Tom Taraska Obituary News; Tom Taraska Death – Cause of Death

Tom Taraska, who transformed the Arrowhead High School football program into a perennial powerhouse and amassed more than 250 head-coaching victories in Wisconsin high-school football, has died at age 71 after a single-vehicle accident over the weekend in Hartland.

Taraska led the school’s football program to four state championships (1993, 1994, 1996, 2007) and five runner-up finishes (2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008). Including four years as head coach at Franklin starting in 1978, he posted a career record of 265-96. His head-coaching tenure at AHS ran for 29 seasons from 1982-2010.

In 2009, Arrowhead named its venue “Taraska Stadium,” one year before completing a massive remodel to the facility. He continued to serve as an assistant coach after he resigned from head coaching and teaching in 2011. He graduated from West Allis Hale High School and UW-Oshkosh and was inducted into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2004.

“He got everyone to believe in each other, that was the biggest thing,” said Nick Hayden, who played under Taraska from 2000 to 2003 and was the state’s defensive player of the year, then went on to a career at the University of Wisconsin and seven seasons in the NFL. “He always talked about not being vanilla, don’t be average. Always strive for greatness.

“I was lucky enough to play football over 20 years through grade school and into the NFL, but at the end of the day, it really is just a kid’s sport. You’ve got to love the game, and I think he really instilled that in a lot of people.”

Taraska was named the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Coach of the Year three times and won a bevy of additional awards, including the state’s coach of the year according to the Associated Press in 2007 and the UW-Oshkosh Distinguished Alumni Award winner in 2011. His teams at Arrowhead won 11 conference championships and collected 47 playoff victories.

A request to the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department for more information on the nature of the accident was not immediately returned. A makeshift memorial was built at a tree on Rybeck Road in Hartland, roughly 1½ blocks east of County Highway E.

The Warhawks visit Mukwonago on Friday in Level 1 of the 2023 playoffs.

“The community lost a true hero,” Hayden said.