Bob Anderson says he never considered himself a great coach. But his legacy of doing more with less and a resume that includes 732 career wins, an Elite Eight state tournament appearance and a plaque in the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame says otherwise.
Anderson, longtime boys basketball coach at his high school alma mater Williamsfield and for the last eight seasons with ROWVA/Williamsfield, has retired after 45 years. He made the decision Friday (Dec. 1) and it was announced by the Williamsfield school district on Monday.
A 1965 Williamsfield High School graduate where he starred for the Bombers before going on to a successful career at Western Illinois University, Anderson had coached varsity basketball since 1979-80.
“A lot of things went into my decision — I’ve probably go short version, a medium version and a long version,” Anderson said with a laugh.
Anderson was 1-0 this season when he contracted COVID. It was that health issue, along with an growing difficulty of dealing with losses that led to his decision to call it a career.
“I was kind of dumbfounded when I found out I had COVID, because I was going to miss my first game in 45 years,” he said. “But I thought to myself, I was going to miss more than one game, with games coming up later in the week.
“I decided last Friday (Dec. 1) that these kids needed to know who they’re going to have. It wasn’t fair to them. They need to have one direction and work to get better in that direction.
“I just felt it was best to step aside, let the team know who they have as their coach and let them move forward with the season. Let’s get the thing done, and move on.”
Another former Bomber, Ryan Hart, takes over as head coach of ROWVA/Williamsfield. Hart also previously was the head varsity coach at Galesburg High School.
Coming down with COVID triggered the 76-year-old Anderson to think about his future as a coach. He said he’s still reeling from ROWVA/Williamsfield’s 2-point loss to Elmwood in last year’s regional finals.
“I’m an old guy, and for me, losing got tougher and tougher to take,” Anderson said. “To this day, I’m still devastated by our loss in the regional last season. I’ll never get over it. It would have been our sixth regional here with ROWVA. I don’t know if I would have, but it would have been a great way to go out.
“When you’re coaching in your 70s, you don’t need to be undefeated, but you need to be winning games. If you’re not, you need to look in the mirror and say to yourself, ‘you don’t need this.’”
‘It’s the right decision’
Anderson said he’s at peace with his decision to retire.
“I made the decision on Friday morning, but on Saturday morning, I was in a room by myself at home, and I had a few tears in my eyes,” he said. “I thought to myself, ‘what have you done here? Is this really you and what you think is the best thing to do?’
“I struggled with it for awhile, but as the day went on, it felt good about the decision. It’s the right decision.”
He informed the team of his decision Monday.
“I think some of them were pretty emotional about it, and for some, it was probably water off their backs,” Anderson said. “After looking at them, I was convinced I had made the right decision.”
During his career, Anderson’s teams won five regional championships — 1982, 1985, 1997, 2007 and 2015. And in 1997, Anderson guided the Bombers to a 28-3 record and their only state finals appearance, losing to Chicago St. Francis de Sales, 65-53 in the Class A Elite Eight.
Although former players and rival coaches would disagree, Anderson said he didn’t consider himself an elite coach.
“This may shock people, but I never ever really considered myself that great a coach. I really didn’t,” he said. “I worked hard — I read articles, I watched tape, I went to clinics and I talked to other coaches. I did everything I could to make myself better.
“I felt my strength was getting my kids in shape and having them ready to play a super intensity rate all the time.”
He added, “I put a lot of pressure on myself to try and get better. If the guy I was coaching against went to two clinics, I wanted to go to three. And I think that did give me a little edge.
“But I never got to where I wanted to be. I wanted to be better.”
‘This has to be it’
Is Anderson done coaching?
“This has to be it,” he said. “I’m 76 years old and was in my 45th year as a varsity coach. That’s a lot of scouting and riding busses when it’s zero degrees in the winter. At this point in my life, I just think it’s too much. I can’t see myself entertaining a comeback, at all.
“Oh, I’ll miss it. I’ll miss it a lot — I think. But right now at this moment, I feel good about my decision.”