STM Coach Named Wisconsin Strength Coach of the Year

St. Thomas More High School strength and conditioning coach and physical education teacher Jimmy Litscher has been named the Wisconsin Strength Coach of the Year by the National High School Strength Coaches Association.

Since he was hired in 2012, Litscher has helped oversee extensive renovations to the school’s fitness center, including the acquisition of state-of-the-art equipment for student-athletes. While these renovations certainly made the program more popular at STM, it is Litscher’s influence, affable personality and benevolent demeanor that has truly precipitated the growth of the Cavalier Strength and Conditioning Program.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the that biggest reason this area has produced such great results — becoming an extremely popular program that runs at capacity daily — is the man who runs it,” said STM Athletic Director John Hoch. “The knowledge that Coach Litscher possesses in how to increase speed, strength, and conditioning for young people, and his expertise in managing the fitness center, is second to none. Coach’s biggest attribute though is the passion and enthusiasm he shows every day.”

Through the Cavalier Strength and Conditioning Program, Litscher encourages students of all fitness levels and athletic experiences to visit the center and work out to the best of their abilities.

“I have seen a lot of different emotions from students when they first come to the strength and fitness center,” Litscher said. “Some students are really excited and can’t wait to get started, but some students are very nervous when they first arrive and do not want to be there at all. No matter where the student is at when they first arrive, my hope is that after experiencing the positive environment and culture of the Cavalier Strength and Conditioning Program, they will want to come back another day.”

The mission of the Cavalier Strength and Conditioning Program is “to build hardworking, resilient leaders that demonstrate success in life. The program’s four pillars — work, lead, overcome, succeed — provide the foundation and framework for the students to fulfill the mission of the program.

“I love being at St. Thomas More and my hope is the experiences students have in our strength program help to make their high school experience better,” Litscher said. “The thing I enjoy most about my job is helping to make our students into better people during the years they are here at STM, and I think that is the most important part of my job. We have great students, past and present, at our school and they are the biggest reason I love what I do.”

“I wanted to give a big thank you to all our students, alumni, parents, administrators, coaches, volunteers, and faculty and staff members for all of the support they continually give to the Cavalier Strength and Conditioning Program,” Litscher continued. “It takes the entire school community to have a successful program, and we have a great school community here. Finally, a last special ‘thank you’ to science teacher and strength coach Mike Fricke. He has done so much for our program over the years and is a huge reason for the success of our program. I am lucky to be able to work with him.”

“As I come to the twilight of my career, one of the things I feel most proud of is that I played a small part in helping hire Jimmy Litscher at St. Thomas More,” Hoch said. “The mark he has left on this school has been invaluable, and as he continues his exceptional work at STM, I believe that he will one day be viewed as one of most impactful people to walk the halls of our great school.”