NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH — Superintendent John Antonucci, Athletic Director Kurt Kummer and Principal Peter Haviland are pleased to announce that North Attleborough native and North Attleborough High School graduate Mike Strachan has been chosen as the next coach of NAHS football.
April 4, 2022 Matthew Reid Client News, School News
NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH — Superintendent John Antonucci, Athletic Director Kurt Kummer and Principal Peter Haviland are pleased to announce that North Attleborough native and North Attleborough High School graduate Mike Strachan has been chosen as the next coach of NAHS football.
Coach Strachan is a 1986 graduate of North Attleborough High, having played football for the Rocketeers under longtime coach Ray Beaupre. Most recently, he served as the head football coach of rival Attleboro High School since 2013.
He replaces Coach Don Johnson, who spent close to four decades on the NAHS football staff, including the past 13 years as head coach.
“Finding a replacement for Coach Johnson was no easy task, and it was important to have a thorough, transparent and inclusive search process. We accomplished that, and I couldn’t be more pleased about the outcome,” Superintendent Antonucci said. “Mike Strachan is not only a successful and highly-respected football coach, but he is a lifelong resident of the community and an alumnus of North Attleborough’s storied football program. We are looking forward to welcoming Coach Strachan home.”
Coach Strachan has had a long and highly successful football career in both the United States and Europe. After graduating from NAHS he went on to play at Stonehill College before making the jump to coaching.
He served for several years as a head coach of the Stockholm Mean Machines, a Swedish professional football team, and led the team to their first ever national championship in 1990 in addition to multiple other playoff appearances. He also served as head coach of the Swedish National Football Team, leading them to a Scandinavian Championship in 1993 and a fourth-place overall finish in Europe.
He returned to the United States to serve as defensive coordinator at Framingham State University for three years. He was named the head coach at FSU in 1995, a position he held for seven years.
“Coach Strachan’s career success speaks for itself, and we look forward to having someone with his proven track record of success being our next football coach,” Athletic Director Kummer said. “But more importantly than his on-field success, it means a great deal to have someone who knows this community and has lived the North Attleborough High School experience. To have a new head coach in place with such a high level of coaching experience coupled with a history and deep love of North Attleborough makes him a perfect choice to take over the highly coveted position of our head football coach.”
During his tenure as Attleboro High’s head coach, the Blue Bombardiers made eight playoff appearances and was a Div. I South Sectional finalist in 2013. That same year Coach Strachan was recognized as the Hockomock League Coach of the Year and was chosen by the New England Patriots as an NFL Coach of the Week. The team was also a three-time recipient of the Hockomock League Sportsmanship Award.
With Coach Johnson departing the NAHS sidelines, the district knew it needed to find the right candidate and only chose Coach Strachan after a lengthy search process.
“Anticipating competition from a good number of applicants for this position, we created a fairly large search committee to ensure that stakeholders, including parents, student-athletes, teachers and community members, were able to contribute to the outcome of the process,” NAHS Principal Peter Haviland said. “We are extremely grateful to each of the committee members for their hard work, and for donating their time to help create the best possible outcome.”
For Coach Strachan, bringing his traditions of structure, collaboration and commitment to NAHS is something he looks forward to sharing with the team, the school and the community.
“I started playing football as a youngster here in North Attleborough, and I still feel as passionate about the game now as I did when I played with my friends and brothers in our backyards,” he said. “My commitment, hard work and love for football have opened many doors for me in my career, and I look forward to making a positive impact on the lives of our student-athletes. I am still in close contact with many of the players I have coached over the years, whether they were from my time in Sweden, at Framingham State or at Attleboro High, and making those connections and being a positive role model is one of the things I enjoy the most about coaching.”
That balance, of producing a highly successful on-the-field team while also helping guide students through school and preparing them for life after graduation, is something he has always prioritized.
“Promoting the values of hard work and respecting one another is something that all players can benefit from not only during their playing careers but also as a way to prepare them for the next chapters in their lives,” Coach Strachan said. “I am truly honored to fulfill my lifelong dream to come home and be the head football coach at North Attleborough High School and help shape the next generation of Rocketeers.”
Professionally, Coach Strachan worked for the KONE Elevator Company for more than a decade, serving as National Director of Modernization for two years. He went on to serve as the Regional President for ThyssenKrupp Elevator before starting his own company, 3Phase Elevator Company, in 2018.
