Jackson Hein Accepts Athletic Director Position at Wausau West
by Bailey Gabrielle – As the 2018 school year ends, Jackson Hein, physical education teacher and wrestling coach at Marshfield High School, prepares to move on to a new school district. Hein will start next school year as the new Activities and Athletic Director at Wausau West High School.
“I’m really excited for new adventure. Going on to a different level in education is really exciting, but it’s also bittersweet,” said Hein. “I really think Marshfield is a great place.”
Hein is best known around the Marshfield School District as the Head Coach of Wrestling. Hein coached Marshfield for four seasons and in that time, the team grew tremendously. In the last two years, the team won back to back Wisconsin Valley Conference titles. This year, the team qualified for team state, marking the first time the Marshfield Wrestling Team has gone to state since 2003. This past season alone, the team had seven conference champions and two state place winners.
“I would give a lot of the credit to the assistant coaches and to the wrestlers, it was fun to run the program but you can’t run the program alone,” said Hein. “There’s a lot of people involved, a lot of staff and I think Marshfield, the high school and the student body, I think there was a lot of buy in from a lot of different people and I think that’s why the program got to the level that it did.”
Hein became almost synonymous with the wrestling program during his time in Marshfield. He instilled a strong work ethic in each wrestler that crossed his mats by leading by example.
Sam Bauman, a former wrestler of Hein, said, “Coach Hein worked the wrestlers extremely hard at practice and in our workouts, but he would always be there doing whatever [the workout] was along with us. I can’t think of a practice when Coach Hein didn’t leave the wrestling room just as sweaty as the wrestlers.”
The news of Hein’s departure from Marshfield High has rocked students and parents alike throughout the district. Hein’s exit does not mark the end of the relationship between Hein and Marshfield families.
“I think it’s important for my wrestlers and for parents to know that I might be moving on in my career, but I’ll be in their corner forever,” said Hein. “I might not be mat-side, but when life throws different things their way, I want my guys to know that I’ll always be there for them. If they ever need anything, they know that I’m here for them and that I care about them.”
As for the Marshfield Wrestling Program, Hein said, “I think our program is set up; I know that they’ll be successful for the years to come.”
