Windermere Prep basketball coach Ben Wilson resigns | Observer Preps

Windermere Prep boys basketball coach Ben Wilson announced his resignation Wednesday morning, ending a nine-year run that saw the program win its first state championship in the spring of 2016.

Wilson said he has accepted an opportunity outside of coaching, noting that he felt it was time for a break from the profession.

"I’m stepping away from coaching for a little while," Wilson said. "I had an opportunity presented that's not in coaching, but still related to sports. It gets me away from the grind and everything that comes with coaching. ... It just became a lot, so I just started feeling a little overwhelmed."

Wilson went 144-94 in nine seasons at Windermere Prep (according to MaxPreps.com) and had two seasons with 20 or more wins (2013-14 and 2015-16) and three 19-win seasons.

He inherited an upstart program in 2009 that had had played just one season and had to start three seventh-graders at the varsity level and turned it into a state championship program by 2016.

Windermere Prep first made the playoffs in 2013. Three years later, the Lakers defeated Westminster Academy 62-58 Feb. 25, 2016, in the FHSAA Class 3A State Championship Game.

“When we got there (in 2009), we were nobody," Wilson said. "That was what drew me here, the fact that I was going to get all the support I needed to be able to build a program from scratch. Along the way, people liked what we were doing and people jumped on board. We got a little bit better each year. The state championship is icing on the cake."

Wilson said he is most proud to have built the Lakers into a reputable program and says he is glad to leave it in a good place. He said he expects several top caliber candidates will apply for the opening, which Windermere Prep is likely to formally post this week.