- Bill VanderVelden is the football assistant coach at Winneconne High School.
- This will be VanderVelden’s 50th year coaching with the program.
- Winneconne High School begins its 2024-25 season on Friday, Aug. 21.
Bill VanderVelden is the longest tenured coach in Winneconne High School History, and as he enters his 50th year coaching varsity football, he says he’s not ready to give it up.
For 50 years, “Coach V” has had a presence on the Winneconne High School football sideline.
“He’s just an encyclopedia that we get to pick on,” Harry Roubidoux, a member of the Winneconne coaching staff, says.
While Roubidoux stands alongside VanderVelden now, he was once a player under “Coach V.”
“He's a hard coach, but that’s good; he has a high standard for us,” Roubidoux says. “He brings a lot of different perspectives that really help us out.”
Watch the broadcast story here:
VanderVelden says his love of football came early.
“I think it all starts with family– I had seven other brothers that played ball,” he says. “Ever since I was knee high, I played the game.”
He’s been coaching for half a century, but he says he has no plans to quit anytime soon.
“I'm a sweet sixteen with 57 years of experience,” he says.
He says he loves the coaching profession.
“You teach so many things to the players that are lifelong values that they learn,” he says.
His passion for the game rubs off on his players.
"It's really just about playing football and being with your friends, so him being there to show us it really is simple really has helped us a lot,” senior running back Harry Jones says.
As “Coach V” goes into another season, his legacy is felt on and off the field.
“The biggest thing is just to get them to believe in themselves,” he says. “When it comes down to the big fight, get them to rise to the occasion."
