Berkman’s passion for coaching Marble Falls basketball started with dad

CAPTION: A new Berkman chapter in the Marble Falls High School boys basketball program begins now that John Berkman (second from right) takes over. No one is more familiar what Marble Falls basketball means to the Marble Falls Independent School District community than John, his wife Lauren (third from right) and their children Beckett (left), Mya, Collins and Alyssa. Courtesy photo

Marble Falls Independent School District officials didn’t have to look far for its new boys basketball head coach. In fact, it simply needed to walk from the front of Max Copeland Gym to the back where the Lady Mustangs basketball coaches offices are located.

The school district announced Lady Mustangs head basketball coach John Berkman as the new Mustangs head coach April 24, a position Berkman has had a front row view of for a long time. He will remain the assistant athletic director.

As a 2001 graduate of Marble Falls High School, Berkman led his team to the district championship in his final year in a season the Mustangs were picked to finish fifth. The head coach of that team was his dad, Larry Berkman, who now is a Marble Falls ISD trustee.

“It’s a program my dad built and was successful for 22 years,” John said. “It’s a legacy job. It’s a program I played in and found success in. I do enjoy the challenge of taking something and molding it. I would love to be able to build it back up.”

The younger Berkman has spent the majority of his life in south Burnet County, growing up in Marble Falls, attending church here and bleeding purple and gold. His wife, Lauren, is a 2004 Marble Falls High School graduate and is currently an assistant principal at Marble Falls Elementary School.

John was an assistant coach on former head coach Clint Baty’s staff and stayed on when Bruce Etheridge was named the head coach in summer 2008. Berkman left to become the athletic director and spiritual life director at Faith Academy of Marble Falls, then accepted a job at Hill Country Fellowship before returning to his alma mater where he has spent the last eight years.

During that time, the Lady Mustangs have won two district crowns, qualified for the playoffs seven times, captured three bi-district titles, won three area contests and two regional quarterfinal games. They have advanced to the regional tournament twice. Berkman has helped three Lady Mustangs — Aubree Adams, daughter Mya Berkman and Tea Rodriguez — play collegiate ball and will add a fourth, Lexie Edwards, when she she graduates in a few weeks. Mya Berkman is playing professional basketball in Greece.

“I feel like I took the girls program and built it from the ground up,” he said. “Even when (the Marble Falls boys basketball head coaching job) was offered, there was a moment of hesitation about leaving the girls. I love them so much. We had a plan next year already for the girls. My staff and I put it together.”

While the boys program hasn’t had the same success the Lady Mustangs have enjoyed the last two decades, Berkman pointed out it has had several great athletes. Carter Tynes was the senior captain on the 2004-05 team that reached the regional tournament. The 2010-11 squad featuring Connor Docherty, David Morgan and Shane Minnick finished as the district runner-up and added a 66-61 bi-district victory against Austin Navarro before losing to Boerne Champion, the eventual state semifinalist, 58-56. The bi-district title is the only other playoff win the program has had since Tynes graduated in 2005.

Morgan played football at the University of Texas at San Antonio and in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings as a tight end.

“He could have gone to a big school for basketball,” Berkman said. “When you have players who come into your program of that caliber and able to find success, it’s because they’re put in position to be successful.”

As successful as the girls basketball program has been, the coach noted it takes an important trait shared by coaches and players — building trust. That comes through practices and playing time and having the same message, he said.

“You’re building that trust where we can build a culture,” he said. “They’re able to work a lot harder because it means more to them. With the girls we built a trust they hadn’t had with the previous coaches. That’s a big part of the puzzle. It becomes contagious and fun. We do have to trust each other to have the exact best intentions in mind.”

He called it building a culture of JOY — Jesus, others and yourself.

“Jesus was a servant leader, which is what I strive to be,” he said. “We have to understand the team has to come first (before your individual goals), so building that team mentality is important. So we put others before ourselves. Yourself comes at the end. Your own needs and wants begin to evolve. You put Jesus first and serve others and your needs are being met. That creates a culture of JOY.”

But Mya isn’t the only daughter John coached. He also coached middle daughter Alyssa Berkman, who was a starting guard for the Lady Mustangs before she graduated in 2023. By taking over the boys program, the elder Berkman will coach his son, Beckett, who is a freshman this year.

No one knows what comes with that better than the Berkmans.

“(John) had to do more things right,” said Larry as he thought back 25 years. “He had to have the right attitude. When you step on the floor, you’re not dad anymore; you’re the coach. You have squabbles with your son you don’t have with other people. It’s a different relationship because he’s your blood. It was the best of times. We have a really good relationship. We’re different. He’s a lot like his mother (Tammy), which I’m so glad.”

“That’s a whole host of feelings,” John said with a chuckle. “Playing for your dad is great, it’s exciting, it’s fun. It’s something a lot of kids want to do. My dad was my role model, he was someone I looked up to. I was lucky when I got to play for him. There were times I didn’t think he was the best coach, like any teenager. He had to get on to you and coach you. It’s a wide-range of emotions. When I became a senior, we came to an understanding and our relationship evolved. He understood where I was coming from; I understood where he was coming from. He knew I was trying to give my best effort. My senior year was great.”

That explains in part why the Mustangs won the district title and a bi-district championship that season and received the accolades and success that are still meaningful two decades later, the younger Berkman said.

“Those are memories I’ll forever cherish,” he said.

It’s also why John believes coaching Beckett will be equally special.

“I’m looking forward to being able to coach him,” John said. “Coaching him will be a challenge. It’s understanding his ability level and coaching that. I get to be apart of all of his success.”

He believes it also helped that he coached Mya and Alyssa already, who helped him become better.

“I recognize you have to go home with the coach,” he said. “As a coach I had to learn to leave things at the gym. If you’re talking back at home, I’ve had to learn not to bring that to the gym. So it’s those things, those teachable moments that go both ways. Beckett can call his sisters and say, ‘Can you believe dad said this to me?’ They’ll say, ‘Yeah, I can believe it.'”

Larry noted Marble Falls basketball games are a chance for the Berkmans to come together as a family to cheer on this generation of athletes. Family members were in attendance for Mya and Alyssa’s games. Now that Beckett is playing, John’s sisters and their husbands watch their nephew’s games and then watch their brother coach the Lady Mustangs.

“It’ll be a challenge, it’ll be different,” Larry said of John coaching the boys. “They’re going to be men longer than they’re going to be boys. They’re going to need to do certain things that require instruction. I’m very proud of John for the man he is. And yes, it will be extra fun watching my son coach his son.”

Both men have enjoyed success as coaches. Larry, who said he did not talk to John about applying for the boys basketball job or any of the school district decision makers, didn’t wait to be asked who is the better coach in the family.

“He’s a better coach and a better man,” Larry said. “I’m more proud of him because he’s a good man, and that’s more important. He has a good reputation because he’s a good guy, in my opinion. It’s his chair, and he needs to sit in his chair. No two coaches are the same, even if you’re relatives.”

“I’m thankful I’m staying at Marble Falls High School,” John said. “I get to stay and watch whoever comes to Marble Falls. I left (the Lady Mustang basketball program) better than I found it. I would like to think there’s a lot invested into the Mustangs by our family. Me and two of my sisters graduated from there. For a long time for me, coaching at Marble Falls is what I wanted to do. It’s where I came from. I love to go to Marble Falls football and baseball games. I want to see the Mustangs do well. I like to think there’s passion that helps drive my desire to build a successful basketball program in Marble Falls.”

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