2003 Jack Hammond  Neilsville.jpgJack Hammond was born and raised in Dodgeville, Wisconsin. He was a three-sport athlete competing in football, wrestling, and track. During his four years of high school wrestling Dodgeville had five different head wrestling coaches. This experience was one of the motivating factors that helped Jack to become a coach.

Jack went on to attend UW-LaCrosse where he earned his teaching degree with both physical education and health education majors. His LaCrosse wrestling career was cut short immediately in the freshman year by a knee injury.

After graduating from LaCrosse in the spring of 1973, Jack accepted a teaching position at Neillsville, Wisconsin. He began his coaching duties as an assistant football coach, head wrestling coach, and head baseball coach. He currently coaches football and wrestling.


During his first thirty years as head wrestling coach, Neillsville High School wrestling teams have compiled 291 dual meet victories. Competing in the Cloverbelt Conference, Neillsville has won 15 dual conference championships, 9 conference tournament championships, and 9 runners-up finishes. Jack has had the privilege of coaching three-3 time, fifteen-2 time, and 33 individual Cloverbelt champions. His teams have won seven regional titles, and were regional runners-up four times, won a sectional championship and were twice runners-up, and since the inception of the state team championship series had three team sectional qualifiers and were once runners-up. Neillsville was third as a team in the 1982 state tournament and in 1983, Neillsville team was the crowned the Division 2 State Champion. Jack has coached 44 individual state qualifiers, 31 state place winners, 6 individual runners-up and 4 individual state champions.

Jack credits much of the Neillsville wrestling success to the work of some outstanding assistant and junior high coaches. Duane Arndt, who retired from coaching in 1994 and Scott Bryant who has been the coach since 1995 receive special praise. Also, the work of many junior high school coaches but in particular Rollin Opelt who has been dedicated for over twenty years, deserves special recognition. The great wrestling tradition at Neillsville can also be attributed to the many wonderful parents, alumni, and the hard working and dedicated wrestlers.

Jack and his wife Theresa have four children. Jason (Shelly) Hammond, a UW-Whitewater graduate, currently teaching and coaching in Elkhorn; Angela (Todd) Krehmeyer, a UW-LaCrosse graduate; Joe, a St. Olaf graduate; and Jessica, a junior at UW-River Falls as well as one grandson, Cooper Hammond.