Published on: Thursday, December 13, 2012

By Brandy L. Simms

A former Montgomery County public school educator has earned a prestigious honor from the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association.

Greg Malling, who compiled an 18-33 record during a five-year stint as head coach at Wootton, has been named the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association/Green Bay Packers Coach of the Year after leading Arrowhead High School to a perfect 13-0 record including a state championship.

“It’s very humbling to receive this award,” said Malling. “It’s a direct reflection of an incredible coaching staff and a great group of kids who worked and played well together all year long. It was an amazing experience.”

Malling last month guided Arrowhead High School to a Wisconsin Division 1 State Championship in his second year at the helm. The Warhawks defeated Sun Prairie in the championship game, 35-14.

Malling began his coaching career in his native North Dakota in 1996 before landing at Whitman in 2000. After a five-year stint as an assistant at the Bethesda public school, Malling was named head coach at Wootton in 2005. Three years later, he guided the Patriots to a 7-3 regular season finish after a 2-3 start. “I really felt like we were one group working toward one goal,” he recalled. “It was just a special group.”  Malling joined Arrowhead after a one-year stint at Leesburg High School in Florida where he served as offensive coordinator under head coach Randy Trivers, a Montgomery County native and former head coach at Northwest High School in Germantown.