As Duke Copp takes control of the Bonduel High School boys basketball program, his goal is to teach his players about hard work.
He knows his new team well, from coaching the eighth-grade boys team and teaching at BHS the last three years.
“There’s a lot of potential there,” Copp said. “To be one of the best programs, we have to work harder than everyone else. That’s the message I’m trying to get across to the kids. If they take care of their work, the rest will take care of itself in the winter.”
With hard work, Bonduel can consistently be one of the better programs in the Central Wisconsin Conference-8, Copp said.
The team won the conference title two seasons ago under former coach Jerry Reinke, who stepped away after last season.
The transition from Reinke should be smooth, Copp said.
“I don’t think style will be different,” he said. “I know the kids enjoyed playing for Coach Reinke and I imagine they will enjoy playing for me. I try to make it fun.”
The Bears will play a more up-tempo, pressure-style of basketball under Copp, which he says is a good fit for the type of players the team has coming back.
“We’re not going to be very big, which is OK because I like to play a pressure defense and get out and run and fastbreak a lot,” Copp said. “That should play right into what our strengths are. We need some time to work on that correctly, but it should be fun basketball to play.”
This is the first head coaching job for Copp, who was also the junior varsity girls coach for seven years at Bay Port and has 15 years total coaching experience.
“I’m very, very excited,” Copp said. “I’ve been wanting to run a program for a very long time. I finally get that opportunity and I’m really looking forward to it.”
While the coach has some players in summer leagues and is excited that a few players are playing Amateur Athletic Union basketball this summer, he’s concerned that some players are not doing everything they can during an important part of the offseason.
“I’ve been running open gyms, though attendance has been less than I’d hoped for,” Copp said. “Basketball has changed so much. It requires a lot of time in the summer, and I know that is hard for kids and parents. We’re trying to get there.”
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