DeForest football coach Aaron Mack has his Norskies on the attack
DEFOREST, Wis. 鈥� Head coach Aaron Mack is leading his DeForest High School football team down a path to long-term gridiron success, a path the team, and the town, has walked before. The undefeated Norskies are currently firing on all cylinders and there鈥檚 no slowdown in sight.
Mack took the reins in March of last year, replacing Mike Minick, who stepped down after leading the Norskies to a WIAA Division 3 state title in 2019. Those were big football shoes to fill, but Mack has stepped up to the tall task and promptly put his stamp on the program and he brought his impressive resume with him.
Prior to taking the job at DeForest, Mack was the athletic director at Wisconsin Dells High School and head football coach from 2012-2015. In his first season there, Mack led the Chiefs to their first playoff appearance in 15 years.
Before that, he had head-coaching stops at New Berlin West (2010-2012) and Iowa-Grant (2007-2010). And just like Wisconsin Dells, he led New Berlin West to the playoffs in his first season 鈥� the team鈥檚 first appearance in eight years.
His trophy case is stacked. He was the SWAL Head Coach of the Year in both 2008 and 2009 and selected offensive coordinator for the WFCA High School All-Star game in both 2009 and 2010. He kicked his career off as a graduate assistant coach and quality control coach for UW-Madison from 2003-2007.
Wherever he鈥檚 been, Mack has had success and this season is no exception.
His Norskies are coming off a 6-1 season. Sure, it was spring football 鈥� the pandemic had a say in the schedule this year 鈥� but it was a great indicator of things to come.
鈥淚 was really happy with how things went the first year,鈥� Mack said. 鈥淎nd I was pleased with the way the kids were open to change.鈥�
One thing that hasn鈥檛 changed: The team鈥檚 will to win. The fall season is young, but the Norskies have yet to lose. In fact, they鈥檝e yet to be challenged. Their 4-0 record includes their most recent 53-0 shellacking of Janesville Craig and they鈥檝e outscored all four opponents 171 to 21 so far.
鈥淚 am very proud of all of our players, not because of the outcome on the scoreboard but the leadership and togetherness this group continues to develop and foster each week is truly something very enjoyable to witness,鈥� Mack said. 鈥淐aring more about the program and their teammates than their individual success is what will make this a special season.鈥�
Coach Mack doesn鈥檛 take any of this success for granted. He takes his responsibility to uphold the program standards his predecessors put in place, seriously. And he鈥檚 grateful for every second on the DeForest sidelines.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a humbling experience. This is a storied program that thrives on tradition. And this community is really supportive of high school sports, especially football,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 bigger than me. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.鈥�
Mack is the first to say he isn鈥檛 here to fix things. He鈥檚 here to put his stamp on what already works because it鈥檚 worked for so long. He鈥檚 committed to making sure the triumphant story of DeForest football continues to get told for years to come.
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