Bill Kramer

Head Coach

Quarterbacks

Running Backs

At Naples High, as the saying goes, “Tradition Never Graduates.” The Golden Eagle football tradition is well documented. Last spring Scout.com analyzed all of the nearly 400 football programs in Florida and ranked the top ten for the last decade. Naples High is listed as the number seven ranked football program in that decade. Also last spring the News-Press compared all of the football programs in Southwest Florida and declared Naples High School “Prep Football Kings”. The 113 wins that Coach Kramer and the Naples Football staff have compiled the last twelve years ranks them number one in total wins in Naples High’s 59 years of football tradition. The past nine years the Golden Eagles have compiled a winning percentage of over 85 percent. Naples fans make our teams especially tough at home; the Golden Eagles have only lost seven games at home since 2000.

In 2001, Naples High won the first ever football State Championship in the history of Southwest Florida. Naples High astounded pundits around the state in 2002, with a 12-2 record and an appearance in the State Semi-final game against eventual state champion Pompano Beach Ely. The 2003 season found the Golden Eagles with a hard-earned 13-2 record and a return to the State Championship game. In 2004, the Naples High School football team tore through the record books; with the Dollar Defense and fast break offense they outscored their opponents 395-56 en route to a perfect regular season. The 2005 Golden Eagle squad had much to overcome after sending seven coaches on to represent the Golden Eagle tradition at other venues throughout the country. Despite this, and with arguably the toughest schedule in Florida, the Golden Eagles boasted one of the stingiest defenses and the number one offense in yards per game in Southwest Florida. The 2006 Golden Eagle football team went on to win 11 games and the district title. This 2006 team saw its state title run end against eventual state champion Glades Central High School in the Regional Championship; a game many consider to be one of the greatest games in Southwest Florida history. The 2007 season was a season for the ages. Naples High Football completed a phenomenal season being the first team in the history of Southwest Florida to finish undefeated and win a State Championship. The 2007 squad set records for most points scored in the regular season (443) and fewest points allowed (52). In 2008 the Golden Eagle football team again broke the single season scoring record and had one of the toughest defenses in the state while finishing 11-2 with both losses at the hands of Miami Pace High School. 2009 was a difficult year by Naples High standards, a 7-3 record that found the Golden Eagles out of the playoffs left the coaches and players determined to redouble their efforts in preparation for the 2010 season. Returning 7 starters from a defense that gave up less than 12 points a game gives the Golden Eagles a firm foundation as they aim to “Make Some Noise!” in 2010.

If success is measured by what happens after high school, it is worthy to note that in the last eight years over 90 percent of senior football players at Naples High have gone on to college. Many of these young men chose to continue both their academic and athletic careers. Again this fall there will be more than 30 Naples High football players lining up on college gridirons…truly remarkable.

Bill Kramer is beginning his thirteenth season at Naples High. The awards he has accepted on behalf of his staff, players, and school during that time are impressive. In 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2007 Coach Kramer was named the FHSAA District Coach of the Year. In 2001 and 2008, he was awarded the Paul Harris Fellow medal by the Naples Rotary. Also in 2001, he was awarded the inaugural Naples High School Coach of the Year Award. In 2002, Coach Kramer was chosen by N Magazine as one of the inaugural “Ten Men of Distinction” in Collier County. In 2002 and 2005, he was awarded FCA’s Nick Hyder Award at Black Mountain, North Carolina. In 2003, Coach Kramer received the State Farm Good Neighbor Coaches Sportsmanship Award. During that same year both the Naples Daily News and the Fort Myers News-Press honored Coach Kramer with their Coach of the Year award. Also in 2003, the Florida Sports Writers in conjunction with the Florida Athletic Coaches Association named Bill Kramer Florida’s 5A Coach of the Year, and he eventually was named Florida’s Coach of the Year for all classifications in the state. Coach Kramer appeared in American Football Monthly in 2006; he was listed as one of their “Young Guns”, one of the top six coaches under the age of 45 in the state of Florida. In 2007, Coach Kramer was honored as the Florida Athletic Coaches Association District Coach of the Year for the 7th time, the News-Press Coach of the Year, the Naples Daily News Coach of the Year, and the Florida Sports Writer’s 3A Coach of the Year for the state of Florida. In addition, Coach Kramer was elected to chair the FHSAA football advisory committee and was also the first high school coach in America chosen to serve on the American Football Coaches Association’s (AFCA) Public Relations Committee. Coach Kramer was also honored to be published in the AFCA 2007 Summer Manual. In 2008 Coach Kramer was awarded the Collier County Bar Association’s prestigious Teacher of the Year award, again named the Naples Daily News Coach of the Year, and honored to receive the coveted National Sports Achievement Award.

Bill Kramer is a graduate of Liberty University (Lynchburg, Virginia) where he majored in Health and Physical Education while lettering three years as a wide receiver. He also holds a Masters degree in Computer Science from Nova Southeastern University (Fort Lauderdale) and a Masters degree in Guidance and Counseling from Saint Thomas University (Miami). He is actively involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes of Southwest Florida and is regularly a guest speaker and clinician for numerous schools, universities, professional, and civic groups. Bill and his wife, Susan, have four lovely daughters: Katie age 17, Courtney age 16, Kelly age 12, and Cassie, 6 months.