About Coach Yash
I grew up in De Pere Wisconsin, a small town south of Green Bay. I was at best a mediocre football player at West De Pere High School. I was lucky enough to play for WFCA Hall of Fame Coach Bill Turnquist. I played QB and Defensive Tackle during my two years on varsity. Although I lacked talent I knew early on football would be a longstanding part of my life. I was always the kid drawing plays up in the back of my notebooks during class.
After high school I joined the Air Force which landed me in Alaska. It was there at the age of 19 that I started my coaching career. For some reason, Head Coach Dave Devaughn offered me the JV coaching position at Ben Eielson Jr./Sr. High. For three years I would coach the JV team while assisting on Varsity. During that time we won a lot more than we lost including a 2005 State Championship appearance. I learned a lot about how to deal with a small roster as we only had 15 varsity players there. I owe Coach Devaughn a huge thank you for giving me my first break into the coaching profession.
After Alaska I found myself at UW-La Crosse. I still had the itch to play and was lucky enough to be granted a try out by Coach Larry Terry. I quickly realized that again I was on the short end of the stick in terms of athletic ability. Luckily Coach Terry offered me a spot on his staff as a Student Assistant. It was a great experience in observing how to run a program and what goes on during the week to week grind of a serious football program.
While I was very thankful for the opportunity to coach at UW- La Crosse, I realized during that year that high school football was my calling. I asked Coach Terry for a lead towards a high school program and he pointed me towards Onalaska. 2008 was my first year with Onalaska and I have been loving it ever since. I was fortunate enough to take over for Coach Antoni following his retirement in 2012. I owe him all of the credit in the world for putting a lot of trust in me when he hired me. Each year he gave me more responsibility and helped prepare me to be a head coach. I have the utmost respect for the foundation he laid here at Onalaska.
After high school I joined the Air Force which landed me in Alaska. It was there at the age of 19 that I started my coaching career. For some reason, Head Coach Dave Devaughn offered me the JV coaching position at Ben Eielson Jr./Sr. High. For three years I would coach the JV team while assisting on Varsity. During that time we won a lot more than we lost including a 2005 State Championship appearance. I learned a lot about how to deal with a small roster as we only had 15 varsity players there. I owe Coach Devaughn a huge thank you for giving me my first break into the coaching profession.
After Alaska I found myself at UW-La Crosse. I still had the itch to play and was lucky enough to be granted a try out by Coach Larry Terry. I quickly realized that again I was on the short end of the stick in terms of athletic ability. Luckily Coach Terry offered me a spot on his staff as a Student Assistant. It was a great experience in observing how to run a program and what goes on during the week to week grind of a serious football program.
While I was very thankful for the opportunity to coach at UW- La Crosse, I realized during that year that high school football was my calling. I asked Coach Terry for a lead towards a high school program and he pointed me towards Onalaska. 2008 was my first year with Onalaska and I have been loving it ever since. I was fortunate enough to take over for Coach Antoni following his retirement in 2012. I owe him all of the credit in the world for putting a lot of trust in me when he hired me. Each year he gave me more responsibility and helped prepare me to be a head coach. I have the utmost respect for the foundation he laid here at Onalaska.