Tough mindset instilled a long time ago between Mackinaw City basketball father-son duo

MACKINAW CITY – For years, the father-son basketball combo of Bryan Bergstrom and Lucas Bergstrom would come into the gym and play one-on-one.

Every single time, Bryan, Lucas’ father, took down his son.

But in the summer heading into his sophomore year, Lucas finally had a breakthrough against his dad, defeating him and gaining confidence in the process. More importantly, Lucas gained something Bryan had during his basketball playing days – toughness.

“We didn’t talk about (toughness) – I showed him,” Bryan said. “I didn’t take it easy on him. I was working with him in the post, backing him down, and I beat him and kept beating him. I knew (him beating me) was coming. It’s always a sad day when that happens, but that’s when I kind of knew that he had kind of developed and figured it out."

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It’s been a unique rise to standout status for Lucas, a physical center who’s transformed into one of Mackinaw City’s best players in recent seasons.

For the younger Bergstrom, the journey goes all the way back to his elementary days, when he first started working with his dad on the court. Then came fifth and sixth grade when Lucas, along with current senior teammates Trystan Swanson, Sabastian Pierce and many others, played under Bryan, who coached and helped develop each Comet. A former player at Cheboygan High School himself, Bryan worked with his son on post moves and being solid in the frontcourt.

Even in those earlier days, Bryan knew immediately what he had with his son.

“He’s been in the gym since he was old enough to walk. He was always willing to hustle, and he was always willing to play the big man,” Bryan said of Lucas. “We’re fortunate that he kind of grew into that position. I was always working on his footwork and working on his post game, and you could tell that he was always going to hustle and was always going to put effort into it. He was always going to play a physical style of game."

Knowing the kind of player his dad was before, Lucas wanted to be just like Bryan. The current basketball relationship between the two is rocky at times, but it's paid off in a big way for Lucas.

“It obviously had its pros and its cons, but (working with my dad) was definitely beneficial for me,” Lucas said. “Obviously, we butt heads a lot, sometimes we don’t always see eye to eye, but it’s all out of love, for sure. The pro is that he’s a great coach, and it helps me learn a lot on the court. He’s always the guy on the court that hustles and gets rebounds, and it’s something he’s always tried to tell me to do since a young age is go out and work hard, and the points and rebounds will come with that hard work.

“He’s definitely the role model that I look up to the most, especially for basketball."

As a member of the Comets, Lucas has had a stellar career that's seen him earn All-Northern Lakes Conference and all-area first team accolades. During a breakout junior campaign, he was a key component in Mackinaw City winning its first NLC championship in six seasons and a district title.

Getting a first glance at Lucas’ rise has been Bryan, a Mackinaw City varsity assistant coach under John Martin. As thrilled as Bryan is to see his son thrive on the court, he’s even more amazed by his growth away from it.

“He’s a 3.9 (grade point average) student, he’s a great person, so those are the things that I’m equally as proud of, if not more, than what he’s done on the basketball court," Bryan said. "It’s been such a joy to watch. I’ve had the best seat in the house watching that kid play basketball, and I’ve had that seat since fifth grade.”

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Lucas still has plenty of games left in his senior season, but he knows the basketball journey with his dad is ending soon. No matter when it ends, he’ll always be thankful for his father instilling toughness into him at a young age, which allowed him to become a star on the hardwood.

“He’s coached me my whole life, so it’s going to be a little sad the day that he doesn’t coach me anymore,” Lucas said.

Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Mackinaw City basketball's Bergstrom father-son duo built on toughness long ago