By DAVID WOOD, for the Democrat
New Brown County High School boys basketball Coach John Berning is back to a familiar square one.
Two years ago, the then-25-year-old found himself as head coach of North Vermillion, a school hardly known for basketball. It hadn’t won a sectional title since 1999.
Under Berning, the program netted two additional titles in his two years there.
Now, he’s in charge of a Brown County team with a similar lack of tournament success. Brown County’s last sectional title came in 2003.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]“Brown County doesn’t have a big basketball culture and has had some rough years. It’s going to be a long-term process, but I enjoy that,” Berning said.
“I’m hoping for the opportunity to build something for four or five years while watching the progression take place.”
Berning replaces head coach Chuck Hutchins, who led the Eagles from 2014 to 2018 with a total record of 39-54. Hutchins still works for the district as assistant principal of Brown County High School, but dropped coaching basketball after last season.
Berning knew he wanted to coach basketball during his days as a player at Valparaiso High School. After graduating from Indiana University with a degree in secondary education, he found his first coaching job at New Prairie, where he led the junior varsity team for three years.
Having fallen in love with the Brown County area during his college years, Berning jumped on the opportunity to take up coaching and a high school teaching job in social studies.
To follow up on his success as a first-time head coach with North Vermillion, he hopes to instill Brown County with the same foundation and culture he’s developed over time.
“A.D.R.: attitude, dedication, and reliability. There’s so much that goes into your attitude, into being dedicated, and there’s a lot that encompasses reliability,” he said.
“I talk to these kids constantly about these three themes and what they mean.”
This wouldn’t be an overnight adoption, he said.
“I can tell you it’s always an adjustment getting there. Everybody knows this is going to be a build, and the first year is going to be a process, creating a culture,” he said.
“Not every team is going to win the title year after year, but you can get better and work on character. That’s not only going to help you as a team, but help you in school, and when you go out and get a job. That’s the most important thing at the end of the day.”
He emphasized how excited he was to be at Brown County, and said he’s already pleased with the progress the team has shown in the past month.
Progress and culture, not just winning, will be the main goals for his first year as head coach.
“My goals, as cliche as they sound, are going to be to establish culture as the year goes on, to get better on a daily basis, and no matter how ugly it is in November, we’re better by December and so on.”
