Ryan Trupe – Spot
Written by: Dell Jackson on November 14, 2017
Coach Trupe is now a veteran in terms of longest tenure in Section 2 of the LL. Some interesting info. that he shares below. Enjoy.
1) Give LLhoops followers a rundown of your playing and coaching career
I was a three year starter at Garden Spot and fortunate enough to be a part of two section title teams while playing there in 1999 and 2000 under coach George Stroup. I played collegiately at Alvernia College under coach Jack McCloskey. While at Alvernia I was primarily a back-up point guard, but was lucky enough to win a PAC title my junior year and qualify for the NCAA Div 3 tournament during my sophomore and junior years.
I got into coaching while I was in college. During the summers I would coach 5th and 6th grade travel teams for players in the Garden Spot area. Once my college career ended I got an opportunity from coach Leo Ward who offered me a position coaching 8th graders. The following year I moved up to serve as a varsity assistant for coach Ryan Landis. After four years of learning as an assistant I was offered the head job and have been here ever since.
2) You are now the longest serving head coach in LL Section 2 (9 years?). What are the keys to being a veteran coach?
I’ve been very blessed to be in this position at Garden Spot for the past 9 years, but thanks for making me feel old with this question 😊! The biggest key for me has been my wife Kelly, who has allowed me to spend a lot of hours away from home to do something I truly love. I’ve also been fortunate to not have a lot of turnover within my staff. Coaches like Nate Mussleman, Marshall Usner, Dale Sensenig, and Leo Ward have all coached for me while I have been the head coach. Having that stability and coaches you can trust really has helped me out. Besides my staff, the opportunity to learn from a lot of different coaches has been a huge asset. I truly believe we have a great group of coaches in the LL, who are all willing to share ideas. As a head coach you are presented with a lot of different situations during the season, which you may not be prepared for, but the coaches in our league have always been very helpful offering advice.
3) Last year your team went to Florida over the Christmas break. Can you tell us how that came about and what the experience was like to take your team away to the sunshine in Dec?
I got the idea actually from my wife, who was a JV coach for the Owen J. Roberts girls team. They had taken their program down, so I looked into it and pitched the idea to our program. From there I got the support from our school administrators and then it was a year full of fundraising to make it happen. Our coaching staff and booster club did a tremendous job raising the funds to help offset the financial costs that it takes to go on a trip like that. The experience was awesome because some of our players have never been out of the state, never been on a plane, or never been to Disney and the wide world of sports complex. At that time of the year last season, we were not playing that well, so having the opportunity to get away and enjoy some fun and sun really helped us turn things around and have a strong finish.
4) Can you give us a list of players that were tough for you to defend during g your time at Spot?
A few players that come to mind over the years are Matt Walsh and Taylor Funk from Manheim Central, Jason and Martin Dietrich from Donegal, Sam Light from Northern Lebanon, Kobe Gantz from McCaskey, Dylan Hastings from Solanco, and Evan Horn from Cedar Crest
5) What are your thoughts on the new 5 section setup in the LL for 2018-19?
With any change there will be some pros and cons to it. I’ve been a part of 4 sections and now 3, so why not give 5 a shot?
Bonus: What is the most difficult things to do as a head coach? And the best?
The most difficult thing to do as a head coach is spending time away from your family. That and riding in a uncomfortable school bus to all away games. The best is having the opportunity to work with our student athletes teaching them a sport that has done so much for me.
~dell jackson
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