Ward resigns as St. Francis coach

Bob Ward saw his position as St. Francis boys basketball coach as a stewardship, upholding standards set by past Spartans coaches such as Mike Harper and Shawn Healy.

Now someone else will get that responsibility. On Wednesday Ward resigned the position he'd held four seasons since former St. Francis athletic director Paul Linden's move in May 2011 to lure Ward from an assistant position at Wheaton North.

"When I came back into coaching - and I am so grateful to have done this and especially to come back to St. Francis - I've been involved with great kids, great families. We've done that in a short period of time and have made great relationships with staff members that will be lifelong friends, so that part of it was tough," said Ward, whose prior head coaching position was at Wheaton North from 1994-2000.

"The problem that I was having was that I was not able to physically keep accepting the challenge of just the grind of 72 practices. If I could change one thing I wouldn't live and die on each possession, and I've never been able to figure that out. Even though, believe me, these were four of the greatest years ever. As I told the kids today, if I tried to coach them any way but full tilt I'd be cheating them," he said.

In four seasons at St. Francis, the retired history and psychology teacher compiled a record of 72-38. In 21 seasons overall Ward's record was 322-262, including prior stops in Spring Valley Hall and Round Lake, where he's a member of its athletic hall of fame. Ward will be inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on May 2 in Normal.

On Saturday he and his wife of 38 years, Valerie, learned their daughter, Anna, was expecting their first grandchild in November. That was not as great a factor in Wednesday's resignation as "the grind (that) got the best of me," he said.

Still, he hopes to remain in a school setting either in the classroom or court, in some aspect.

"I kind of have that in my collective DNA," said Ward, a friend and mentor to many in the basketball community including Wheaton Warrenville South's Mike Healy, former Wheaton North and current Batavia coach Jim Nazos, York's Vince Doran and Downers Grove North's Jim Thomas.

In Ward's second season at St. Francis, the surprising Spartans advanced to a Class 3A sectional final before falling to Marshall. The next season St. Francis reached the Class 3A Northern Illinois University supersectional, losing to eventual third-place finisher Limestone.

"It was an unbelievable run, the school was getting behind it, great crowds," he said. "Above and beyond all that nothing could replace being around these kids. Nothing would replace being around the kids and the families because they have just been stellar."