Norris, Voiland represent Grafton well at all-star game

Grafton High School football coach Jim Norris recently got to return to his college alma mater and continue his education, albeit outside the classroom.

Norris was selected as one of eight coaches for the Division 1 to 3 South team in the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association All-Star Game for high school seniors, but he wasn’t the only Black Hawk represented.

Wide receiver Dominic Voiland was chosen to play.

The game was held at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh but practices were at UW-Whitewater, where Norris played offensive line on a few national title-winning teams while earning a teaching degree.

“It was good to get back to Whitewater and see all the coaches. I played with three of the coaches on the staff. It was nice to reconnect and be around football,” he said.

Norris was the offensive line coach.

“I learned probably more in that week than I have in a long time, coaching kids and coaching kids on an elite level,” he said.

Coaches began working together months before the game, including helping their players raise money for Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, one of the major focuses of the all-star weekend. Players and coaches raised $300,000.

Most of the linemen Norris coached are going to play at Division 2 colleges and are “hard workers and technically sound,” he said. Four of the seven are going to UW-Whitewater.

“It was cool. Not only did we practice in Whitewater for that entire week, but they got to kind of get acclimated to the campus and what camp was going to be like. The offense we ran is similar to what they run in Whitewater,” Norris said.

The North won the game, 7-0, in what Norris said is a typical defensive battle in all-star games.

“The game meant much more than just playing. It was the experience,” he said.

When it came to playing, Voiland stood out. He had three catches for 52 yards, leading the South team in all-purpose yards in his final high school game before he plays football in college.

“He did phenomenal,” Norris said. “To see him do it on a statewide stage and be the leading receiver and leader in yards — he was the most productive kid out there — it’s a huge nod to him for what he’s done for our program and what he’s going to do at Carnegie Melon.”