Kimberly Papermakers develop life skills alongside football success

The Kimberly Papermakers have built a legacy on the gridiron, but they’re also teaching players how to live a life away from it.

• Kimberly High School is a football powerhouse, winning seven state championships
• Student leaders on the team work with coaches, staff to develop team culture
• Kimberly's head coach believes skills beyond football can push them over the top

(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, with additional details for the web)

The Kimberly Papermakers have built a legacy on the gridiron, but they’re also teaching players how to live a life away from it.

Under the hot sun, the Kimberly High School Papermakers are preparing for their next game.

The Papermakers are seven-time state champions, winning five in a row from 2013 to 2017. But third-year head coach Chad Michalkiewicz says the secret to their success isn’t on the field.

“Leadership development, I think, is one element that has separated Kimberly for the last two decades or so, and it’s something that I’m a firm believer in, our coaches are firm believers in, and our players buy into,” Michalkiewicz said.

That leadership development has taken shape in the form of the Kimberly Football Leadership Council. Coach Michalkiewicz says players had to submit an application, record a video, and meet with coaches and staff to discuss how they would help mold and shape the team’s culture during the season.

Senior Landen Vanofferen was one of the players selected for the council.

“Being part of the FLC, the Football Leadership Council, just being a part of that, something special, as you know, like I said before, being in the stands as a little kid, something you dream of. So just being in those shoes now, it feels great. It’s an honor,” Vanofferen said.

Now, as the Papermakers chase another championship, they’re hoping those leadership skills will lead them to the top.

“If you’re going to be out here spending all this time on football, you better be giving it 100 percent, getting what you can out of it. And I think that translates a lot to life. You know, when you’re at a job, you better be giving full effort,” said Nathan Rathkamp, senior and fellow Leadership Council member.

The Kimberly Papermakers take on the Bay Port Pirates in Suamico tonight at 7 p.m. on TV32. They return to Papermaker Stadium to play Oshkosh West on September 5th, also at 7 p.m.