It may seem as though Robert Casperson was destined to become the head coach of the Juneau-Douglas High School Crimson Bears Boys Basketball team, but look a little closer and it is easy to see that it was hard work and dedication that got him here.
 
Born and raised in Juneau, Casperson follows a strong family tradition on to the JDHS basketball court. His parents, JDHS graduates, both spent their fair share of time in the gym. His father, Bruce, played high school basketball for Juneau in the 50’s and mother, Christine, was a cheerleader for JDHS. Bruce even spent time coaching Junior Varsity basketball and teaching history at JDHS.
 
The youngest of five children, Casperson grew up watching his older brothers play and coach the sport of basketball. His oldest brother, Kevin, was the Crimson Bears Boys Basketball Junior Varsity coach for 12 years.
 
“As someone who was born and raised in the Capital City, I am honored and humbled to be chosen as the new head coach for the boy’s basketball team at Juneau-Douglas High School,” says Casperson, “I could not have reached this point without the support of my family, friends, and the community, and for that I am very thankful.”
 
The family ties come full circle - one of the players on Bruce’s JV team in the 60’s was George Houston, who then became Robert’s high school coach. When Robert got into coaching at JDHS (under Coach Houston), he had another well-known basketball name on his team – Thunder Mountain Head Basketball Coach John Blasco.

While playing under Coach Houston, Casperson and the Bears were 93-15, including a since unmatched 25-2 season his senior year. He graduated from JDHS in 1996, a three-year letterman in basketball and two-year varsity letterman in baseball.
 
Robert Casperson began working with the JDHS basketball program in 1999, and took over the freshman team in 2000, amassing 85-12 win-loss record. He has led the JDHS JV team since 2006-2007, and has a cumulative record of 92-20. During that same tenure, Coach Casperson had been the head Boys Basketball Coach at Floyd Dryden Middle School until 2009, and worked with the local Hooptime organization in an advisory role during its formative years.
 
Coach Casperson is proud to be a part of the program that he grew up with and enjoys the opportunity to give back to his community. “Throughout the years, Juneau basketball has established a long history of young men focused on dedication, discipline, and teamwork.  It is my intent to build upon these pillars of success.  I look forward to the continued support of the community as we work together to maintain a program that Juneau will be proud of on, and off the court,” he says.

Casperson takes over from Coach Steve Potter who spent 18 years with the JDHS basketball program – five of those as head coach. Potter enjoyed a 91-45 record and led his team to five consecutive Region V 4A Tournament Championships.
 
Coach Casperson is a Member of the Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches. He earned his Associates in Arts and Sciences at Shoreline Community College, and Bachelor of Liberal Arts Degree with an emphasis in Social Science from the University of Alaska Southeast. He also holds a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from the University of Alaska Southeast. He is a 6th grade Language Arts/Social Studies teacher Floyd Dryden Middle School. Casperson is married and has two children.