Joshua Brooks, former defensive coordinator at Jupiter High School and current special education teacher for ninth and 10th grade and a 2013 JHS alumnus, has been promoted to head football coach.
Brooks grew up in Fla. and enrolled at Bridgewater College in Va., where he played defensive back.
Brooks began his coaching career the year after graduating from Methodist University in N.C., where he served as a defensive backs coach. A year later, he returned to JHS and continued coaching.
“I think growing up here has allowed me to know the situations that our players deal with on a daily basis,” Brooks said.
Being a Jupiter native, Brooks is able to sympathize with his athletes since he was once in their shoes.
“As someone who’s graduated from here, I have firsthand experience of the situations that our players deal with on a daily basis,” Brooks said.
Brooks has served as defensive coordinator at JHS for four seasons before stepping into the head coach role previously held by Jason Kradman, former head coach who led the team to a 10-1 record.
“I think the biggest thing Kradman told me going into this is to be myself. There are a lot of great things Jupiter already does, but it’s important to be your own person. You can’t just mimic the past,” Brooks said.
Brooks emphasized his excitement about getting to see returning players have the opportunity to step into well deserved leadership positions.
“Seeing the work they put in…to go from a small portion of playing time last year to awaiting leaders of the group, that’s what I’m looking forward to most this season,” Brooks said.
The athletes undergo extensive training to ensure they are ready to step onto the turf and compete to the best of their ability.
Brooks prioritizes what happens in the locker room just as much as what happens on the field and believes in the philosophy that students should come first, regardless of whether it’s in terms of safety or mental wellbeing.
“We spend a lot of time in the classroom as well making sure our players are in a good state of mind, off and on the field- and our coaches also have a really good relationship with the players,” Brooks said.
Being able to bond as a team is essential to maintain the sense of community in the program.
“Analyzing statistical data from professional sports leagues and online games, the group has found that past shared success among team members improves their odds of winning future games ,”Noshir Contractor, Professor in the McCormick School of Engineering, said.
A sense of unity and collaboration is widely perceived to be a leading factor of accomplishment throughout teams, in which this ideology is also practiced among JHS football players.
“They have team meals the night before, collective workout sessions and they even hang out with each other outside of football, which creates a real sense of family that is so special and important in my eyes,” Brooks said.
Brooks has officially taken on the program as head coach with hopes to help athletes be the best player they can be along with helping them prepare for their lives after high school.
“It’s about helping them progress in their life and hopefully moving them on to play college football or just being admitted to the university of their choice, the athletes are so important,” Brooks said.
