Of all the high school coaching changes that have taken place in the offseason -- and there have been many -- perhaps the most surprising was Bill Raycraft's decision to leave John Stark Regional High School.

Raycraft is John Stark's athletic director. He also helped establish the school's football program and has been the varsity program's only head coach. When Raycraft was offered the athletic director's job at Windham High School, however, he said he viewed it as an opportunity he couldn't turn down.

Raycraft, who played football at Bishop Brady, was offered the job in late April. At that point he must have felt like the rope in a game of tug-of-war.

"Definitely mixed feelings," Raycraft said. "A lot of people asked why I wanted to leave John Stark and the truth is I didn't. It was difficult, but this opportunity was too good to pass up."

Raycraft, 40, said he'll begin his job at Windham on July 1 The school is scheduled to open in 2009.

Raycraft will likely be Windham's football coach as well, although he said that position hasn't been finalized.

"That's my plan, but I still have to meet with the administration," Raycraft said.

Raycraft coached at John Stark for six seasons, two of which were at the club level before the program gained varsity status. He served as Franklin High School's athletic director for two years before moving to John Stark.

According to Raycraft, Windham could field a varsity team as soon as 2010.

"That's something we have to decide," he said. "We're joining in mid-cycle (the NHIAA classifies its football teams every two years), so we could do one year of JV and then come in as a varsity team. We're looking at Division V, maybe the bottom end of Division IV. It's a great opportunity to start with a new school and a new program from the ground up."

Raycaft said the John Stark program he's leaving is a healthy one, and he expects a new head coach to be in place before the end of May. He said the applicants include one current New Hampshire head coach.

"I think within the next couple weeks we'll get things done," he said. "I expect (John Stark) to be in the playoff hunt this year."