By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Bill Arnold reached a rare milestone Friday night, posting his 200th win as a high school football coach in Hayden's 41-7 road win at Olpe in the 2023 season-opener.
Hayden's Bill Arnold posted his 200th career win as a head football coach Friday night in the Wildcats' 41-7 win over Olpe. [File photo/TSN]
"It just means you're getting old,'' Arnold told TopSports.news earlier in the week.
Arnold is now 200-65 as he begins his 24th season as a head coach and his 17th season at Hayden after an earlier stint at Scott City.
Arnold, who has coached Hayden to state championships in both football and baseball, said he looks at the 200-win achievement as a testament to the teams he's been fortunate enough to coach.
I don't look at it as any type of personal thing,'' Arnold said. "I look at it more that as a head coach I've been involved in two really good programs and I've had a lot of good players and a lot of good assistant coaches right along with me.''
Arnold has averaged 8.6 wins a year over his 23 full seasons.
"I think it keeps you young a little bit, but I feel old sometimes,'' Arnold said. "High school is ever-changing, too. The game has changed just not at the NFL or the college level but it's a trickle down effect to the high school level and society has changed a lot, too.''
But through all the changes, Arnold said he is still enjoying himself.
"I like what I do,'' he said. "It's fun. It becomes a way of life. I've been fortunate to have great family support. It takes a special person to be a coach's wife and I got lucky in that aspect of it.
"And both my kids, they've undersood everything that goes into it and all three of them have been there to support me all the way through.''
Arnold's wife, Mickey, is a Hayden grad and been a long-time member of the school staff while son Grant Arnold played for his dad at Hayden and is currently a member of his coaching staff while daughter Kalie played volleyball for the Wildcats.
