Jupiter football head coach Tim Tharp announces retirement
JUPITER — The end of an era is set to come this spring as Tim Tharp of Jupiter – Palm Beach County's longest-tenured public school coach – announced his intent to retire.
Last Friday, Jupiter High football coach Tim Tharp gathered with his players, principal Dr. Colleen Iannitti, and athletic director Kimberly Jalm to share that he would step away at the close of the 2021-22 school year.
After Palm Beach Lakes fired now-Dwyer assistant coach Al Shipman – who spent seven seasons with the Rams – in November, Tharp held the longest stint at a single school belonging to Palm Beach County School District.
The school athletic department's Instagram page shared a letter penned by Tharp on Monday afternoon in which the coach reflected on his 36-year long career in the classroom and on the sidelines – namely his time at the helm of the Warriors' football program.
"When I arrived at JHS five years ago, our goals were very simple," Tharp said.
More Coaching News: Spanish River's new head coach Ian Headley plans on keeping recruits in Palm Beach County
More Preps: Check out the latest nominees for The Post's Athlete of the Week!
Tharp came to Jupiter after serving as athletic director at South Fork High and was well known for his success at Palm Beach Gardens High, where he led the Gators to a 56-20 record from 1998 to 2005.
Excited to return to the field, Tharp was determined to hire "quality" coaches that could be brought on campus as teachers and establish a meaningful culture, and to become a competitive team that could break what was then a 26-game losing streak.
Slowly but surely transforming the program, Tharp's first year saw the Warriors go 2-8 after two consecutive winless seasons under former head Bill Powers.
Tharp and company saw the team at its best when the pandemic was believed to be at its worst. While Jupiter couldn't complete a full schedule in 2020 as a result of COVID-19, the Warriors still finished 5-1, mustering their best winning percentage since the 2004 team that reached the regional semifinals.
In South Florida football's return to normalcy for the 2021-22 season, Jupiter finished 5-5 with just one loss by greater than 10 points – a 22-point defeat from a top-ranked Palm Beach Central squad.
Additionally, the Warriors amassed a team grade point average of 3.343, ranking the second-highest overall in Class 8A.
"Our football program was transformed into a place where players and coaches genuinely cared about each other and the good of the group was always more important than the individual," Tharp said.
"It was a place where the character traits being taught would hopefully follow our players the rest of their lives and help them achieve success," Tharp said, listing "sacrifice, character, integrity, love, and unselfishness" as just a few.
In the Instagram post, Jupiter staff shared that the school and program have been "extremely blessed" to have Tharp, and the coach's feelings were mutual.
Tharp signed off with a "heartfelt thank you" to those who shaped his career – including Iannitti.
"To all of my current and former colleagues, coaches, and players, it has truly been an honor."
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jupiter football head coach Tim Tharp announces retirement
