LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Coach Patenaude was nominated by Braden Daley.

"It was my freshman year at Kettle Moraine High School, and I was very anxious to see if I would make the wrestling varsity lineup. There were around five people in the weight classes that I weighed at, which meant I would have to wrestle someone at the 138-pound weight class for a spot on varsity. Fast forward to December of our wrestling season: the start of duals and tournaments. I had lost in the wrestle-off, and I was on junior varsity. I was upset with the outcome and felt lost to the point that I didn't know what to do. But Coach Patenaude gave me the great news that he would give me a chance to still wrestle at the varsity level at a tournament to see what would turn up. This gave me a huge morale boost for how I was on the mat as a wrestler.

Coach Patenaude valued every athlete on our team and was never judgemental towards any new wrestlers. He always gave everyone a shot at getting better and improving. 'Without focusing on improvement and techniques you're not great at, how are you supposed to improve and enhance your skills?' he would say. This is a significant takeaway that is still, to this day, helping me improve. When wrestlers were feeling down or nervous about an upcoming dual meet or tournament, Coach Patenaude would sit down and be willing to listen to what was going on. My favorite moments with Coach Patenaude are wrestling live in the room, running sprints, or doing a workout. When I want to tap out, his words of encouragement and motivation are right by my side to pick me back up and keep wrestling as hard as possible.

'How bad do you want to go to state? Do you want to put forth the effort and work to make it to the Kohl Center and place at state?' he would always be shouting out. Coaches don't have to give their best effort towards their team if they don't want to, but Coach Patenaude always did the opposite of just that. He is a dedicated, interactive, and goal-oriented coach who will never make me give up on my wrestling goals and dreams. I could never thank him enough for what he's done for our wrestling program. Thank you, Coach Patenaude, for your countless efforts," said Daley.