According to the Watertown Daily Times, Canton has named Alex Boak its new head coach.
Boak served as an assistant under Trevor Gilligan at Canton last season. Gilligan left the program after the 2015-16 season ended.
“I’m very excited for the opportunity that Canton is giving me so early in my coaching career,” Boak said to the paper. “Being a younger guy (last season), I did a good job being a player’s coach. I tried to relate to the guys and understand what they are going through, whether it is trouble at school, or at home, or playing time. Being an assistant coach, you are dealing with that aspect of the game. I tried to kind of get guys through difficult situations throughout the year. It was pretty different for me, coming from being a peer point-of-view, to being in a mentor position.”
In 2015-16, Canton finished 6-17-4 playing its first year as an NCAA Division III independent.
“Last year, we opened a lot of people’s eyes playing a full SUNYAC schedule and playing really well,” Boak noted in the article. “Canton’s on the upswing. There will be some things where I may go through some adversity this year, for sure, but I’ve been through adversity throughout my playing career. I think players respect me quite a bit just based on my playing career. They know that I know what I’m talking about.
“Nothing will be given to us. We have to earn everything. I hope I never have to teach effort. If I have to teach effort than there is going to be something wrong. There’s no excuse for being outworked. We might not be able to out-talent a team, but we should be able to outwork a team.”
