The Green Bay Packers have announced that James Becker of Nicolet High School in Glendale, Wis., has been named the Packers High School Coach of the Week.
In his first season as head coach at Nicolet, Becker has guided the Knights to Level 2 of the WIAA Division 2 Football Playoffs. The No. 7-seeded Knights upset No. 2-seeded Holmen last week, earning just the second playoff victory in school history and their first ever on the road. Coach Becker described the win as a "core memory" and a "program-defining and building moment" for his players. His arrival at Nicolet has the Knights trending upward on the field while fostering a culture of love and unity off it.
"Nicolet Football is built on two things," Becker said. "One is love, and that is unconditional from me to our players, to our staff and to our community. They're going to be loved, and we're teaching them not to be afraid of that word but to embrace it and love the guy next to them whether that be on the field or off. Secondly, our motto is 'As One.' That is signifying that we are doing things as a unit and for the greater good."
Off the field, Becker's focus on love has Nicolet's football program bringing communities together.
"We're unique in that Nicolet draws from three different communities – Fox Point, Bayside and Glendale – so our kids come from three different middle schools that blend at Nicolet," he said. "The goal each year is to hold two community service projects, one around the holidays and one in the spring, rotating throughout the three communities and giving back. We want each community that comes to us at Nicolet to get something back from us."
Becker grew up in Mequon, Wis., and played defensive back at Homestead High School under Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Famer Dave Keel. He attended UW–Milwaukee, earning his bachelor's degree in 2004, and later completed his education degree at UW–Oshkosh in 2014. Becker began his coaching career in 2002 at the freshman level at Homestead. Following assistant coaching stops at Oshkosh West and Whitefish Bay, he served as defensive coordinator at Nicolet for three years before taking the same role at University School of Milwaukee, where he coached until 2020. He then became the defensive coordinator at Marquette University High School, helping lead the team to the 2023 State Championship and earning the Wisconsin High School Assistant Coach of the Year award from the WFCA. Becker was named head coach at Nicolet this past spring.
Though honored to win the Coach of the Week award, Becker is quick to give credit to those around him.
"For me, this is an extension of the staff," he said. "I consider this a very collaborative effort, and this is more of a reflection of them and the work they do than it is of me. We're building something…Hopefully this helps bring a lot of positive eyes to our program and the kids get the recognition they deserve for their hard work."
Becker and his staff oversee a program of 58 players with 51 of them suiting up for varsity games. His assistant staff includes Javon Anderson, Greg Lewis, Evan Rosa, Ian Dunning, Dave Quam, Dakota Prozanski, Vince Lococo, Terence Smith, Tony Moroder and Brian Hartwig. In addition to coaching, Becker is a social studies teacher and oversees grade requirements for student services at Nicolet. Coach Becker and his wife, Brandy, have a daughter, Aybree, and a son, Easton.
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.
