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vate young men into becoming one of the winningest football programs in Wisconsin. Rosemeyer credited Hagen with being miles ahead of other coaches including Rosemeyer himself when it came to preparation and studying film for the next opponent.

He also said Colby coaches such as Soderberg, Jon Kleinschmidt, Robbie Smazal, Teska and others helped him learn throughout the years.

The transition from Teska to Rosemeyer and eventually to Hagen allowed the culture of the Colby football program to stay strong throughout the different eras of coaches.

“Jim never tried to be anybody that went before him,” Rosemeyer said. “He has his own ideas and thinks his own way. I don’t think you continue success in a program without putting those individuals in it. That [success] doesn’t happen if you throw Winnie The Pooh in there and say, ‘Hey, go be our coach.’ You still have to have somebody that’s going to bring something to the table when you change from one head coach to the next.”

The success begins

One of Hagen’s best performances and biggest challenges came in Hagen’s first taste of the state championship game in 1998 when he coached a defense that had the task of bottling up Random Lake’s Luke Hagel. Hagel held numerous state records that year and the senior ran for 233 yards on a whopping 45 carries against Hagen’s defense.

Hagen’s defense might have bent but it didn’t break as it held Random Lake to 14 points and Hagel to just over 5 yards per carry. The Hornets ran a trick play in the closing minutes of the game to win the Division 4 state title 21-14. Hagen said the “fake punt toast” play used in the 1998 state game was one of his most fond memories.

“Coach Rosemeyer was going to call that play the week before against Northwestern but decided for some reason not to,” Hagen said. “But then when he called it at state, I remember Coach Teska was standing on the sideline and I remember Jeff calling the play and I went up to [Teska] and said, ‘Hey, toast.’ I remember when [Eric] Filipiak went around the corner and Teska started laughing out loud saying, ‘Ah, you got ‘em!’ What a great call at the right time.”

Hagel went on to hold state records in career rushing yards, most 200 rushing yard games and he still holds the all-time career rushing touchdown record. He went on to play college football at Ripon College and told the Sheboygan Press in 2017, “I still get worked up about that game to this day,” when talking about Random Lake’s loss to Colby.

Hagen would go on to participate in four more state games, three of which he was the defensive coordinator under Rosemeyer in 2008, 2010 and 2011.

In 2001, Hagen was tabbed the assistant principal in the middle and high school and said it was a challenge at first to separate that job from coaching football.

“When you’re a teacher, transitioning to being a coach after school isn’t so bad because you’re not really dealing with the discipline part of the job when you’re a teacher,” Hagen said. “When you become a principal or an assistant principal, then you’re dealing with attendance or discipline and sometimes it is hard because you can butt heads with a few players. For the most part, we’ve had really good students here at school.”

“It wasn’t always easy but that’s one of the joys of coaching. You can put this job aside and just go out, coach kids and have fun at practice and games.”

Hagen and Colby again made their way back to Camp Randall in 2008 when the Hornets put on a clinic against Cedar Grove-Belgium in a 42-13 blowout victory.

It didn’t take long to get back as in 2010, the Hornets made their way to Madison where they fell to Brillion in the Division 5 championship game 31-10.

The following year, Hagen and the Hornets avenged their loss, using overtime to defeat Lancaster in the closest margin of victory in state title game history 44-43. The game still holds the state game record for most points scored by two Division 5 teams with 87. Hagen said that game wasn’t his favorite memory due to the points his defense gave up, but said the emotional roller coaster of that game is something he’ll never forget.

“It was a high-scoring game. They couldn’t stop us. We couldn’t stop them. They blocked a field goal at the end. We ended up blocking an extra point at the end. That was an emotional roller coaster with two great programs slugging it out at state.”

After the 2016 season concluded, Rosemeyer announced he would be retiring from coaching and Hagen said he wasn’t sure he wanted to be the one that succeeded Rosemeyer as the head football coach.

“I wanted to be the head coach, but I was so distraught when he decided to retire, because I couldn’t imagine coaching without him, I actually thought for a few days about hanging it up too,” Hagen said. “I just knew that wasn’t the answer and he wanted me to become the head football coach.”

Hagen said Rosemeyer told him that the head coach job was a great opportunity and might be the only one Hagen would ever get.

“I was kind of nervous. You know, you’re taking over for a guy who won a lot of games and coached here for 36 years himself. Those were some big shoes to fill.”

Things fell quickly into place as Hagen’s Hornets posted records of 6-4, 8-3, 8-3 and 5-1 (COVID-19 year) before the team’s run to state in 2021. During the 12-1 season, the Hornet defense gave up more than 20 points just one time and held Division 1 Hortonville to 19 points in the Hornets’ only loss of the season.

The season ended once again at Camp Randall Stadium where the Hornets used a fumble return by Brent Jeske in the second quarter and a safety by Andrew Jeske in the waning seconds to secure a 22-7 victory over the St. Mary’s Springs Ledgers in the Division 6 state game.

