Ryan Schopf enters his third year as the head women’s volleyball coach at Lakeland in 2016.
Schopf has led the Muskies to back-to-back solid seasons in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference in each of his first two years while also playing challenging non-conference schedules. Last year, Lakeland finished 17-15 overall and placed fourth of 12 teams in the NACC with an 8-3 mark. The Muskies advanced to the NACC Tournament for the fifth straight year and advanced to the semifinals before losing to top seed Edgewood. The team also played three ranked teams during the season plus several others that received votes in national polls.
In his first year, Schopf led the Muskies to a 17-17 record that included a 7-4 mark in the NACC. Lakeland tied for fourth in the conference and qualified for the NACC Tournament, losing a tough five-set match to No. 4 seed Aurora in the quarterfinals.
Schopf is a native of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., and St. Norbert College graduate. He came to Lakeland in 2014 after spending the previous two years as an assistant coach at Jacksonville State University, an NCAA Division I school in Jacksonville, Ala. He followed former University of Wisconsin-Green Bay assistant coach Joseph Goodson to Jacksonville State in 2011 when Goodson was named head coach. Schopf was the offensive coordinator for the Gamecocks and worked with the team’s setters. His other duties included practice planning, travel preparations, scouting and recruiting.
Prior to Jacksonville State, Schopf was the head girls volleyball coach at Luxemburg-Casco High School from 2008-11. He led the Spartans to a 128-29 record over four years, including a Bay Conference Championship, two Bay Conference Tournament titles and three WIAA regional titles.
Schopf also has nine years of experience as a club coach in eastern Wisconsin. He was a coach with the Spartan Youth Volleyball Association in Luxemburg, coaching one of Luxemburg’s first club teams, and also coached with the Wisconsin Volleyball Academy in Appleton.
While at Jacksonville State, Schopf also received his master’s in sports management. He received his bachelor’s degree in elementary education in May 2004 from St. Norbert College, where he also was a member of the men’s golf team.
Schopf comes from a family that has been involved in volleyball in the state for years. His mother Roxanne Schopf has coached volleyball for more than 30 years at Sevastopol High School.
Schopf is married to the former Jena Bushman, who is also a native of Sturgeon Bay, and the couple welcomed their first child in May, son Liam.
