by Marjory Schones (Posted on April 17, 2026 @ 12:17 p.m.)

On Friday nights, the scoreboard tells one story. The final score, the wins, the losses are what people remember in the moment. But for Coach Ron Rittiman, those numbers were not the main thing he takes away from the Alamo Heights community.

After 37 years of coaching, Rittiman steps away from the game with a legacy that reaches far beyond the field. “I believe that coaching is a calling and I found it at a very young age,” he said. For him, coaching was about the purpose it brought and not just the job he had. “When you truly follow your heart and have a passion for what you get to do, you really don’t ever work.” That belief shaped the way he led, not just as a coach, but as a mentor to the athletes who passed through his program.

Early in his career, success looked simple. “When I first started coaching, I just wanted to win every game,” Rittiman admitted. But over time, that definition began to change. “Somewhere along the line, it turned into just helping other people, helping athletes to learn about life through the game.” While his teams achieved remarkable success, including building a program that never lost a home game during his time at Alamo Heights, he began to see winning differently. “Winning is a byproduct of what the goal is,” he explained, emphasizing that the real focus was always on growth, discipline, and character.

That mindset became the foundation of everything he built. Rittiman’s goal was never just to develop strong athletes, but strong individuals: people who would carry what they learned far beyond high school. He hoped that his players would leave his program as “better people, have better character, better teammates, treat people better,” reflecting the values he worked to instill every day. Through both victories and setbacks, his athletes learned lessons that extended far beyond the field. “Sometimes you can practice hard and play hard and still come up short on the scoreboard but it doesn’t mean that you lost,” he said. In those moments, success was measured not by the outcome, but by the growth that came from it.

As Rittiman steps into retirement, the wins and records will remain part of his story, but they will not define it. What endures are the relationships he built, the lessons he taught, and the impact he left behind. More than anything, he hopes to be remembered for the way he led. “I hope they would all say that, man, he’s a great Christian man that did everything the right way and tried to inspire and influence other people just to get better every day.”

In the end, the numbers on the scoreboard disappear at the end of the game, but the people in this community will stay long after to carry out the victory.