About Saints Athletics

Fox Valley Saints Athletics was founded in 2020 as a cooperative athletic program between the Xavier and Fox Valley Lutheran school systems.   Saints Football and Wrestling are recognized by both school systems as the official youth and middle school teams for any K-8 students considering Xavier or FVL high school or attending a Christian school in the Fox Valley and surrounding area.   Saints are a 501c3 certified non-profit program, operating financially independent of any school system, dedicated to the future of athletics in Christian schools of the Fox Valley

Saints football (6-8th grade)is a part of the Great Lakes Independent Football Conference (GLIFC) and the home field is Xavier Middle School for practices, with games held at Xavier and FVL high school fields.  Saints football is first and foremost a developmental program so all players can expect meaningful playing time in every game.  All Saints coaches are USA Football certified and committed to the safety of our players

Practice typically begins the first Monday in August, following the WIAA calendar.  The first of 8 games are usually the third Saturday in August and continue on Saturdays (other than Labor Day weekend) into October.

Saints Wrestling (pK-8th grade) began in 2022 under Austin Stebane who is now the Xavier High School head wrestling coach and assistant coach Brandon Cline, and supported by FVL head coach Karl Schwerin.

The official season begins shortly after Christmas break, with optional sessions during the break for middle schoolers that want a jump start on the regular season.  PreK-1st grade sessions are once per week, 2nd-4th grade is twice per week and 5-8th grade practice 3-4 nights per week in the XMS gymnasium.

6-8th grader wrestlers compete in the Appleton Area School District conference, generally competing in one local tri or quad meet per week on Tuesdays starting mid January.  Experienced middle school and elementary school wrestlers are encouraged to compete in weekend tournaments and those that are ready are encouraged to compete at the state competition in March.

Girls Only Wrestling session (pK-8th grade) Beginning January in the 2025 season, Saints wrestling will be offering a session on Sunday nights led by Coach Kelly, a local wrestler currently competing at the collegiate level with UW Stevens Point.  This will be open to female wrestlers of any school system affiliation as we work to help local girls develop skills and a love for the nation's fastest growing sport