The Green Bay Packers have announced that Jake Wolter of Whitefish Bay High School in Whitefish Bay, Wis., has been named the Packers High School Coach of the Week.
In his 10th season as head coach of Whitefish Bay, Wolter has the Blue Dukes in the WIAA Division 3 state semifinals and one win away from their first state championship appearance in school history. After battling injuries and a tough regular season schedule, the No. 8-seeded Blue Dukes have been on an incredible playoff run, knocking off the No. 1, 5 and 3 seeds in their bracket en route to the state semifinals.
"We knew in the long run that if we could just get into the playoffs…we were going to have a chance," said Wolter. "We're carrying on the culture of the late, great (former Whitefish Bay football coach) Jim Tietjen and his "Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime" mentality. We might not always be the biggest of teams, but we are tough and we are going to fight tooth and nail until the end of the game. We're always going to be the toughest team that our opponents see. We're never going to give up, and we'll fight and claw for everything we get."
Off the field, Coach Wolter instills in his players the importance of being involved in the Whitefish Bay community.
"We did a large project with the Ronald McDonald house where our whole program helped them with moving furniture and other tasks during their remodel," Wolter said. "We are also involved with Girls on the Run, helping volunteer at different marathons. We also continue to bank merit hours with our youth programs in Whitefish Bay. It's important to our program that we continue to give back."
Wolter grew up in Wauwatosa, Wis., and graduated from Wauwatosa East High School. He played quarterback and defensive back at Wauwatosa East for head coaches John Richmond and Tom Swittel, both of whom are members of the Wisconsin High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Wolter went on to attend the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater where he excelled in both football and basketball for the Warhawks. As a defensive back under Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Famer Bob Berezowitz, he earned All-American honors and set the program's career interceptions record. Wolter was inducted into the Whitewater Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Wauwatosa East before taking over the program 2010. In 2012, Wolter transitioned to Whitefish Bay as an assistant and accepted the head coach position in 2015.
Wolter is honored to win the Coach of the Week award but quick to share it with others in the Blue Dukes program.
"Our staff has been together for a while now and it's really a staff award for us and our program," he said. "It will be huge for our program because we may be known for some other sports around here, but we've had a pretty successful football program here for a while, and it's really cool to get this recognition now."
Wolter and his staff oversee a program of 78 players with 55 of them suiting up for varsity games. His assistant staff includes Josh Werner, Austin Frahm, Mike Bortolotti, Aaron Schoen, Paul Rathkamp, Rory Sernoe, Dave Polzin, Zach Buske, Kyle Dobbe and John Whitehead. In addition to coaching, Wolter is a physical education teacher at Whitefish Bay High School. He and his wife, Lauren, have two sons, Chase and Cade.
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 2025 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 Foundation, as well as recognition of the award on packers.com, boundwisconsin.com and wifca.org.
Nominations for Coach of the Week should be submitted by 10 a.m. every Monday to Jake Krueger, Football Outreach Coordinator, at coachoftheweek@packers.com. Please include the nominee's name, address, school, phone number and reason he/she is deserving of the award.
