This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The time felt right for Riverton's Ron Ence. His Silverwolves had finished with their sixth region championship in seven years, and ended up in Class 5A's final four.
Coming off that successful run, Ence met with his players on Tuesday to tell them he would be stepping down as head girls' basketball coach.
"I basically reviewed everything in my mind, and I've been having some stress and a few other issues that would get worse unless I stepped away from basketball," Ence said. "It's been a good run, and I think it will still be a good program - it's as simple as that."
Ence wraps up a nine-year tenure at Riverton in which he finished with a 163-44 record. He led the Silverwolves to eight winning seasons, reaching the championship game in 2009.
Ence cited some stress-related issues and family responsibilities as the main reason for stepping down. Assistant principal Curtis Hagen said the school - and the players - are sad to see him relinquish the role.
"Our desire is that he would continue - we're very happy with him," Hagen said. "He had a great run, and I've bought a lot of girls' basketball banners since he's been here. He'll have a job here as long as he wants."
Ence still plans to teach at Riverton, and said he would open to coaching another sport in the future. Although coaching the basketball team kept him up some nights, he said he'd cherish the experience.
"It was emotional during that meeting, and it was emotional for the players, too," he said. "When you get to work with kids five or six days a week, you get to have fun with them, you get to know their personality."
— Kyle Goonkgoon@sltrib.comTwitter: @kylegoon