Giving his all for the kids

Riverview High boys basketball coach James Ward didn’t hand out a game ball every night. 

But one night in January 1997, as the Rams celebrated their district championship victory over Manatee in the locker room, Ward singled out freshman B.J. Ivey and handed him the game ball. 

His wrist wrapped in a cast due to an injury from his final JV game, Ivey hesitated for a moment before accepting his first and only game ball. He hadn't broken a sweat during the game. He hadn't even made it onto the court. But Ward still wanted everyone to know that Ivey was an integral part of Riverview's success that night.

“It meant the world to me, and it made me want to get back there and make sure we won again," said Ivey, who took over the boys basketball program in 2009, when Ward stepped down to become the school's athletic director. "He’s done a really great job of always making it about the kids.” 

It's just one example of how Ward has made a difference during his storied career — something he continues to do even as he prepares to retire from his post June 9.

The framed photographs and scrapbooks, the poster of Martin Luther King Jr. propped against a chair and the game ball from Riverview’s 3-0 Turkey Bowl victory against Sarasota last fall, among other Riverview sports memorabilia, that have found a home inside his corner office will soon be packed away.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” said Ward, who is still busy helping athletes finish the school year and get into college. 

After a 27-year coaching career that included stints as Riverview’s girls track coach, boys basketball coach and an assistant football coach, Ward retired from coaching to become the Rams’ athletic director. Then, over the past eight years, Ward has been responsible for a number of changes to the Rams’ athletic program, including the installation of the school’s Hall of Fame, new softball and baseball stadiums and a new gymnasium, among others. 

A native of Sarasota, Ward’s story began on the streets of Newtown. 

It’s there where Ward tossed around his first football and played his first pickup game of basketball. 

It’s also where Ward, the youngest of five children, learned the value of perseverance and hard work. 

As a youngster, Ward would travel with his older brother, Lonnie Ward, who had gained notoriety on the gridiron at Booker, to watch the Turkey Bowl — the annual regular season finale between crosstown rivals Riverview and Sarasota. Ward and his brother were the only two black boys in attendance, but that didn’t stop Ward from absorbing as much knowledge as he could. 

“I remember those guys playing with such intensity, and later on, I ended up playing in those games for three years,” Ward said. “Sports was just an equalizer. You could be poor or wealthy, and it didn’t matter because when you were on the field, you all played the same way.” 

A four-sport athlete, Ward loved basketball and football, but football was where he truly excelled. If the first unit wasn’t out on the field, Ward would go out and work with the second unit. 

A skill player, Ward played wide receiver, running back and quarterback for the Rams, helping lead Riverview to a near perfect season in 1971.  

Ward went on to play football at Dodge City Community College and Bethel College before returning to Sarasota in 1976. 

He landed his first teaching job at Riverview in 1982. He was named the girls track coach the following year.

In 1989, Ward took over the Rams’ boys basketball program, where he led Riverview to its first Final Four appearance in 1993. 

Today, as athletic director, Ward is arguably the school’s biggest cheerleader — not just for basketball and football, but also for the smaller sports, such as tennis and golf. He encourages coaches and teachers to catch the various sports in action, and he makes it a point to see each of the school's 500-600 student-athletes in action at least once.

It’s not unusual for Ivey to call him up on a Saturday and for Ward to tell him he’s on his way to Orlando to watch the baseball team or driving to Tampa for a swim meet. 

“Everyone knew he was big with basketball program and everything, but he was at every sporting event," junior forward A.J. Caldwell said. "I thought that showed how influential of an AD he was and how much he cared about the school and the athletes.” 

Ward says his philosophy on education always has been centered on listening to the students and challenging them to do better. 

On numerous occasions, he has spent the entire day with a student in class to identify a problem and find a solution. 

Rams student-athletes haven't seen the last of Ward. 

Ward will return to Riverview in the fall where he’ll continue to teach physical education until February, when he’s able to fully retire. 

Upon retirement, Ward, a husband and father of five, plans to continue working with kids, volunteering and traveling around the country to see former Rams in action. 

He also took a job as the boys basketball coach at Booker Middle School two years ago and plans to continue coaching there.

“It’s a different age group than I’m used to, but hopefully I can help them see things earlier and see things differently," Ward said. "It’s about having the chance to take young men and change their lives and help them grow a little bit faster.”