After a 6-year tenure as the head football coach and an English teacher at Wahlert Catholic,  Travis Zajac officially submitted his resignation. Zajac will move to Grundy Center, Iowa, to teach English and be the  head football coach at Grundy Center High School.

Zajac’s teams showed steady improvement over his tenure before an injury riddled 2018-19 season broke his streak of finishing over .500.

When Zajac arrived at Wahlert six years ago, the football program was struggling. There was no summer conditioning program and summer practice schedules were erratic at best. Zajac instantly instituted a culture of hard work in the weight room, with many of his players setting all-time Wahlert records for the three core workouts of squat, bench press, and hang clean.

Zajac’s teams played a tough-nosed brand of football, often playing shorthanded and with many fewer players than their opposition.

Zajac also taught Oral Communications and English to different grade levels. He used his public speaking abilities to help the Wahlert community, reading the long list of names at graduation each year. Zajac, while known for being strict, has an innate ability to prepare his students for collegiate speech and future English courses. “I am going to miss this place dearly, both the football side and the academic side.” said Zajac.

Meanwhile, the football team has a hole to fill. The search for a new coach continues, with no clear-cut candidates yet. While Zajac could be an intimidating character, Wahlert will be losing a passionate and effective educator who left a great impact on many students and student-athletes.