Doug Coplan Jr. has seen struggle, has seen defeat, and to the eye, has seen nothing more than the average man has. He is a man in camouflage — seen as but another student who walks the Tempe campus of Arizona State University.
But that camouflage print has symbolized and emphasized Coplan’s morals – the kind of man he is today – along with a certain pastime.
Growing up, 25-year-old Coplan bonded with his family through outdoor sports. Fishing was an important tie for the family.
“My family has always been into fishing, hunting and archery,” says Coplan, a freshman in ASU’s fisheries biologist program. “Naturally, I just got into it. I was hooked. I started doing bass tournaments when I was 15, 16 years old. I’ve always wanted to make a career out of fishing, but at 15 or 16 years old there’s only so much you can do.”
Coplan, reminiscing, says he and his father went on fishing trips, where it was customary for Doug Jr. to antagonize Doug Sr. “just for the heck of it.” Finding their relationship through fishing brought on the sarcasm of love, and they found a deeper appreciation for each other with it.
“I just laugh. I went to go hook a fish and whipped it. He’s like, ‘You don’t need to set the hook that hard! You’re trying to rip the fish, all of its buddies, half the bottom and the dock out of the water,’” Coplan remembers. “Growing up I’d always do stupid stuff and my dad would always cuss and yell and I couldn’t help but to laugh. Then anything he has to say I’m still just laughing to the point where he’s going to throw me into the lake. I say: ‘I’ve laughed for all these years and everything you say just makes me laugh even more.’ Then we both just start laughing.”
Coplan had not only been angling with fish as his life took a murky twist. As a high school student, he had been involved in several fights and other situations, which resulted in his expulsion. Although fishing had been his game-changer, he says, leading him down the straight and narrow, Coplan had still been hit with rough waters. Rather than “partying Friday and Saturday night, I was getting ready for a bass tournament.”
Coplan stopped rocking the boat late and had been caught in an educational limbo – despite his progress in changing his old habits.
“Sometimes fishing was the only time we could make with each other,” Coplan Sr. says. “It’s kind of like therapy, a tradition. We argue because we’re a lot alike. But I don’t think you can get any tighter as a father and son. He’s headstrong, Dougie is. He’s had his low points but we’d always try and pick him back up. Whenever he was having a hard time, we’d go fish.”
Foregoing the traditional high school experience, Coplan reorganized his life, exploring all options after receiving his GED in 2005. With military life running in his family — his father and birth mother were in the force — Coplan looked to extend the pattern. He enlisted in March 2006.
Coplan — a man in search of stable ground — found himself on the battlegrounds in short time. He had received Advanced Individual Training in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, where he was trained in the basics of soldiering. Coplan, following that training, found himself in the 83rd Engineer Detachment, attached to the Headquarters & Headquarters Company in the 94th Engineer battalion. In September 2007, Iraq was the next step.
Coplan’s objective was “Rapid Crater Repair” — filling in blast holes left by IEDs with concrete and marking them so insurgents could not refill the hole with another roadside bomb.
“I was not an emotional guy going in but I am now," Coplan says. " The biggest thing I remember was my first mission. I was scared, I was shaky. But then after that mission I came to the realization that if it was my time to go then it was my time to go.”
With that outlook on life, Coplan moved forward and carried out his missions. From the first one to the next, the intensity never let up and neither did he.
“I saw some things, but we were there for a reason,” Coplan says. “One mission I ended up breaking my ankle. One night — we did our missions at night so it’s easier not to get killed — the truck in front of me got hit by an IED. We had to go repair the truck. It had flat tires and the windshield was cracked. With all my gear and my gun, I booked it to that truck to make sure that they were all right. I broke my ankle jumping over the blast hole, then proceeded to walk on it for the next five hours.”
From a delinquent past to a patriotic beating, Coplan suffered to succeed. He suffered to change. By May 2009, Coplan was relieved of his duties.
“My time in Iraq made me realize that I can’t take things for granted,” Coplan says. “If you love someone tell them that you do. I don’t deal with stupid stuff. I don’t put up with it anymore. I’ll give the shirt off my back for anyone but if they take advantage of it with no appreciation, forget that.”
Coplan applied his newly shaped morals to his new beginnings in Arizona. With the help of Veteran’s Affairs’ funding and the want to further his fishing career, ASU had been his next destination for the fish and for the education. The bass fishing team was his priority.
“I’ve learned, if anything, that if you want something bad you have to go get it yourself. Fish aren’t going to catch themselves. I strive not to be a failure because if I am, I know it’s going to affect my family. I just want my dad to be proud of me,” Coplan says.
Coplan applies his newly formed mentality to his aspirations. He is the tournament director for ASU’s bass club, and when asked about the club, Coplan says he is “thankful for every opportunity and to have his life back on track.”
"I just love being around people that love the same thing as me,” Coplan says. “I want to be the best at it, and if I’m not, it gets to me. I want to be successful for something I love. I love bass fishing.”
Freshman Robert Fletcher, a biological sciences major, is Coplan’s fishing partner. Fletcher describes Coplan simply as “confident.”
“He knows what he’s doing. He’s a cool guy who knows his stuff, who does his studying. I’d rather be with someone who’s experienced,” Fletcher says. Fletcher is new to the team and is looking to work his way up in the club; after just a couple months of knowing Coplan, he sees his opportunity to do that.
Coplan embarks on his teenage dreams despite a couple of dark clouds in the past. Looking to qualify for the Forrest L. Wood College Fishing Western Regional and National Championship, the U.S. soldier looks to turn from the sand to the water. Currently, Coplan has proved his worth in fishing; he is sponsored by Denali Custom Rods, Tackle Warehouse and Columbia Sportswear.
Point blank: Coplan looks to move up with no intention of sinking.
“My goal is to graduate. I need to keep my grades up so I can keep fishing,” Coplan says. “But if I were to win the National Championship … man … first thing I’d do is thank my dad.”
And Coplan Sr. could not be more thankful for his son.
“I’m proud of Dougie,” Coplan Sr. says. “He’s big-hearted. He has the biggest heart and will do anything for anyone. He won’t ask for anything in return from anybody. He doesn’t want people to feel sorry for him. For the things that he’s been through, and he’s managed to maintain his sanity? I’m proud of him.”
From high to low, low to high, life is finally at balance for Coplan. He walks the Tempe campus with purpose, and although people might overlook him, he knows that his family and his love for bass fishing are the only things he needs.
Contact the reporter at bcapria@asu.edu
