Current female students with the opportunity to participate in athletics in Neenah can trace their appreciation back to Jean Kessler.
A true trailblazer for female athletics, Kessler was the school’s first girls’ basketball and volleyball coach, achieving plenty of success along the way as well. Kessler’s basketball teams made appearances at the first six WIAA state tournaments, winning the state championship in 1978 and earning runner-up finishes in the inaugural state tournament in 1976 and in 1980.
Overall, Kessler was a three-time Fox Valley Association Coach of the Year and amassed a 176-47 career record. She was inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame and two of her former players, Laura Coenen and Kathy Hagerstrom, both were inducted a few weeks ago.
Kessler didn’t have all of those same opportunities herself as a student in Neenah when she graduated in 1959. In high school, she participated in the band and was a member of the Girls Athletic Association, which provided intramural activities for female students.
Kessler attended the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and participated in many different sports as part of the university’s Women’s Recreation Association. She played on an Amateur Athletic Association basketball team that was not sanctioned by the university and advanced to state, regional and national tournaments.
After graduating with a physical education major and biology minor, her first teaching job was at West Bend High School from 1963-69 where she taught physical education and was the cheerleading advisor. Kessler returned to her hometown in 1969 and taught physical education at Neenah until 1996. She was the Girls Athletic Association advisor in both West Bend and Neenah before getting the girls’ varsity sports program established. Kessler served as the District’s physical education department chair during her final three years of teaching.
Kessler and her partner, Cathy, reside in Neenah.
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