Andy Kolosso retires
By Scott Bellile
Hortonville High School has a new athletic and activities director.
Sam Englland comes from the Neenah Joint School District, where he was the assistant athletic director and a physical education teacher for the past year.
Prior to that, Englland taught and assisted the athletic program for five years at the Stoughton Area School District.
“I was looking for a position in administration, and the one in Hortonville opened up, and I heard a lot of good things about the school district from a lot of other teachers and coaches and figured I’d give it a shot to apply,” Englland said. “And (I) interviewed and was lucky enough to get the position and was pretty excited about it.”
Englland said he was drawn to HHS for its array of offerings: more than 20 sports, 40-plus clubs and a phenomenal music department.
In his role, Englland said he hopes to increase student and community involvement at events, strengthen collaboration between HHS students and younger students through outlets such as community service, and encourage students to build connections through their teams and clubs.
By participating in football, wrestling and baseball in high school, and wrestling in college, Englland said he has formed lifelong connections with teammates.
“A lot of them have benefited me in positive ways, and I’m hoping they’ll continue to benefit me,” Englland said of those bonds. “And hopefully kids see relationships through co-curriculars will help benefit them at some point in their lives as well.”
Englland has a bachelor’s degree in physical education from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and a master’s in educational leadership and principal’s license from UW-Superior.
His wife, Tess, is an elementary teacher in Neenah. They have a 1-year-old son named Canaan.
Kolosso retires after nine years
Englland succeeds Andy Kolosso, who retired on June 30 after nine years as the HHS athletic director.
Kolosso said Englland will excel in his role because he brings to the job a fresh perspective and a passion for activities.
Hortonville’s coaches and teachers have inspired strong extra-curricular participation at HHS, Kolosso said.
“Over 80% of our kids participate in things, and I’m talking about activities across the board, and I think that’s a great statistic,” Kolosso said. “It shows how extra-curriculars and the coaches and the leaders of those things make an impact in young people’s lives.”
Kolosso began his career in law enforcement, earning a criminal justice degree at UW-Platteville and joining the New London Police Department in 1981 at the age of 24.
While working as a police officer, Kolosso helped coach the New London High School football team under Randy Marsh.
“He sort of swayed me and mentored me into the education field,” Kolosso said.
Kolosso built stronger relationships with the young men on the football field than the ones behind bars, so he switched to a career in education to get to know youth better.
While Kolosso worked for NLPD, he attended Lawrence University to attain a teaching certificate. He chose social studies because he had minored in political science and history.
“My passions were the Civil War and World War II,” Kolosso said. “I love those two things.”
Kolosso began teaching history and geography at NLHS in 1998. He remained there until 2010 when the athletic director position opened at HHS.
He enjoyed sports growing up, having participated in football, basketball and track while attending St. Mary Central High School in Menasha. He coached his alma mater’s freshman football team for a year in 1980.
As athletic director, Kolosso oversaw the school’s transition from the Bay Conference to the larger Fox Valley Association and helped plan last year’s athletic stadium renovation project, which included the installation of artificial turf.
Kolosso also head coached the Polar Bears football team to six playoff appearances and a Bay Conference title alongside his son, Tom. He retired from coaching after the 2015 season but recently returned to Tom’s team as an assistant coach.
In retirement, Kolosso plans to hunt, fish, and spend time with his wife Sue, children Tom and Katie and his three grandchildren.