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Page 20 <strong>Medway</strong> & <strong>Millis</strong> Local Town Pages www.localtownpages.com <strong>October</strong> <strong>2018</strong><br />
Sports<br />
<strong>Medway</strong> Native Copeland to Coach Mustangs’ Boys Hoop Team<br />
By KEN HAMWEY, Staff<br />
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With success as a jayvee coach<br />
under his belt, <strong>Medway</strong> native<br />
Eric Copeland stands poised<br />
for success as the boys’ varsity<br />
basketball coach.<br />
Eric Copeland’s <strong>Medway</strong><br />
roots run deep.<br />
A native of <strong>Medway</strong>, he<br />
played basketball and soccer at<br />
<strong>Medway</strong> High, graduated in<br />
1992, then returned to coach<br />
freshman and jayvee basketball<br />
for the Mustangs after earning<br />
his degree in criminal justice at<br />
Western New England College<br />
in Springfield. Married and the<br />
father of three, the 44-year-old<br />
Franklin police detective still lives<br />
in town.<br />
All those links to <strong>Medway</strong> are<br />
impressive, but it’s his 20 years of<br />
sub-varsity coaching experience<br />
that no doubt landed him in the<br />
driver’s seat when he interviewed<br />
for the Mustangs’ varsity boys’<br />
basketball job. Copeland will succeed<br />
Jason Rojee, who stepped<br />
down to devote more time to his<br />
family. Rojee, however, will continue<br />
to coach the varsity girls’<br />
soccer team.<br />
Copeland coached the <strong>Medway</strong><br />
frosh squad for three years,<br />
and he’s coached the jayvees on<br />
two separate occasions for a total<br />
of five seasons. He also spent 12<br />
years in Franklin’s basketball program<br />
— six as a freshman coach,<br />
five as a varsity assistant and<br />
last year as the Panthers’ jayvee<br />
coach.<br />
Taking the reins of a varsity<br />
program seems like a good fit<br />
for Copeland and for <strong>Medway</strong><br />
High. When he last coached the<br />
jayvees at <strong>Medway</strong> (2014-2017),<br />
his teams experienced three winning<br />
seasons, one of which was<br />
an undefeated campaign.<br />
“I’ve learned a lot from some<br />
terrific coaches,’’ Copeland said.<br />
“It’s not all about winning when<br />
coaching freshmen and jayvees<br />
— it’s about developing talent.<br />
I strived to develop kids to be a<br />
positive part of a program’s philosophy.<br />
As a sub-varsity coach,<br />
it’s important to get players to<br />
buy into a team-first concept and<br />
to build positive relationships.’’<br />
Copeland has had some topnotch<br />
mentors who’ve influenced<br />
and sharpened his coaching<br />
acumen. He’s worked for Don<br />
Grimes and Rojee at <strong>Medway</strong>,<br />
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and at Franklin he labored for<br />
Dean O’Connor and CJ Neely.<br />
His coach at Western New England,<br />
Brett Bishop, was also a<br />
plus.<br />
“I played for Paul Carroll at<br />
<strong>Medway</strong> and he gave me my<br />
first coaching job,’’ Copeland<br />
recalled. “That was as <strong>Medway</strong>’s<br />
freshman coach in 1996,<br />
just after I got out of college. All<br />
the coaches I’ve worked for are<br />
top-notch. Dean O’Connor at<br />
Franklin taught me that time and<br />
commitment are the key ingredients<br />
for success, and Jason built a<br />
winning program at <strong>Medway</strong> by<br />
stressing fundamentals.’’<br />
Copeland also has a solid<br />
grip on other aspects that lead<br />
to winning. “My goals are for<br />
our program to be respected for<br />
our work ethic and the type of<br />
kids we have,’’ he said. “I also<br />
want to build a strong relationship<br />
with the youth program in<br />
town. Competing for the Tri Valley<br />
League Small Division title<br />
is another objective along with<br />
qualifying for the tourney.’’<br />
Copeland’s teams will have a<br />
specific on-court style that will<br />
stress defense. “We’ll take pride<br />
in our ability to defend,’’ he emphasized.<br />
“I also like to fast-break<br />
and be up-tempo on offense.<br />
We’ll attack the basket and be<br />
sound in our shot selection.’’<br />
Being in the trenches with five<br />
top-caliber coaches helped Copeland<br />
to develop some definite<br />
strengths. He ran practices, and<br />
he was part of planning sessions<br />
and scouting assignments. Some<br />
of his strengths include preparation,<br />
organization, employing<br />
strategy and having a sharp basketball<br />
IQ.<br />
“My coaching philosophy<br />
is about building positive relationships,<br />
helping players reach<br />
their potential and enjoying their<br />
athletic experience,’’ Copeland<br />
noted. “If those things occur,<br />
then winning will follow. Winning<br />
is the by-product of players<br />
taking a team-first approach to<br />
the game.’’<br />
Copeland knows that competing<br />
in the TVL means “there’ll<br />
be no easy nights.’’ He views<br />
Norton and Dedham as strong<br />
squads in the small division and<br />
he sees Bellingham as an improved<br />
group. Dover-Sherborn<br />
and <strong>Millis</strong> are no cakewalks<br />
either, labeling them as “wellcoached<br />
and hard-working.’’<br />
Copeland will have five returnees<br />
who got their share of<br />
playing time last year. They include<br />
juniors Drew Plunkett<br />
(point guard), Kyle Regan (wing),<br />
and Ryan Johnston (forward),<br />
and seniors Jack Hadigan (center)<br />
and Tim Uzoegbu (forward).<br />
“These kids will be part of our<br />
nucleus, based on their play last<br />
year and their work in summer<br />
league,’’ Copeland said. “Our<br />
core group should be deep and<br />
well-rounded.’’<br />
And, the new coach will have<br />
a pair of well-rounded assistants.<br />
Shane Jackson will be the varsity<br />
assistant and Steve Linehan is the<br />
jayvee coach.<br />
When Copeland played at<br />
<strong>Medway</strong>, he earned TVL all-star<br />
honors as a senior in basketball,<br />
and he competed as a midfielder<br />
in soccer, playing on the 1991<br />
state championship team. He<br />
was a captain in both sports.<br />
“What I admired most about<br />
playing at <strong>Medway</strong> was the way<br />
our coaches treated us,’’ Copeland<br />
said. “Paul Carroll and Wes<br />
Truscott cared about all their<br />
players and they built positive relationships.’’<br />
At Western New England<br />
College, Copeland played four<br />
years of varsity basketball, starting<br />
for 2½ years at point guard.<br />
He was a captain twice for the<br />
Golden Bears.<br />
Copeland was a leader then<br />
and he’s ready to lead again —<br />
this time as a varsity coach. “We<br />
want our players to learn valuable<br />
life lessons from sports,’’ he<br />
said. “Like overcoming adversity<br />
and being respectful. Other good<br />
lessons are developing a strong<br />
work ethic, commitment, being a<br />
good teammate and setting goals.<br />
Family responsibility should also<br />
be in the mix.’’<br />
Copeland hasn’t coached a<br />
varsity game yet but chances are<br />
good that <strong>Medway</strong> High’s basketball<br />
program will continue<br />
to be formidable and successful.<br />
The Eric Copeland era gets<br />
underway on Dec. 14 when the<br />
Mustangs host Norwood.