Ron Lear steps down as athletic director at Plainfield North after 20 years at school

Ron Lear has been a part of Plainfield North High School as long as the school has been in existence.

But, after 20 years as a Tiger, he has retired, leaving a legacy that reaches far beyond the Plainfield North campus.

Lear served in the athletic office at Plainfield North the past 20 years. In his first six years (2005-11) he was the assistant athletic director, and was named the AD in February of 2011.

He also served as the head girls bowling coach at North from 2005-11, building a state program in three years, reaching the state tournament in back-to-back years in 2008 and 2009. Those teams were the first at North to reach a state tournament. His bowling teams reached the state tournament in 16 of 21 years at two schools, Morris and Plainfield North. When he retired from coaching in 2011, he was the second-winningest bowling coach in state history.

This spring, he was named the Illinois Athletic Director Association Division 3 Athletic Director of the Year. On top of that, he just finished a three-year term on the IHSA Board of Directors for Division 3, and was one of just four ADs to ever serve on the board of directors.

Prior to his career at Plainfield North, Lear served as a three-sport head coach at his alma mater, Morris High School. He spent 15 years as the head girls bowling coach, was named the first head coach of the soccer programs at Morris in 1998 and was the head coach for both boys and girls soccer until 2004.

“It has been an honor and privilege to serve the athletes, coaches and parents of the Plainfield North community,“ Lear said. ”I have met and worked with so many amazing people throughout my career here at North. The thing I will miss the most is going to games every night, home and away, and watching our athletes compete. It was the best part of my day.

“I am extremely proud of what has been built here at North in athletics. We have been one of the top schools in the Southwest Prairie Conference, and we have represented ourselves very well in the postseason over the years. We strive in every sport to not set the goal as a conference champion, but to set the goal to be a state qualifier and bring home a state trophy.”

In Lear’s tenure as AD, the Tigers have had seven state team trophies, nine state champions, 33 top-four state finishes, three supersectional champions, 13 sectional champions, 39 regional champions and 79 conference champions.

Lear was Southwest Prairie Conference president twice in his career, in 2016-17 and 2023-24. He was also the SPC basketball resource director, bowling resource director, and tennis resource director the past 15 years and SPC master league scheduler for all 26 sports the conference offers the last 16 years.

Under his guidance, Plainfield North has hosted a minimum of 5-8 IHSA events each of the past eight years. Last spring, North hosted six IHSA events in a two-week period.

His tireless efforts have not gone unnoticed, as Plainfield North will present the Ron Lear Coach of the Year award starting next school year.

“Ron is great with the kids and the staff,” Plainfield North Principal Ross Draper said. “He is someone who truly loves his job. I have a feeling that he will be retired for about 30 seconds. He probably won’t be able to sit still.

“No one spends more time here than Ron. He’s here early, he’s here late. He has been at an event here, driven down to Bloomington to put awards around kids’ necks and then driven back.

“Ron has created a great athletic program here at North. He puts the kids first, and the kids and parents expect a high level of success at North because that’s what Ron expects. We never have to worry about our athletic program because Ron has always made sure things are done the right way. I am sure [incoming AD] George Sam will use what he has learned from Ron and continue the program’s success.”

What has pleased Lear the most in his time at North is the program being one of the state’s best.

“I am so happy to have seen so much success at the state level by Plainfield North athletes and teams,” he said. “This credit goes to the hard-working coaches and athletes that we have here. I will miss all of them. It has also been an honor to work with so many outstanding athletic directors in the SPC and across the state.

“Being named the Athletic Director of the Year by my peers in this area was a humbling experience. There are so many outstanding ADs who do amazing things every day and to be recognized by them is a huge honor. Our conference is one of the best in the state, and I am proud to have been a part of that. In every sport you see state-qualifying teams or individuals from numerous schools.

“Working the last three years as a member of the IHSA Board of Directors has been an amazing experience. I have learned so many great things about athletics across the state. To be able to drape medals on some of the best high school athletes in the country has truly been something I will always remember.

“As I finish my career, I just want to say thank you to everyone who has been part of my journey here at North the last 20 years and to those at Morris High School who prepared me for this opportunity to be an athletic director. I was proud to be a Tiger every day I was here. My plan is to stay active in athletics in different ways, and some high school conferences have already reached out to assist them in certain areas.”