Ron Ream Retires As Head Football Coach
Longtime Benjamin football coach and former athletic director Ron Ream has announced his retirement after 43 years of coaching for the School. Ream announced his retirement Sunday night during an awards banquet at the Upper School.
“Father time has caught up with me and after 48 years of coaching Football, 43 at TBS, and 37 as the head coach here, it is time to turn over the reigns to someone else,” said Ream.
Ron Ream is an institution in Palm Beach County football. Ream served as Benjamin’s athletic director for 30 years and is a 14-time district champion baseball coach. He was one of six coaches inducted in the Florida Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2014 and was The Palm Beach Post’s Small School’s Coach of the Year in 2005 and Coach of the Year in 1992.
Ream led this year’s football team to the regional finals for the first time in 12 years. (Benjamin made it to the state championship game in 1978, 1979, 1992 and 1994.) Quarterback Jordan Travis, a Louisville commit and “Player Of The Year,” had a prolific season under Ream’s coaching. Travis had 2,179 passing yards and 24 touchdowns, 845 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns this season.
Senior Offensive Lineman Martin Weisz says Ream has been as much of a presence off the field as he has been on the field.
“I am so grateful for everything you (Ream) have ever taught me. Thank you for not only making me a better football player, but also a better man. Enjoy your retirement!” Weisz said on Twitter, inspiring the hashtag #ReamtheDream.
Athletic Director Ryan Smith ‘93 says outside of Marshall and Nancy Benjamin and Jack and Barbara Nicklaus, no one has had a greater impact on Benjamin than Ron Ream.
“Coach Ream has positively influenced the lives of thousands of Benjamin alumni. His record as a football coach speaks for itself, but I think most significantly is the impact he has had on all of us alumni spread throughout the country. I have met many coaches during my career, but there is only one Ron Ream. He has the unique ability to inspire and motivate his student-athletes like no one else I have ever seen. Coach Ream will be deeply missed leading our football program,” said Smith.
Ream said there are way too many people to thank after 48 years, but he has been blessed by coaching so many remarkable young men.
“I remember what Jack Nicklaus once said to me when I first came to The Benjamin School . . . ‘If you want to be successful, surround yourself with good, loyal people.’ The coaches that have been part of my staffs down through the years have certainly made my job easier. There's no way that I would be in three Hall Of Fames, and be one of the top 25 all time winningest coaches in the State of Florida without them.”
Ream concluded his speech by thanking his most faithful supporters: his wife and children.
“Thank you for allowing me to do what I've wanted to do the past 40 years. Be a Coach. I have truly been blessed."
Senior offensive lineman Martin Weisz made a touching video tribute to Coach Ream that includes current Benjamin players, like Louisville commit Jordan Travis and tight end Will Nicklaus. The video also features tributes from former Benjamin players Congressman Tom Rooney '89 and Division III All-American Brandon Shed '14.
See the full video below.
Senior offensive lineman Martin Weisz made a touching video tribute to Coach Ream that includes current Benjamin players, like Louisville commit Jordan Travis and tight end Will Nicklaus. The video also features tributes from former Benjamin players Congressman Tom Rooney '89 and Division III All-American Brandon Shed '14.
See the full video below.
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A premier PK3 - Grade 12 independent, coeducational day school with campuses in North Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens. Since 1960, The Benjamin School has provided a challenging college preparatory education to a diverse student body in a structured, nurturing community environment.