DANVILLE — In his novel by the same name, Thomas Wolfe wrote “you can’t go home again.” If you never leave, you don’t have to go back and that can be a very good thing, just ask Matt Proper.
As the coach of the Danville boys basketball team, Proper recently eclipsed the 200 career wins mark, one that he credits to a true team effort.
“I have had great players and staff around me,” the Blue Devils’ boss said. “This is a great community and I certainly did not do this by myself.”
As for the community, the coach knows what he is talking about. While he did leave “home” to attend college, that hiatus was down the road a few miles at Otterbein University and then on to The Ohio State University, where he earned his Master’s degree.
Proper was appointed boys head coach at the start of this season, doing the math, nearly 190 of his victories came elsewhere.
“I was the girls’ coach right here in Danville,” he explained.
Not only is the coach familiar with the facilities at Danville because he spent 11 years coaching the girls basketball program, he was also a player for the Blue Devils. He graduated in 2000.
“I played right here,” he said. “I began coaching in 2004 at Danville as the boys JV coach. I have coached track and football at Danville as well.”
A sports-life marriage
Philosophically, Proper believes that sports and life overlap.
“Both take hard work. If you are going to be successful in either, or both, it takes hard work.” he said.
Resilience is another piece of the sports/life puzzle that cannot be overlooked.
“No matter how much you plan or how hard you work, sometimes things are not going to go your way,” Proper said. “There are variables that are out of your control.
“When things do not go according to plan, you have to learn to improvise.”
Proper has filled the dual role of father and coach for several of his years at the helm.
“My daughter Ella was a player on 4 of my 11 teams while I served as the head girls basketball coach.”
On his current team, he has sons, Parker and Carson.
The coach said that his philosophy does not change, regardless of the last name in the scorebook.
“In terms of my approach to the team and coaching in general, having my children on a team that I am coaching does not change anything,” he said. “As a father, whether it is from the stands or on the sidelines as a coach, it is always special to see your children work hard at something and achieve success.”
Proper said that there is another perk to remaining at the same school for longer periods of time, it is mult-generational.
“I see the children of some of the people I coached when I was starting out, and that is rewarding,” he said.
While achieving the milestone of 200 career wins, Proper believes that his position cannot be measured simply by wins and losses.
“Ultimately, this is what makes serving in the role of a coach so special – seeing your players grow (as players and people) and achieve their goals,” he said.