Despite going up against a tough St. Mary’s Springs team and facing a much bigger school in Hortonville, Hagen told the media after the state game that his team was primed and ready for any challenge that season.

“The one thing about our players, we’re not going to back down to anybody,” he said. “We will not be intimidated by any team. We will play any team, anywhere, and that was the mentality our players had throughout the season.”

The victory was Hagen’s first and only state title as the head coach as the team would fall short in Level 3 of the playoffs in 2022 against Aquinas of La Crosse.

Entering the 2023 season, Hagen knew it would be his last but that didn’t stop him from coaching hard and ensuring he was getting the most from his players.

The team battled injuries all year and due to a rain-soaked week, the team moved its level 2 home playoff game against St. Croix Falls to Stanley. The team lost the game 22-6 and after the players had left for the locker room, Hagen patrolled the field with his family, taking one last look at a Friday night as a head football coach. He said it was an emotional moment for him, realizing that that moment was the end.

“It was tough. You never want to lose to begin with but as the clock was winding down and I could kind of see that this was it, I had an array of emotions and memories go through my mind,” Hagen said. “I remember Coach Smazal gave me a hug as the clock was winding down because he knew it and I knew it. It wasn’t easy.”

Smazal said the closing moments of the game were emotional for him as well and the coaching staff felt some added pressure going into that game to ensure Hagen was sent out on a good note.

“It’s heart-wrenching enough to know you lost a game you could have won but then to also know that you’re losing such a great coach, knowing that, it was tough. It was tough the week before against Durand. I was like, ‘We cannot lose.’ That was more pressure than we’ve had all year because I didn’t want to lose to an 8 seed and have him go out that way.”

Hagen said he made sure the players knew that the team could have went 0-10 or went and won state and he would have been done after the season so it wasn’t anything during the season that had driven him from coaching. He said he was glad he could leave coaching on his own terms and wasn’t being forced out by external factors.

Hagen looked back on his memories in football and said that there are so many moments that stand out to him as memories he will carry with him for the rest of his life. He said the games he remember fondly weren’t always the trips to Camp Randall Stadium, but rather the games before the state trips.

“Some of the games that we won at Level 4 to get to state, because that’s a big hurdle to win a Level 4 game, I just remember in 1998 when we beat Northwestern at Col-

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A SUCCESSFUL TENURE - Jim Hagen, center, holding the plaque, is flanked by Robbie Smazal (left) and Jeff Rosemeyer (right) after receiving his 2021 News Channel 7 Coach of the Year award.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Hagen

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fax, that was very emotional for me because I was very close with that class. I think that was so much more memorable for me because that was the first time I was going to go to state in anything. I never made it as a player in high school.”

Hagen said other memories such as beating Spencer/Columbus in overtime in 2019 after getting beat handily by the Rockets for four straight years, or the 2022 Level 2 playoff game at St. Croix Falls with fall colors gracing the hills surrounding the football field are memories that football has given him throughout the years.

Support aplenty

Coaching takes a lot of time away from family and it can even create a second family for football coaches in particular as hours upon hours are spent watching film, recapping games or practices, going to clinics and a plethora of other things that come with the territory.

Hagen said his family has been supportive of his passion to coach football throughout the years and even said he asked his kids if they wanted their dad home more at one point. Their response gave him no doubts about the time commitment football required from him.

“My two daughters Brock and Jade, at times I wasn’t always there. There were a lot of late nights watching film and drawing up plays. I remember through the years asking them, ‘Hey, do you want dad to quit?’They always said, ‘Nope. Dad, that’s what you love to do and you’re good at it. You keep doing it.’” Hagen also gave his wife Theresa a shout out for putting up with the time commitment of coaching.

“My wife Theresa who isn’t from around here either but she fell in love with Colby, football and Colby athletics in general. She’s been a big supporter of me throughout the years and you can’t do this without people that allow you and tell you to go do what you want to do. Honestly, I think she’s a little more bummed out about [me retiring] than I am.”

I’m extremely thankful for my parents, my brother, my sister–they watched my career and followed me and tried to come to games even though they’re far away. I’m just thankful for their support throughout the years.”

The 1998 team featured a number of talented players but one of the players had a lasting impact on Hagen and his willingness to keep coaching throughout the years.

“The other guy who has been pretty influential for me is Robbie Smazal,” Hagen said. “When I applied for the job, I told Robbie, ‘I’m only going to apply for it if you continue to coach and you become my offensive coordinator.’ He knows football and kids love playing for Coach Smazal. I’m going to miss him a lot.”

Hagen said after Smazal graduated, he told Rosemeyer that the team needed Smazal on the coaching staff.

“A few years after [Smazal] graduated, I’m like, ‘We need to get that guy on staff just because of his knowledge and intensity.’ It worked out and we got him.”

Smazal said he was taught by Hagen, coached by him and eventually became his co-worker with the football team but his first real bonding experience with Hagen came when he was a senior in high school.

