MH-B lucky to have St. Arnauld in charge

Harrison Walker remembers the time Bret St. Arnauld taught him — and many members of the Mount Horeb Barneveld team — the importance of cleaning out your dryer vent.

Jack Wilson recalls St. Arnauld lecturing the Vikings before Homecoming about treating their dates with respect.

And Brooks Hendrickson remembers a game during his freshman year — one in which the young quarterback struggled badly — where St. Arnauld gave him a pep talk afterwards that helped turn his season around.

There are coaches that say they care.

And there are coaches that show they care.

St. Arnauld undoubtedly falls into the latter category, proving each and every day that he cares every bit about his players as he does about winning and losing.

“He’s truly such a great coach,” said Wilson, MH-B’s standout senior linebacker. “He does care so deeply for every single person on this team and pours his literal heart and soul into making sure that not only are we becoming better football players, but also becoming better men. He’s preparing us for life after football, which is something that I feel like not a lot of other kids and programs can say.”

Walker, a star defensive end, echoed those sentiments.

“He’s an awesome guy,” Walker said of St. Arnauld. “He just feels like family. After every conversation he’ll say, ‘Love you’ and we’ll say ‘Love you back.’ We’ve got a really close relationship. He helps out with so much stuff.”

St. Arnauld has more on his plate than some world leaders.

He and his wife, Kayla, had their fourth child this summer. The oldest is eight.

St. Arnauld teaches Physical Education and Health at Mount Horeb High School, is extremely active in his church and is a vital member of the community.

Oh yeah, he also heads one of the state’s most successful football programs.

The Vikings have won four straight Badger Small Conference championships, been to Level 3 of the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, and enter the 2025 campaign poised for another monster year.

While winning games is job one, St. Arnauld believes it’s every bit as important to train his young men for the game of life.

So while St. Arnauld is always teaching X’s and O’s, he’s also instilling life lessons his players will use long after their football days have ended.

“He really does incorporate life lessons and life skills into football so well,” Wilson said of St. Arnauld. “It kind of opens our eyes to how much football correlates and teaches us about the real world and lessons like that, like taking accountability for your own actions and doing your job or giving 110% effort in everything you do.”

St. Arnauld instituted ‘Manhood Thursday’, where the Vikings discuss topics such as dealing with adversity, taking accountability for your actions or even learning vital household tasks like putting out stove fires.

He often uses the term ‘TNT’ — takes no talent — when imploring his team to give maximum effort in everything they do.

As important as football is to everyone in the community, St. Arnauld also believes his job is to prepare his team to become better husbands, fathers and men one day.

“He’s a fiery dude and it feels like he cares about us more than anything in the world,” Hendrickson said. “He wants us to do great things on and off the field.”

St. Arnauld had a terrific mentor himself, watching his own father — Dan St. Arnauld.

Dan coached Niagara High School for nearly four decades, led the Badgers to big things, and earned induction into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2020.

Bret followed his father around from a young age, and later starred at Niagara himself. Much like Brett Favre following his legendary father and coach, Irv, Bret learned how to be a great leader by watching Dan.

Bret cut his teeth during a four-year run at Delavan-Darien High School. He then took over at MH-B in 2018 where the Vikings have excelled both on the field — and off.

“I feel like we’re really lucky to have him here,” Walker said of St. Arnauld. “He’s taught us so much really good stuff that you need to know about life.

“Like, when you run into adversity, we’ve learned you have to move past it and focus on the next thing. And that would help with your job, like if you had a setback or don’t get that promotion, you’re going to work harder to get that. I feel like it definitely helps. Coach is always teaching us things like that.”

Which is why St. Arnuald is so much more than a football coach to these Vikings.

He’s also a life coach.

And it’s why MH-B is remarkably lucky to have St. Arnauld leading its football family.