Tyler McClain of River Valley High School selected as Packers Coach of the Week

In his first season as head coach at River Valley, McClain has the Blackhawks out to a 5-1 start, their best since 2021. The team currently sits tied atop the SWC conference and ranks ninth among all Division 5 programs across Wisconsin, according to the latest Bound Wisconsin Coaches Poll. McClain credits his program's success to a culture built on toughness, discipline and love.

"We created three pillars to uphold our brand of football here," McClain said. "The first one is toughness; obviously in football you need to play tough. Second is discipline; we talk about the difference between being motivated and being disciplined. Everyone is motivated, but we are going to be a disciplined team by doing your job every play and doing the right thing, not just on the field, but in the classroom and in the community as well. The third and maybe most important pillar, which may be hard sometimes for young men to embody, is love. I know it might be a weird term to hear on the football field, but I believe in love. I think building relationships is really important. From a football side, love helps us focus more on ourselves and the love that we have for each other and playing for each other instead of hate for another team or rival."

McClain also recognizes the support of the Spring Green community. "Being a small community, our kids are involved in lot of different things," he said. "They're tight knit. A lot of people come and watch our games and when they see that success out there it's cool because those kids might work at the local mom and pop shop and also ball on the football field on Friday nights."

McClain grew up in Platteville, Wis., and played quarterback at Platteville High School under head coaches Kyle Craig, Ryley Bailey and Jason Weittenhiller. After graduating in 2020, he went on to play quarterback at Carroll University for head coach Mike Budziszewski. Upon his college graduation in 2024, Reilly began as an assistant coach at River Valley before accepting the head coaching position ahead of the 2025 season.

Now honored as Coach of the Week, McClain is quick to share the recognition with others.

"There's a lot of other people behind the scenes that do a lot of work to help give me the opportunity to be here," McClain said. "A lot of credit to our players and the program. Coming here and being the new head coach there was a lot of change, and it doesn't go unnoticed that all of the coaches and players bought into this new program."

McClain and his staff oversee a program of 51 players with 35 of them suiting up for varsity games. His assistant staff includes Jason Sprecher, Cody Stencil, Tim Liegel, Austin Montague, Justin Stanek, Chadd Maxwell, Scott Gauger and Kevin Billington. In addition to coaching, McClain is a physical education and health teacher at River Valley High School.

About the Green Bay Packers High School Coach of the Week Program:

The Packers will recognize one outstanding high school coach as their 'Coach of the Week' winner during the 2025 high school football season. Winners are awarded several items and privileges, including a $1,000 donation to the school's football program from the Green Bay Packers and the NFL Foundation, as well as recognition of the award on Packers.com, boundwisconsin.com and Wifca.org.

Nominations for Coach of the Week should be submitted by 10 a.m. every Monday to Jake Krueger, Football Outreach Coordinator, at [email protected]. Please include the nominee's name, address, school, phone number and reason he/she is deserving of the award.