I have been blessed with many teachers who cared for my well-being and deserve recognition for their part in helping me achieve my goals. However, there was one teacher who set himself apart by displaying principles noted by Bransford, Brown, and Cocking.
Michael Kopp is a veteran basketball coach, ready to begin his 29th year of coaching the Central Catholic High School girls’ team. He has amassed over 600 wins and is recognizable state-wide for his accomplishments. Not only is he an extraordinary coach, he is a humble man who shies away from the spotlight and teaches greater lessons than basketball to his players.
Flash back to 1995, my senior year: My teammates and I were decent players, but none of us were superstars, 1000 point scorers, or even Division 2 prospects. It was deemed to be a “rebuilding” year at CCHS.
Coach Kopp undoubtedly knew the “talent” he was inheriting, but he quietly began his quest for another winning season. Coach, a mathematics teacher by day, noticed patterns – who worked with whom best and in what situation, which defense to play when certain players were on the court, and whom to play during key moments of the games. Coach Kopp’s choices reflected his deep understanding of the game of basketball. His knowledge was conditionalized and transformative, dependant upon the opposing team’s strategy.
At the end of a game, Coach Kopp coolly and confidently retrieved knowledge in answering reporters, only of course after he expressed his pride in his team.
Coach Kopp led us to the AAAA State Basketball Championship Game at the Hershey Park Arena, a feat which no one predicted of at the onset of the season. This “rebuilding” year team knocked down powerhouse teams with Division I prospects and went all the way to the top. How? We were led by an expert.
Coach Kopp organized his thoughts around the “big ideas” that Bransford, Brown, and Cocking noted – how to work together as a great team to beat five (more) talented individual players. A novice coach may require the memorization of plays, but an expert like Coach Kopp taught his players how to read defenses and trusted us to alter offensive plays, especially when the other team had our offensive scheme committed to memory.
Coach Kopp’s playbook was not “a mile wide and an inch deep”, a criticism of curricula by the Third International Mathematics and Science Survey within Bransford, Brown, and Cocking. He kept it simple – five offensive plays and four out-of-bounds plays – and did not change his approach during my four years at CCHS. His vast knowledge confirmed that good execution of a few plays was more critical than having numerous plays in the book.
Coach Kopp understood the game of basketball more than any other coach with whom I have worked. He is an expert in coaching and I only hope he stays in the game long enough so that my daughter is able to experience his greatness firsthand.
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