Bob Ward started coaching high school basketball at the lower levels in the late 1970s, and the basketball lifer has hardly come up for air since.

Ward did, though, have a decade-long hiatus from the head coaching ranks before taking over at St. Francis two years ago. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that some of Ward’s finest handiwork has come after the break. 

Having taken the Spartans to an IHSA Class 3A supersectional this season after guiding St. Francis to a sectional final during his debut year, Ward is 2 for 2 in claiming Kane County Chronicle Boys Basketball Coach of the Year honors.