J.P. O'Hara has been coaching track and field for over two decades. His athletic career started at Loyola High School of Los Angeles where he ran the 300m hurdles and 110 high hurdles. He was a CIF Southern Section Finalist with a time of 38.9 in teh 300m hurdles. At Whittier College he ran the 400m hurdles with a personal best of 55.9 which is still one of the fastest times ever run by a Whittier College Poet.

In 2000, J.P. started coaching at his High School alma mater in both football and track. He was Chris Conte's first coach in track and football. Chris went on to play at Cal Berkeley and then in the NFL for the Bears and Buccaneers from 2011-2018. in 2015 J.P. moved to Redding and immediately began coaching hurdles and sprints at Enterprise High School. He coached the 2017 team that broke the CIF Northern Section record in the 4x400m relay. He has coached multiple hurdlers that have made it to the CIF State Meet over the past few years. 

J.P. comes from a pedigree of coaching, as his brother is a football coach at the University of Florida. In his free time J.P. enjoys doing crossfit, backpacking, and fly-fishing with his wife and best friend, Teri.