April 5, 2019 at 12:38 p.m.
Ready to lead
Aaron Kraemer embraces the challenge of leading the RHS football program
Ready to lead
Kraemer was announced as the new head coach of the Hodags in a press conference Wednesday, following interviews with five finalists conducted by the district earlier this week. He replaces Chris Ferge, whose football coaching contract was not renewed last November following a 9-35 record in five seasons at the helm.
"I look to the future and I see a great opportunity to build a successful program and something that the school and the community can be proud of." Kraemer said in his opening prepared remarks, in which he thanked district administration for the opportunity and his family and friends for their support during the interview process.
Kraemer, like Ferge, joined the RHS coaching staff in 2014 and was Rhinelander's offensive coordinator each of the last two seasons.
He's seen the struggles on the field. The team has won only two Great Northern Conference games over the last five years, both coming in 2017. Off the field, a faction of parents cited communication breakdowns as they lobbied district administration for change following the 2018 season. A number of players echoed those sentiments in an anonymous survey.
Kraemer said Wednesday he's ready to mend those fences and get those involved to work toward a unified goal of turning Rhinelander into a successful football program.
"Knowing the kids already, and knowing the parents and the community - the expectations that they have and the expectations I have - I know it's going to be a great opportunity for all of us to succeed and become better, all of us," he said. "As a coach I look to get better every single day for them and strive for to build a positive relationship with each player and each parent."
Interviews were conducted Tuesday with a committee that included RHS activities director Brian Paulson, district administration, community members and some who have coached football within the district.
"I think what stood out about Aaron was his vision on character, culture, building relationships with families and the community and that's what's going to be his vision going forward," Paulson said Wednesday. "I think he's leading our track program right now and doing a fabulous job with that. We all can see that carrying over into the football season."
Coincidentally, Kraemer was in the midst of coaching the RHS boys' track team - which includes a number of football players - to victory at the Ashland Invite Tuesday night when he received word that he would be offered the head football position.
"I had heard the news and the players had heard the news shortly after. It was exciting for them," Kraemer said. "We were in the 4x4(00-meter relay), finishing up the race. They're coming over, picking me up off the bench, giving me hugs and let me know how excited they are. That's something I was worried about, especially with the season ending the way it did. I was worried about how the players felt. In the offseason, I got the chance to talk to all of them and tell them how much I care for them."
The numbers illustrate the challenge ahead for Kraemer and the football program. He's the team's eighth head coach since 1980, and none of the previous seven posted a winning record in their tenure at RHS. Rhinelander has not won a conference championship since 1989, has not had a winning season since 1994, has not won the annual Bell Game rivalry against Antigo since 2006 and has only qualified twice for the WIAA playoffs - the last time coming in 2012.
"To the community, I would say, as much as possible, I'm going to be positive with every single thing and I encourage them to be as well," Kraemer said. "If they can't be positive, I'll say the same thing I said before, we'll look for solutions and then we'll be resilient. It's going to take as long as it needs to take."
In the player surveys, the common threads were calls for a change in the offense, a change in leadership and a change team chemistry. Kraemer said of those three items, improving team chemistry is his top priority.
"It's something I think we need to continue to build, to learn how to positively speak to each other and how to grow together as a unit," he said. "The other two things, when you build a culture, they fall into place."
When Ferge arrived in Rhinelander in 2014, the Hodags abandoned the run-heavy Power I offense in favor of a shotgun spread formation, which began as a pass-happy attack but skewed back toward the run once Kraemer started calling the plays in 2017. Last season the team ran on 71.6 percent of its plays, the highest run rate since 2013 (79.6 percent). Part of the reason, of course, has been the play of tailback Drake Martin, who rushed for more than 1,100 yards in both his sophomore and junior seasons.
"To me, offense, defense Xs and Os, they always change based on the players you have," Kraemer said. "You change small things to make the offense run the way that it should. I think there needs to be a heavy focus on the fundamentals of the game. I think that's one thing, when reading those surveys, rang true to me. They want fundamentals. They want to be taught and be able to play fast without having to think too much. That's ultimately my goal as a head coach, to make sure they can play burden-free and let the burden come on me."
Kraemer didn't specify how much the offense would change going forward, but hinted that the team would continue to use the 3-4 defensive scheme it installed with help from the coaching staff at UW-Oshkosh last season.
Paulson said Kraemer's familiarity with both the program and the community will be a benefit moving forward.
"I think keeping somebody in-house to see some things that we could do differently than we have in the past is going to be an advantage for Aaron compared to bringing somebody brand new in and opening the whole thing up to a big change for everybody," he said.
Aside from coaching football and track, Kraemer is a social studies teacher at RHS. Prior to coming to Rhinelander, he was first a player, then a coach at Lakeland University (formerly Lakeland College) in Plymouth, Wis. He coached tight ends for the Muskies from 2011-2013 and was a first-team All-NAIC offensive lineman in 2008 and 2009.
A self-described "shameless promoter," Kraemer said it will be vital for himself and the team to be visible at the youth levels to help build the program from the ground up.
"It's your job to make sure you're at the dispense of those groups, meaning that you're available, you're visible and that they can use you to help that program grow," he said. "It starts with a vision and a direction and talking to those coaches. From there, it's about letting them expand on that vision in the way they see fit."
Kraemer said he would attempt to assemble much of his coaching staff of the next couple of weeks in preparation for both the team's summer offseason program and the start of fall practice Aug. 1.
Kraemer said the rebuild won't happen overnight but, ultimately, he wants the football program to be something the community can view with pride.
"We're going to work as hard as we can to put the best possible product on the field - something the kids can be proud of, something that the parents know we're looking out for their best interest," he said. "Ultimately, that's what parents want, what's best of their kids."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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