Jason Kradman didn’t know it at the time, but his perfect regular season at the helm of Jupiter football turned out to be a finale — though not in the way that he expected.
Kradman, who led Jupiter to one of the most successful stretches in school history, is leaving to become offensive coordinator at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. The move gives him what he calls “one more shot” at coaching at the college level.
Hired in March 2022, Kradman guided the Warriors back into the upper tier of Palm Beach County football programs. Though he once viewed Jupiter as a possible final stop in his coaching career, he said the opportunity at Lawrence was the right fit at the right time.
“This was, certainly, the best experience so far down here at Jupiter,” Kradman said. “Just a great, great program. The community is fantastic. The players, the parents, the administration, obviously our coaching staff. And so it was really just a great spot we had. The group of seniors that we just finished with, 30 guys that are going to graduate in the spring, kind of all started with us four years ago when we got there as a staff. And so, really wanted to kind of stay and finish with these guys.”
Kradman’s four-year tenure at Jupiter comes at the tail-end of 13 years of high-school coaching experience, but the veteran coach also spent time on the sideline at Wisconsin, Oregon, and FAU, among others, prior to his return to South Florida.
This is not the first college offer Kradman has received while coaching high-school — it’s not even the first offer he’s received while coaching at Jupiter — and he cited his love for the Warriors program as the reason for not going forward with those opportunities.
For Kradman, the offer from Lawrence was the perfect storm.
“I think it’s a really good fit,” Kradman said. “The head coach is, understands that my family’s going to stay here for now. And so he has given me a great opportunity to recruit Florida. and be here quite a bit in the off season.”
Despite the program’s lack of recent success on the football field, Lawrence has shown a willingness to bring in a winning culture. Given that Kradman has excelled in building up struggling programs, the fit was a mutual one.
Though his legacy spans just four years at Jupiter, the list of accomplishments is noteworthy.
The veteran compiled a 34-11 record in his four years, including postseason games. if excluding the first year he took over the program, Kradman’s 29-5 record in his final three years with the Warriors represents one of the highest winning percentages in the state of Florida.
Last season was the first 10-0 regular season in program history, a further source of pride for a homegrown team nearly bereft of transfer portal additions.
Hopefully now they grow up wanting to play for Jupiter and wanting to come play for the high school,” Kradman said of the young community in Jupiter. “And hopefully we’ve built something sustainable to where there’s going to be great momentum, which I think there will be certainly. And I think there’s going to be a really smooth transition with the coaching staff. And at the same time, I think we were able to connect with a lot of young guys over the years that hopefully now kind of see what Jupiter can be and how it can be truly successful there.”
Kradman did not divulge specifics about the next potential leader of the Warriors football program but indicated that principal Amber Saunders, athletic director Scott Selvidge, and he feel they’ve developed great coaches alongside their players.
“It feels like we certainly have somebody on staff that we feel really good about,” he said. “Let’s just put it that way.”
Alex Peterman is a high school sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at apeterman@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jupiter football head coach leaves to take college coordinator job
Reporting by Alexander Peterman, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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