Jumpin' Jupiter: Garinger football buys into new culture

MATT LACZKO | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Jupiter Wilson, Garinger High's first-year football coach, led the Wildcats to a win in their season opener on Aug. 22 against Winston-Salem Prep – the program's first after a 46-game losing streak.

Jupiter Wilson has his calling.

After leaving Hickory Ridge High — where he had several successful seasons as football coach — Wilson had a few options. He could have applied for vacancies at Chambers or Hopewell; become an assistant coach to close friend Sam Greiner at West Charlotte or take on one of the least sought-after jobs around. 

Wilson opted for the latter and Garinger, a program that has gone through six coaches in the last 10 years. It also matched their win total during that span, but he sees an opportunity to change the culture. The Wildcats are already reaping the reward – they beat Winston-Salem Prep in their season opener — the program’s first win in six years. 

“I think because nobody else would probably want to take on that role of being a seasoned head coach,” Wilson said. “A lot of guys have done it from a standpoint of ‘this is my first job. Here's my opportunity to do it.’ I feel every day more and more this is why I’m here. There’s no ‘Man, why am I here?’ I get to do this. Sometimes I pinch myself in a good way, sometimes I pitch myself in a bad way. But Friday night was the culmination, even as I prayed, the manifestation of something that we knew was going on, honestly since January.”

Garinger athletics director Brian Borque said the biggest culture shift has been accountability.

"Jupiter is making sure the kids are getting to practice on time," Borque said, "and now that classes have started, making sure they get to class on time and attending class and doing their work. If they miss class or practice, you bet they are doing burpees and so I think accountability is the main key. I can't speak to before I got here, but just since Jupiter has been here the accountability piece has been very present."

Offensive/defensive lineman Angel Vasquez, a four-year starter, said after losing every week as a Wildcat, that first win in a Garinger uniform brought him to tears as time ticked away. 

“I was just very emotional,” he said. “I may have started crying a little. It is just because I have been putting in all of this work for four years and it hasn’t amounted to anything until that win. It felt really good, and I think I speak for everyone when I say we want more.”

Wilson admits he felt apprehensive about taking the job, but after conversations with his wife and pastor and prayer, he knew it was the right thing to do.

MATT LACZKO | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Garinger High football coach Jupiter Wilson leads a video session with his players on Aug. 26, 2025. The Wildcats are a calling for Wilson, who sees possibilities in a program that has churned through coaches and losing seasons since the dawn of the 21st century. "I just want them to see I am serious when I say that things are going to change at the G," he said.

“My last conversation I had was with my pastor,” said Wilson, who was hired in January. “He said, ‘If you want it comfortable, you’ll go to West Charlotte. If you want stress, you’ll go to Chambers.’ But he said, ‘If you want security, you'll go to Garinger. …What I mean by that is you’ll get to do it exactly how you want to do it. You don’t have to worry about what people may say.’ I think that just calmed my nerves.”

Borque said there were many factors that have affirmed his decision in hiring Wilson.

"With Jupiter, I think he needed the kids as much as the kids needed him," he said. "I think that has really come to light. He has started to develop a tight relationship with the kids already, and he loves the kids. The feeling is reciprocal. You can see it day in and day out at practices. ... the camaraderie that is happening is great to see amongst the players and coaches. It is nice to see the players are starting to believe in themsleve and believe in what is being done here."

There have been speed bumps, but Wilson’s determined to pour into his team that showing faith in the process would encourage players to buy in and believe he’s different from previous coaches. 

“I just want them to see I am serious when I say that things are going to change at the G,” Wilson said. “I think over the course of the spring and into summer a lot of the players have seen the intentionality and started buying in. The biggest thing I have seen change is their approach to work. When I first got here, to get them to lift weights was very difficult, because they never had consistency with it. … In March they started doing it regularly and now we are seeing a lot of the kids wanting to work.”

Vasquez, who is also a team captain, agreed. 

“One thing I have seen is that there are way more guys willing to be coached by coach Wilson,” he said. “From the first day of spring we had more players, up to 35 to 40 players. We kept that number going into summer. No one wanted to quit, everyone stayed bought in and that is one of the biggest changes I have seen with coach Wilson.”

Vasquez said he wants to use football to bring the entire Garinger community together.

“I want to see everybody more bought in together,” he said. “I want to see more of a community because right now it is very distant. Nobody comes to games, not even for the soccer team, and they are very good. They always go to conference championships, but no one even shows up for them. So, I just want the school to be more in tune with Garinger pride as a whole and know what it means to be a Garinger Wildcat.” 

Wilson believes setting a new standard of excellence will go a long way in bringing the campus together – not just one the field, but the classroom and beyond.

“Actually, two of my better players …walked into third period, and then they missed first lunch,” he said. “I was like ‘y’all are supposed to be in class,’ and they kind of look around said ‘we know.’ And I told them, ‘You know that will be 50 burpees, and they're like, ‘yes coach.’ This is just one of them deals where they understand, from my standpoint, that this is part of what we're going to do. I said we’re going to hold you to a standard of doing the right thing.”

Wilson insists he is in for the long haul. 

“People say, ‘Oh, how long are you gonna stay here,”he said. “‘You gonna stay here for a year? You're gonna leave?’ And then they joke with me like, ‘yeah, you're not gonna be here for a year, because if you keep on winning games, somebody's going to take you somewhere.’ But I tell people all the time I really enjoy it and I love being here. I couldn't see myself, especially in the North Carolina area, to say, ‘Hey, man, I'm going to leave and go to whatever that school may be. 

“No, I’d just rather be here at Garinger.’”

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