Without missing a beat, Morris native Ron Lear called it his dream job.
Having spent the last six years as the assistant athletic director, first to Jeff Johnson and then to Doug Stevens at Plainfield North, Lear has finally landed a full-time gig as the athletic director with the Tigers.
"I didn't know what to expect this past year, but I made the decision that I was going to coach for two more years and then move on," Lear indicated in a recent interview. "I didn't know until right after the season what was going to happen, though I had been the interim AD since February. But after six years as the assistant AD, I felt that I had handled all the responsibilities already. I still have a lot to learn, but I am looking forward to the challenge. The opportunity is exciting."
Lear started out with somewhat humble beginnings after graduating from Morris Community High School in 1976 and Illinois State University in 1981.
"Back then there were no jobs, kind of like they are now. I was getting married and I had to find a job. So I took a job at Eagle Food Center in the produce department," he recalled.
Though he had coached Pony League baseball in the summers leading up to then, little did he realize that his big break would come as a girls bowling coach at Morris Community High School.
"I saw an advertisement in the Morris Daily Herald classified section that the school was looking for a bowling coach, so I went and talked to (AD) Dan (Darlington) and took the job," Lear said.
Lear said that coaching bowling was not how he figured to get his foot in the door.
"I had bowled as a kid, but I thought I'd start out by coaching baseball since I had played at Morris High School for four years and then two years at JJC," Lear said.
So how did he like the new experience?
"I loved it. That first team is still one of my favorites to this day. There was only one person with varsity experience that year and I remember winning our first match against Kaneland," Lear said. "Then we lost like seven in a row and were struggling when all of the sudden things turned around. We won our last four, then won the sectional against Kankakee, made it to state and finished 11th. What a roller coaster season that was."
In the 15 years with Morris, Lear's teams went to state 11 times, won 10 sectional championships and won conference five times. The best state finish by the Redskins in his tenure was in 2003 when they were third.
Bowling wasn't the only sport where Lear made his name in Morris. He was also the boys and girls soccer coaches for many years before leaving town for the north side of Plainfield.
"In 1998 soccer got started in Morris and they couldn't find a coach. Dan called me in and said he needed me to come in and run the soccer program the same way I had run the bowling program," Lear recalled. "I learned the game quickly and my goal was to have a winning program - both boys and girls - within five years and that's what happened. I felt very good about that."
Lear's final bowling team in Morris in 2005 finished fourth at state, which preceded his move to Plainfield North by a couple of months.
"Everyone knew beforehand what was going on. Even before the job opened at Plainfield North," Lear said. "The job opened up there and the principal at the time, Pete Pasteris, gave me the opportunity and I took it."
Six years after that, he's now taken over.
Lear thinks that his time with the Tigers has served him well in preparation for the job ahead.
"I've had to handle all the responsibilities ... but I'm still learning," he said.
Lear had to give up coaching bowling at North after taking the job of AD - something he didn't really relish. Especially after the Tigers finished 13th at state in 2008 and eighth in 2009.
"We're still the only sport to have won a sectional, and we've done it twice," Lear pointed out. "Hopefully that changes soon and I think it will because we have a number of programs that are going to do that in the next year or so."
Which means Lear is full of optimism over the coming years as the athletics leader at North.
"We've got a great student body and a great coaching staff there. The school has a lot of good athletes and coaches," he said. "Things there are starting to get better and better and there's going to be a lot of success at Plainfield North in a short amount of time. There really is."