Prep has been known for their football team for many years now. A big reason why is because of the amazing coaching staff and head coach Mike Mischler. For a total of 26 seasons Mischler has been a coach for Cathedral Prep football. This is the main reason people question why he stepped down from that position.
When asked, Mischler said, “There was no one particular reason. Many, many factors went into making the difficult decision to step down. If I had to say one it would be able to visit my daughters more who live out of town and watch my son play his last few years of college football.”
Mischler has done a lot during his time at Prep. He has many accolades including five state championships as a coach, five times being named coach of the year, two tiems being named national coach of the year, and many more.
Coach Mischler was even team captain of Cathedral Prep’s first D-10 championship team.
Many memories and experiences have been made which have left a long lasting positive impact on Coach Mischler.
“I have dedicated the great majority of my professional career to Cathedral Prep, both as an employee of the school in varying roles and as the head football coach,” Mischler said. “While I will continue my role as the Director of Facilities, I can state that being head football coach at Cathedral Prep was the greatest honor and privilege of my professional career. I will miss it very much, but it is time to dedicate a few years to my family. Years that I won’t have the opportunity to regain in the future. I bleed orange and black and always will, but sometimes you have to do what is right for you personally regardless of how difficult that decision might be.”
As stated before, Coach Mischler has made tons of memories during his time here at Prep.
“Aside from the many wins and championships, what matters more are the amazing relationships that are built with the players and staff members,” Mischler said. “No place cultivates the growth of those relationships more than our time every year at Camp Notre Dame. That brief amount of time together every year was when our team developed the inseparable bond that we leaned on year in and year out from the regular season to the playoffs. There is something magical about the entire process and it was a staple of my program throughout my career.”
A common theme occurred when asking senior players about their favorite memories during their time on the football team.
“My favorite memories by far came from Camp Notre Dame,” senior captain Caden Pustelak said. “As a team we got to have fun and bond through different things and by just having fun. I also will always remember the summer practices. Even though they were tough, it’s what made us grow on and off the field as one cohesive unit.”
Fellow senior Elijah Andre shared similarly.
“Camp Notre Dame by far will always be where I had my best memories during football,” Elijah said.
After stepping down, Mischler will continue to work for and support Prep.
“I plan on doing my best in my role as Director of Facilities to help lead the excellent team of maintenance and custodial staff that we have on board here,” he said. “The extra time will allow me to develop our systems here to be run in an efficient manner prioritizing school safety, appearances, and cleanliness.
As the school prepares for next year’s consolidation, Mischler’s team will be busy this summer.
“We have a huge task ahead of us in trying to finish up the new Salazar Technology and Innovation Center as well as the many upgrades to the interior of the building before the start of school in September 2022,” Mischler said. “It is a huge challenge, but one that I look forward to taking directly. I am not closing the door on coaching again in the future, but I know I will not currently be coaching next season.”
The future of this organization is still bright, and Prep is more than happy to keep Coach Mischler as a part of the organization.
Good luck to Coach Mischler; the football team will miss him for sure. Roll Ramblers!