Ron Moore is returning to his alma mater, Cardinal Ritter High School, as the boys head basketball coach. Moore says he is ready to turn the program into a championship-caliber team. The team has only won three sectional championships. The most recent occurred in 2009 when Moore served as assistant coach.
“The program has a lot of potential and I am going to push it to the max,” he said. “Pete Bitting built a foundation in winning. I’m just going to tweak a couple of things but continue on the success the school is accustomed to.”
The new coach is very excited about returning to his former high school and following Bitting, who helped him get his first coaching job.
Although basketball season begins in the fall, the Raiders are already in the gym doing workouts and practicing twice a week to begin working on the upcoming season. In addition, Ritter is also competing in summer league tournaments such as the Charlie Hughes Shootout, which was held recently.
“We played well and competed, but our young guys played some really tough teams,” said Moore.
Coach Moore knows first hand what his players are going through. He played for Cardinal Ritter High School from 2000 – 2003 before going to Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio and playing all four years.
Moore’s professional journey began at the age of 21 when he served as the freshman coach for Cardinal Ritter. After four years, Moore needed a change of scenery so he accepted a coaching job at Brebeuf High School, which he said, was a great experience for him.
“I wanted to learn under a different coach. I got the chance to see success somewhere else which helped me out,” Moore said.
Last season as junior varsity coach, he led the Braves to a 19-1 record.
“My success at Brebeuf was good, and now I want the success to spill over to Ritter,” he said.
Former Ritter coach Pete Bitting, who also is a former graduate of the high school, is pleased with the selection of Moore as the new coach.
“I am very happy for him, he was the first guy I hired when I got hired seven years ago,” Bitting said.
During his tenure, Bitting’s 2008-2009 team won the IHSAA sectional championship, which was the third time in school’s history. The team also won the Indiana Cross-Roads Conference championship and posted a record of 17-6, currently a school record for wins in a season.
Ready to change the program back to its winning ways Moore feels his team is now ready to work and is serious about basketball. Moore is also getting familiar with the feeder schools, such as the middle schools, and the Catholic Youth Organization and has goals of teaching basketball skills to youth prior to high school.
“I want people to think of coming to Ritter,” Moore said.
The 20-something year-old has a fairly young coaching staff that he is confident in. Moore has had some success and he wants to mentor his staff and show them hard work, working from the bottom and showing what a winning program is all about.
“I want my staff to be hungry like I was when Bitting gave me a chance. So I want to do the same thing,” said Moore.
For more information, call Cardinal Ritter (317) 924-4333 or visit their website at www.CardinalRitter.org.
