Hartford has a new football coach, and it’s a familiar face to the program.
The USD 252 Board of Education approved Dalen Kistner as the next leader of the Jaguars during their board meeting on June 11. Kistner said he’s excited to get started building his program.
Kistner, a 2019 graduate of Hartford, played four years at Bethel College in North Newton. Kistner graduated from Bethel in 2023, where he knew he wanted to get into coaching. After serving as an assistant at Hartford under his older brother, Danen, Dalen Kistner said the transition to the head coaching role has been smooth.
Kistner said he’s excited for the group he gets to work with this summer and heading into the upcoming season.
Kistner replaces his older brother, Danen, who stepped down after three seasons to take the head boys basketball coach position at Clifton-Clyde. Dalen Kistner makes his head coaching debut on September 5 when the Jaguars open the 2025 season at Fairfield.
