Esters returns to town as new athletic director at Warren East High School

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – After a few years away from Warren County athletics, Jason Esters is back in town, taking over as the next athletic director of the Raiders at Warren East High School.

Esters previously spent seven years as the athletic director at Warren Central High School, but in the spring of 2023, he decided to take a break.

For the last three years, he has worked as a counselor in his hometown of Barren County at Park City Elementary.

“The grind from counseling and being athletic director at Warren Central got to be a lot, and I just needed that step back,” Esters said. “I love those kids, love the staff and the community [at Park City]. I never thought that I would leave it, to be honest with you.”

But the itch to return to athletics was still there, and it came to a head a week ago, when Esters was brought in at Warren East to lead the many talented Raider programs.

“I always wanted the opportunity to work with Coach Jonathan Vincent and then Coach Greg Howard working at the district level. Those two guys were mentors of mine when I was athletic director at Central, and to have the opportunity to work with them and to work for them, I thought, is something that I couldn’t pass up,” Esters said.

Esters briefly had the chance to compete against the Raiders while leading the Dragons in the 14th District, but now he is at a new school and in a new district, which serves as an exciting opportunity.

“ I want to win district championships. I want to continue that success and build upon it and get to where we’re winning region championships,” Esters said. “The student body, the numbers are here, and we’ve got great coaches and we want to build on that.”

While wins and losses are what may stick out the most across Esters’ new tenure, he hopes to provide more than that to the many student-athletes that come through the school in the years to come.

“ I want the student athletes and the students at Warren East, when they look back on their high school and their middle school days, they say that was the best six years of their lives. We want to be able to build on those successes and give them opportunities that they may not have otherwise, and we want them to stay at Warren East,” Esters said.

“We want them to be part of a program and feel like a family and build that culture and continue to build on the successes of the people that have gotten them to this point.”