Oak Hills names Prosser head football coach

GREEN TWP. - The Oak Hills Local School District sent a simple message when it approved Kyle Prosser as the new head football coach at Oak Hills High School with a unanimous vote at a Board of Education meeting Thursday afternoon.

The Highlanders want stability, and they believe Prosser is the man who can bring it.

Board President Scott Bischoff said, after emphatically voting in the affirmative, “I think everyone is hungry to get Friday night lights back at Oak Hills. Kyle is very much the person to do that … he’s committed to doing it the right way.”

Prosser, a 2004 Oak Hills graduate, will be the Highlanders’ third head coach in as many seasons, replacing Evan Dreyer, who left after one season for the Anderson job.

Prosser, who will also serve as assistant athletic director, was most recently an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Thomas More College.

“It’s very exciting to get the chance to come back to my alma mater, I think that’s every kids dream,” said Prosser, who will be a first-time head coach with the Highlanders. “Hopefully the Oak Hills community is ready to get after it with me.”

Prosser played linebacker collegiately at Heidelberg for two years before transferring home and playing his final two years at Mount St. Joseph University. He said he started coaching at Mount St. Joe while his younger brother, Erik, was still there playing in the fall of 2008, and that’s when he knew he wanted to coach full-time.

The next season, in 2009, he was a graduate assistant at Mayville State in North Dakota.

“The funny thing was I came back (after one year in North Dakota) and the Mount had a full-time opening,” said Prosser. “I interviewed and I got it.”

La Salle head coach Jim Hilvert recruited Prosser coming out of high school, coached him for one year at the Mount, and hired him as an assistant coach at Thomas More.

“I think when he played for me that one year I knew the game meant a lot to him,” Hilvert said. “He had a nose for the football … he had that passion and he was a leader. He has the passion for (coaching).

“I think Oak Hills did a great job getting a guy who’s excited about being the next head coach at Oak Hills. Being a Highlander is important to him. It means something, coming from there … he has the passion to connect with the kids and the ability to make Oak Hills competitive again.”

Elder coach Doug Ramsey also likes the hire.

“Kyle was a very good player at Oak Hills and actually played at St. Dominic with quite a few of our players, including Brett Currin, who is one of our current coaches,” said Ramsey. “I’m really excited for Kyle. I’ve gotten to know him really well over the last few years from his recruiting at Mount St. Joe and Thomas More.

“I think he will do very well at Oak Hills and I don’t think they could find a better guy to bring stability to the program.”

Prosser is aware it won’t be easy, but working on rebuilding the place he loves is worth it.

“The first thing I’ve gotta do is get the kids to trust me,” said Prosser. “I’m the first alum as far as football goes to come back as the head coach. When I was there we had a winning culture, we weren’t always the best, but teams knew when they played us that we would be tough.

“The big thing I need to get across to the community is, we’re gonna compete and we’re gonna get back to the top of the mountain; we’re gonna start building and create our own identity.”