While he’s new to the Eagles, Poncelet said the decision to come to New Ulm wasn’t random, and it came with a purpose.
“There were two things I was looking at,” he said. “I wanted a school with great academics because my kids will go here, but I also wanted a team with tradition that I thought could be really competitive.”
He said the Eagles had both.
Poncelet didn’t come, planning to change the routine. Instead, he worked to maintain what was already in place here, starting with coaches the players already trusted.
“I didn’t want to come in and change things,” he said. “I wanted to do things as close as possible, then improve the things I believe can grow.” He said bringing back last year’s assistants was “a big part of that consistency.”
Transitioning into a new routine, Poncelet said, had begun months earlier.
“That started this summer,” he said. “In the summer, who cares if we win or lose? So there’s no real pressure. We get to know each other that way.”
He made it known that building trust is the first challenge of taking over any program. “Getting to know the kids and developing that trust so we can compete at a high level, that’s the big one.”
Junior Tanner Backer, a returner for the Eagles basketball team, said he’s optimistic about the team’s upcoming season.
Backer said he hopes to learn more defensive strategy from Poncelet this season. “I hope to learn how to play better defense,” he said.
He also sees his role as one that reassures the team, even after a tough game.
“Even if we lose a game, you know, it’s a learning experience,” Backer said. “And… yeah, that’s that.”
“Running a new system defensively,” he said, is what excites him most, “making it clear players are already buying into the change.”
Poncelet isn’t worried about setting the bar high for the Eagles.
“I want us to be the power of the section,” he said. “I don’t want us to be the guys competing with somebody else. I want everyone else competing with us.”
His long-term goal is a program known for its reliability, not the kind that succeeds one year and struggles the next. “It’s about avoiding ups and downs and keeping the standard year to year.”
