For Jordan Ingman, coming home to Charlotte County was more than a return to familiar streets and Friday night football. It was a decision to invest in the same community that helped shape him into the man, coach, husband, and father he is today.
Ingman grew up in Charlotte County, attending Port Charlotte High School before leaving home to play college football at Wofford College. After college, he spent a season coaching at Auburn University. But eventually, the pull of home—and a desire to invest in young people—brought him back to Port Charlotte High School, where he now leads a football program built around far more than wins and losses.
“My whole childhood was spent here in Charlotte County and I loved it,” Ingman said.
Some of his earliest memories are rooted in the local rec center on Harold Avenue, where he played baseball, basketball, and football. Football was especially important to his family. His father played and coached college football, and Ingman remembers attending Friday night games to watch the Port Charlotte Pirates.
Those experiences gave him an appreciation for the community’s character. Today, he describes Charlotte County with one word that continues to guide his leadership: grit.
Ingman also remembers the hardship Charlotte County experienced after Hurricane Charley. Seeing the destruction and the community’s response became one of those childhood experiences that stayed with him.
Port Charlotte High School became another defining part of his story. Ingman credits the relationships he developed with classmates, teachers, administrators, and coaches for helping prepare him for what came next.
Coach Hixson, whom Ingman now works alongside, taught him discipline and toughness. English teacher Ms. Flowers left an even different kind of impression. Although English was Ingman’s least favorite subject, she made it one of his favorite parts of the day. More importantly, he watched her continue to show strength, positivity, and perseverance while undergoing chemotherapy. Today, she remains part of the football staff as chief of staff.
After graduating, Ingman took those lessons to Wofford College, where academics, football, and work demanded discipline every day. He competed alongside players who eventually reached the NFL, learning that success required consistency and a willingness to bring his best every day. His season at Auburn University as a coach further developed his understanding of leadership.
Yet leaving Charlotte County helped him appreciate home in a new way.
“A lot of young people including myself take for granted how special Charlotte County is,” he said.
When Ingman returned to Port Charlotte High School, football became his vehicle for something bigger. He wanted players to develop habits that would make them successful regardless of what happened on the scoreboard. He also wanted to strengthen his alma mater and address inequities he had noticed as a student.
The result is a program where success is measured by more than victories. Ingman points to graduation, job placement, and the kind of people players become years after they leave high school. Among players who have been in the program for at least two years, he reports a 99.37 percent graduation rate.
But perhaps the most important measure is relationships.
“The wins and losses fade but the relationships last a lifetime,” Ingman said.
That philosophy extends beyond football through Next Steps, a career-readiness program for senior football players entering its fourth year. The program helps students explore what comes after graduation, whether that means college, the military, public safety, skilled trades, entrepreneurship, or entering the workforce.
With help from community partners, including Donna Barrett of the Charlotte-DeSoto Building Industry Association, students hear directly from local professionals about careers, finances, business ownership, responsibility, and opportunity. Friday sessions are intentionally held on game days, reinforcing that preparation for life deserves the same commitment as preparation for a game.
The program does not stop with speakers. Beginning in February, seniors receive individualized assignments based on their career interests. A student interested in becoming an electrician, for example, may be asked to identify local companies, explain why he wants to work for them, arrange a job shadow, and begin applying before graduation.
That practical approach has already reached roughly 75 students. Former player Charles Dunn discovered the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office through the program and later entered law enforcement. He has since returned to speak with current players, becoming a living example of what Next Steps hopes to accomplish.
“Being a great teammate is the same exact thing as being a great coworker,” Ingman said.
That belief captures the heart of his work. Showing up, communicating, accepting coaching, working hard, being dependable, and putting others first are not simply football habits. They are life and workforce skills.
Ingman wants students to understand that they do not have to leave Charlotte County to build meaningful lives. The community offers opportunities to attend school, build careers, raise families, start businesses, work in the trades, serve others, and give back.
For Ingman, that message is personal. Charlotte County helped shape him, and now he is helping shape the next generation.
His four defining traits for success—integrity, work ethic, communication, and relentless competitiveness—are qualities he hopes players carry long after their final game.
Ultimately, Jordan Ingman’s story is not simply about a football coach who came home. It is about a homegrown leader who chose to turn his experience into opportunity for others. Through football, mentorship, family, and Next Steps, he is showing students that their future does not have to begin somewhere else.
It can begin right here, in the community that helped raise them.
