January 11, 2021 at 8:43 a.m.
Hodags' Kraemer, two assistants to serve as coaches for WFCA All-Star Game
Hodags' Kraemer, two assistants to serve as coaches for WFCA All-Star Game
Coach Aaron Kraemer has been tabbed to lead the North Division Large School team in the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association All-Star Game, slated to be held in Oshkosh July 17. Kraemer will be joined by two of his assistants on the staff - the father-son duo of Mike and Luke Roberts, along with five other coaches from around the state.
The WFCA announced the coaching staffs for the All-Star game this past Wednesday, though Kraemer said he has known about the honor since being asked to serve in November by Rhinelander alum, current Wisconsin Rapids head football coach and WFCA president Tony Biolo.
"I said yes and, ever since then, I've been on my way recruiting different people to help and be a part of the coaching staff," he said. "I think it's an amazing opportunity to represent all our hard work over the last couple years. Not only just the three of us, but our coaching staff and our players, too."
The honor is just another feather in the cap for a program that has had a remarkable turnaround in Kraemer's two years at the helm. Rhinelander has gone 14-5 in those two seasons, winning more game than the previous seven years combined. The Hodags earned the first two postseasons wins in school history, knocking off Lakeland and Mosinee in this past season's abbreviated WIAA playoffs.
Kraemer said he was able to pick most of his own coaching staff for the game, and was proud to give two of his assistants an opportunity to be part of the game. It will be a homecoming for Luke Roberts, who played collegiately at UW-Oshkosh, the host venue for the All-Star Game. Luke Roberts, a 2015 RHS grad, returned to the district as a teacher and assistant coach this year. Mike Roberts has served as a volunteer assistant coach on the Hodag staff for several years while also serving on the Rhinelander school board.
"Mike is an invaluable part to our program. He does so much for us behind the scenes and as a coach," Kraemer said. "People look at coach Roberts and they see him as the wide receiver coach, but they have no idea what he does behind the scenes to help us, and the amount of hard work he puts in. And he's a volunteer. I'm happy to kind of reward him with this, but he's completely earned it. He's a great coach in his own right and deserves a lot of respect. I hope he enjoys this experience. He gets to enjoy it with his son, too.
"Luke, obviously playing at UW-Oshkosh for coach (Pat) Cerroni gets an opportunity to go back there and coach the North team. Luke, being a first-year coach, he shined this year for us. He did a lot of things that we asked him to do that were uncomfortable, that were new to him. I'm very excited to have him with me and coach Roberts with me - two familiar faces."
The three will be joined on staff by Lakeland head coach Dan Barutha, Juston Wara of Oshkosh North, Nathan Wara of Fond du Lac, Jim O'Brien of Sheboygan North and Jeff Rondorf of West Bend East.
Kraemer said, with the exception of Rondorf, he has relationships with everyone else on staff. He and the Waras all played high school football at Oshkosh North and he played collegiately with O'Brien at Lakeland University.
Jim Kenesie of Kenosha Indian Trail will lead the South Large squad against Kraemer's North squad. Altoona's Chad Hanson and Mike Fink of St. John's NW Academies will coach the small school squads. Mercer/Butternut's Matt Schoeneman and Belmont's Brandon Wiese will coach the eight-player teams.
Typically, the rosters for the WFCA All-Star Game would have already been announced, but with a split fall season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kraemer said his staff is waiting until the conclusion of the alternate fall season in early May to finalize its roster. The North Large squad has 73 schools to choose from, mainly from the northern two-thirds of the state along with some Milwaukee area suburbs.
"For now, it's just simply evaluating the guys we have working together as coaches, developing our plan moving forward. Things are kind of delayed, but we'll do the best we can," Kraemer said. "I hope I can just take a piece of what we do here and share it with the players who are there and simply give them an experience like I do for the players that are here, have a lot of fun and, hopefully, go out and win the game and create experiences and memories that the kids can cherish forever."
According to documentation on the WFCA website, Kraemer and the Roberts are the first Rhinelander coaches selected to be part of the All-Star Game since its inception in 1977. Hodag tailback Drake Martin was slated to play in last year's game, but it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I couldn't be more happy than to have Luke and Mike with me and I hope that when we get down there in July, we represent our school and our city and our community the way they are meant to be represented," Kraemer said.
The event benefits the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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