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University of Massachusets Athletics
Cahoon Set to Build a Champion
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May 24, 2000
By RYAN NADEAU
The Maroon & White
Don Cahoon's office desk is littered with messages and notes of things to do and people to call. Neither his office phone nor his cell phone ever stops ringing. It seems as though everyone wants a piece of Coach Cahoon.
And there is good reason. Cahoon is one of the most respected coaches in college hockey. His resume is long and impressive, and it includes three national championships, two as a player and one as a coach. He is someone who has proven he can win. He has also proven that he can turn a program around.
"He is a great hire for the University of Massachusetts," said former UMass hockey captain and search committee member Mike Merchant. "He is one of the most well respected and knowledgable college hockey coaches in the country. He's not only going to enhance our program, he's also going to bring Hockey East to a new level."
Prior to arriving at Princeton in 1991, the Tigers had not enjoyed a winning season since 1967, nearly a quarter centruy of losing. Cahoon implemented his system and losing no longer became the trademark of Princeton hockey. The Tigers advanced to the ECAC finals during the 1994-95 season and finished the year with an 18-13-4 overall record. The consecutive streak of losing seasons was stopped, but Cahoon was not. Two years later, Princeton won its first-ever ECAC championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time in the history of the Tiger program.
"You can immediately sense the passion and enthusiasm that Don Cahoon has for coaching," said Bob Goodhue, special assistant to President William Bulger. "He possesses a tremendous will to win, but he does so while focusing on education and teaching important life skills to his players. That's an important part of the UMass athletics experience."
Cahoon knows its going to take a lot of hard work and dedication to turn around the UMass hockey program, but he also knows it can be done.
"If this program is run properly, and everyone buys into what we're trying to do, this program can win a national championship," said Cahoon. "The tools are in place here. If you can get to the top of the Hockey East in any given year you can win a national championship."
Cahoon has not promised any immediate radical style changes on the ice. But what he has done is stress the importance of doing the little things right on a consistent basis.
"From day one the X's and O's won't be a whole lot different, but what I can change is how we go about our business and the culture that exists in the program," said Cahoon. "You want to set yourself up for success and that all starts with the way you take care of the little things."
One of the not so little things that Cahoon has to take care of is recruiting. It's a bit late to start recruiting, but he and his staff have been hard at work trying to put together a respectable class.
"We're trying to institute a little bit of recruiting so we can have a freshman class in place," said Cahoon. "We're at a disadvantage, because we're trying to package it here in May. But if we do a good job of canvassing the world and really thoroughly look through the Massachusetts core of players, we'll find a couple of kids that can complement the group that is here."
One of the major things Cahoon likes to point to is that he believes UMass can attract some of the top talent from Massachusetts. As of yet, UMass has not been able to break the stranglehold that Boston College and Boston University have on this state's top talent. Cahoon is confident that some of the best players in the state will soon be coming to UMass.
"This is the flagship program for the state of Massachusetts," said Cahoon. "This is the program Massachusetts residents would recognize as their state university, not any different than Wisconsin, Maine or New Hampshire. How exciting would it be to play on the first championship team at UMass? How exciting would it be to play on the first UMass team that competed at the FleetCenter for the Hockey East championship? How exciting would it be to be part of a program that is turning it around?"
Other than recruiting players, Cahoon also wants to recruit more fans.
"I'm an outgoing person, and I believe that that's one of my greatest strengths," Cahoon said. "I plan on being a presence on campus to reintroduce the program. I have to get out to the youth hockey communities in all of Western Massachusetts. I obviously have to follow up with some correspondence with some season-ticket holders and people who have supported the program in the past and let them know what we have planned."
Cahoon has not been on campus all that long, but he has been in Amherst long enough to have sat down with each and every player on the team. He feels the team is ready and willing to follow his lead.
"These kids are good kids. They want to do the right things day in and day out," said Cahoon. "It's clear from the players that they were ready for change. I've made it clear that I'm not a savior. I have access to a lot of information, but it's going to be a two way street. I can give you direction, but you have to be willing to take that direction."
The direction Cahoon is looking to take the Minutemen is up. He inherits a program that went 77-144-12 over the past seven seasons since being reinstated in 1993.
Cahoon is aware that he has his work cut out for him. The stack of messages on his desk is just the beginning.
Special thanks to Matt Vautour of the Daily Hampshire Gazette for his assistance in writing the story.