Originally posted by Bog Hockey
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Coach Ellsworth has connected with the campus community, as a whole, in a way I haven’t seen. In no way is this a slight against Coach McShane, but the men’s hockey program has been somewhat “isolated” (for lack of a better term). Cam has been a regular at many of the fall sports games, practices, etc. He’s also been visible on the academic side and even the CORPS ACTIVITIES! I know he’s already built bridges throughout the athletic department, and formed relationships with other coaches and programs. Right, wrong, or indifferent, this hasn’t been the case in recent years. I think this might lead to improved attendance among the student population.
I’ve heard from players, freshmen and upperclassmen, who are energized and say they’re learning new things. They’ve been very happy with Cam’s systems and teaching style. Again, none had anything negative to say about Coach McShane; they just hoped for a great hire and they’ve been very pleased thus far.
For years, the men’s and women’s programs were very separate entities, but they’ve recently done some cross-training among programs for a block of time between their respective ice times, which is new.
Aside from all of this, Coach Ellsworth is just an extremely humble, smart, gregarious guy who I think will pull the very best from his players. He loves Norwich and is fully bought in to the vision and the mission. I really think Norwich knocked this one out of the park.
I want to stress that in no way is anything I’m saying a negative toward Coach McShane. He is a great man who was a great coach for our school and put our hockey program on the map. Different leaders have different styles, and I think Cam’s - while different - can be just as successful as we’ve gotten accustomed to.
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