of the next two we'll at least assure ourselves a tie," St. Arnauld said.
St. Arnauld attended Niagara (Wis.) High School, playing both offensive and defensive tackle under head coach Joe Antonini before graduating in 1973. He graduated from University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1978 and earned a master's degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1987.
His assistant coaching staff includes Brian Bousley, Jim Hoogland, Kris Johnson, Tim Sexton and Randy Wodenka.
St. Arnauld is finishing his 29th and final season as head coach for Northern Elite. His coaching career started in 1978 as an assistant for the junior varsity at Brillion High School. After spending three seasons at Brillion, St. Arnauld headed back to his hometown of Niagara, where he has been since.
In 2005 Niagara, Goodman, and Pembine High Schools joined forces to become the Northern Elite co-op football program. Since the merger, the Predators have won three conference championships and have made it to the second round of the WIAA state tournament in back-to-back seasons.
St. Arnauld and his wife, Carol, have two sons, Bret and Tim, and two daughters, Dawn and Jennifer.
*The Packers will recognize one outstanding high school coach as their 'Coach of the Week' winner during the 2008 high school football season. Winners are 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 packers.com.
Nominations for Coach of the Week should be submitted by 9 a.m. every Monday to Tim Schroeder, community outreach coordinator, at coachoftheweek@packers.com (e-mail) or by fax at (920) 569-7302. Please include the nominee's name, address, school, phone number, and reason he/she is deserving of the award.*