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“When I was a senior, it was his first year as the defensive coordinator. It was a special bonding time for us,” Smazal said. “He always used to tape my ankles before games and practices. He always used to joke how much tape we’d go through because Tony Untiedt and I had such big ankles.”

Smazal made his way back to Colby as a coach in 2003 and he said Hagen immediately became one of his really good friends.

“I got the experience of learning from two great coaches,” Smazal said. “Coach Rosemeyer is a hall of famer and I would think Coach Hagen would be a hall of famer soon.”

Smazal said the coaches spent a ton of time together behind the scenes but that made it feel like a family to him.

“There was a lot of time spent but some of the best times were after the game where we’d all sit around and eat supper and chat. The losses were hard but there are some great wins in there and those are the games that you’ll remember.”

The relationship that Hagen and Smazal have goes beyond football as Hagen attended and read at Smazal’s wedding. Smazal said Hagen wasn’t necessarily cutting up a rug on the dance floor that night but he said it was great to have Hagen be a part of the wedding.

“He’s a big part of our family,” Smazal said. “We get together and have meals with our wives and it’s become a family thing.”

Hagen made sure to mention current coaches Jimmy Flink, Logan Rosemeyer, Henry Sanchez and Mike Sazama when saying he always had great human beings around him when he was coaching.

“You can’t do this by yourself. You need great people under you that can watch film and sacrifice their time away from families,” Hagen said. “It’s a team effort to do it and do it for this long.”

“When I first started coaching at the age of 23, I never thought in a million years it would lead to where it led,” Hagen said. “All the players that you’ve coached and all the relationships with players and coaches... I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

On top of the players and coaches, Hagen said one of the things that motivated him to stay in Colby was the fact that the community was so supportive of not just the football team, but the school and athletics in general.

“My intentions were to leave after a couple years but you become invested in the community. All the support whether its football, volleyball, basketball – we’re a very tight-knit community here. It’s a great place to live and I’m very thankful that I’ve been able to do it for this long.”

Hagen said even though he won’t be coaching football, he said he’d still be attending events as the athletic director. He also said he has no plans to slow down as the Middle School Principal or as a member of the Central Fire and EMS District.

What’s next?

Looking ahead to next year, Hagen said he is excited to watch the football team and said, “They have the potential to have a very good football team again next year.” A new head coach is yet to be officially decided upon, but Hagen said whoever it is will be stepping into a great staff with great student athletes.

“Will I be at every game? Probably not. Just because that’s one of the reasons I wanted to retire, was to spend more time with family. I just want to do other things in life, or continue to do the things that I enjoy in life before I get too old.”

Hagen said he looks forward to spending more time with his family in the Horicon area, Milwaukee and North Carolina. He also said he’ll have more time for his five grandchildren who reside with his daughters Brock and Jade in Loyal and Wausau.

Hagen said he might even have time to get some golf in or go to some Notre Dame football games in the future.

Reflecting on a 33-year career

Hagen said he will miss being on the sideline but more than that, he will miss the practices and the camaraderie with the kids and coaches.

“I think what I’m going to miss most are the practices. You take a beautiful 60-70 degree, sunny day out back where it’s private back there with the pine trees and school forest, I think that’s what I’m going to miss the most. It’s where we build the team and where we put all the pieces together. I think that’s where a lot of the memories are made, in the drills and hearing the whistles or the coaches yelling–it’s a great place to be.”

On top of practice, Hagen said the way kids prepare for games is always something that he’ll look back on.

“I’m going to miss the locker room. The look of the players. The music in the locker room. If you’ve never experienced that before, it’s hard to put into words. Each player does it a little bit differently. Some will pace, some will stare at the ground or walk back and forth. It’s just that feel of the locker room and the smell and I’m going to miss that too.”

Smazal said Hagen’s scope of work within the program and the success he had can be directly attributed to Hagen’s ability to ensure that the team wasn’t getting complacent when preparing for a season or game.

The other thing Smazal said Hagen brought to the table from a coaching aspect was teaching the kids how to respect other teams and referees. He said Hagen would be at his most upset if an unsportsmanlike penalty were to be called on the Hornets because that’s not how he wanted the program to be represented from a sportsmanship standpoint.

After going through his own retirement from the football program in 2016, Rosemeyer drew some similarities to his and Hagen’s situation and offered advice on how to be supportive, yet let go of the program.

“You want to stay somewhat aware of what’s going on in the program you just left but at the same time, you don’t want to be an overbearing figure in that either,” Rosemeyer said. “I think Jim will be able to step away and trust the people that will take the reigns from here.”

Hagen left one final “thank you” to those who have supported him or the program throughout the years.

“I’m just thankful for the community and everybody that played a part in this journey,” Hagen said. “I’m appreciative of the fact, not to brag but, we won a lot more games that we’ve lost and that’s something I can always look back and be proud of.”