New Jersey football coach fired for having weightlifting a part of off-season program

According to a report, the Park Ridge High School head coach was let go after the season due to plans that included weightlifting

A high school football helmet sits on a field. /

According to a report by FootballScoop.com via NJ Advance Media, Jim Cleary wanted to include weightlifting as a part of Park Ridge High School's (New Jersey) off-season workout program.

Problem was, the administration did not agree with Cleary.

Per Cleary in the report, the administration did not agree and in turn let the coach down after the season following a meeting with administrators. The former Park Ridge coach claims following a meeting with administration, he was let go when they did not support his plans for the off-season, which included weightlifting.

After spending two seasons as the program's defensive coordinator, Cleary was promoted to head coach and led Park Ridge to a 4-4-1 record in 2024.

“We were discussing offseason weightlifting programs, and I laid out in the interview process that I expect all the boys who are not doing a winter sport to work out," Cleary said via the report.

“We put together a weightlifting program for them. I’m working with a strength and conditioning coach, and pretty much the administration said that they did not want me to be pressuring the boys to work out. If they didn’t want to work out they didn’t have to.

I was called into a meeting and was told my expectations were too much for a small Group 1 school. That I would be a better fit at a Group 4 or a parochial, and they didn’t want to make that commitment.”

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolonsi