Ryan Velasquez, who helped build Oswego East into one of the best boys basketball programs in the western suburbs over the past nine years, has resigned as head coach.

Velasquez turned in his resignation earlier this week and confirmed the decision Thursday. Oswego East posted the job opening this week.

Velasquez in nine seasons led the Wolves to a 198-71 record. Oswego East won at least 20 games in all eight full seasons with Velasquez as head coach, not counting the COVID-19 shortened season in which the Wolves went 10-3.

Calling it a personal decision, Velasquez reflected that basketball “has given me so much, so many good memories.”

Velasquez has two kids, a 14-year-old son who will be a freshman at Oswego East next fall and 12-year-old daughter.

“This was a family decision. My son has a lot of interests, and so does my daughter,” Velasquez said. “I made tons of memories in basketball that I will never forget. This will be to create memories with people that I love. In a blink of an eye they’ll be done with high school.”

The 48-year-old Velasquez, a Sterling native, took over the Oswego East program in 2017 after five seasons as sophomore coach.

In his second season, a Wolves team led by future pro Ray J Dennis reached the program’s first sectional final. The Wolves won a program record 33 games in the 2021-2022 season, losing to Bolingbrook in overtime in a sectional final.

The next year, Mekhi Lowery and the Wolves won 29 games and beat Bolingbrook for Oswego East’s first sectional championship, losing to eventual state champion Moline in a supersectional.

“We had buy-in from the players, and it started right away, Velasquez said. ”We as a coaching staff pored into them, and had standards that we were going to follow as a program which helped us out with our culture. It took a lot of hard work to do the good things we were able to do year in and year out."

Oswego East in Velasquez’s time won 32 consecutive Southwest Prairie Conference games at one point, and three regional titles.

Velasquez is staying on as a health education teacher at Oswego East.

“It has flown by – I wish I could do it for 20 years, wish I could do it forever," Velasquez said. “I have built so many positive relationships in the community. The administration has been tremendously supportive.

“I am so forever grateful for the staff with the kids that we have had a chance to impact over the last nine years. Very fortunate to have basketball players that I will always stay in touch with.

“It’s time. It’s not a rash decision. It’s something I’ve thought about for a while.”