Fall Varsity Cheer Coach- CLICK HERE for job posting
Varsity Boys Ice Hockey Coach- CLICK HERE for job posting
Assistant Girls Varsity Soccer Coach- CLICK HERE for job posting
Any questions- contact CHS Athletic Director Danny Erickson- ericksond@cantonma.org
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| Coach Idris Senyonjo stepping down at Bulldog Varsity Coach |
Senyonjo has served as the Bulldog Girls Varsity Soccer Coach since the 2020 season, leading the Bulldogs to much success over that time period including a Hockomock Davenport Championship and several deep MIAA tournament runs. According to CHS Athletic Director Danny Erickson, "Idris brought a professionalism, soccer IQ, and caring heart to the program. He will be missed. We thank him for his time, care and energy."
Taking over the program is Coach Tom Greenaway. Greenaway is new to high school soccer, but has been a mainstay in the local club scene for more than a decade. Many CHS soccer student athletes have participated in programs through Canton Youth Soccer and local clubs that Greenaway has led.
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| Newly appointed Coach Tom Greenaway |
Greenaway has held numerous soccer coaching and leadership positions with FCUSA, Steel Sports and Seacoast United where he currently coaches and manages tournaments and events for the club. He has been a part of many summer soccer camps that scores of CHS student athletes have participated in in recent years.
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| Bharat Ramanathan and Alexi Piazza- CHS's Hockomock Scholar Athletes- 2026 |
Each year for more than 30 years, the Hockomock comes together in May to honor two student athletes from each of the 12 Hock schools. Two graduating student athletes from each school are selected for excelling in both the classroom and on the playing field. It is really the award that best exemplifies and honors those who embrace the mission of educational athletics.
It is extremely difficult to select recipients given that so many Bulldogs prioritize the "student" part of being a student athlete. Canton's two award winners this year were Bharat Ramanathan and Alexi Piazza Both Ramanathan and Piazza have earned amazingly high GPA's during their four years at CHS, while also contributing greatly to the many teams they have been a part of.
Bharat Ramanathan has been a force on the CHS Boys Tennis team since he walked onto the Bulldog court 4 years ago. Following in his older brother Suraj's footsteps, Bharat made a major impact right away on the tennis team. He has been a Hockomock All-Star and a strong league 1st singles player. He has also contributed greatly to the Boys Cross Country team's continued growth. All of this while earning phenomenal grades in every one of his classes.
Alexi Piazza has played a major role in the resurgence of both the Girls Cross Country team and the Girls Track and Field teams. Piazza is a major point-getter for the Girls Track team that has clinched at least a share of the Hockomock Davenport title this year. She is also a top runner on the championship Girls Cross Country team. She, like Ramanathan, has done all of this while performing like an MVP in the classroom as well.The CHS Athletic Department proudly wishes both of these soon-to-be graduates, the best of luck in the next chapters of their lives.
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| The twenty-four Hockomock League Scholar Athletes from our League's 12 schools |
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| Coach Shuman on the bench at the Boston Garden- a familiar spot for him over the years |
I will highlight Coach Shuman’s amazing career numbers and highlights further down this page, but to start with his statistical successes would distract from his real successes over the past 21 years at CHS.
I recently was listening to a podcast where the Athletic Director at Middlebury College in Vermont was the guest. The interview made a major impact on me. He shared that the stated goal of Middlebury College Athletics is to “make the world a better place.” He goes on to explain that they strive to make that happen by “developing our student athletes to be the best individuals and team members they can be so they will go out in the world and make the world a better place.”
Hearing that immediately made me think of Coach Shuman. It is impossible for me to come up with someone who has made a greater impact on so many here at CHS over the past 21 years. Coach Shuman sits atop a long list of transformational coaches I have worked with over the years. Through his coaching, he truly has “made the world a better place.”
Observing and speaking with Coach Shuman over the years, it is clear to me that the following values/concepts are just some of the many that he demands, fosters and models:
Teamwork
Grit
Hard work
Gratitude
Humility
Perseverance
Bravery
Selflessness
Pride
Love
Compassion
Accountability
Respect
As a result, hundreds of his alumni are making the world a better place by being amazing dads, coaches, friends, co-workers, husbands, role models, and just great people. He has made a huge positive difference in the lives of so many young men….and thus….in our world.
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| Coach Shuman with his son and captain Teddy |
As I transition into a list of his unparalleled successes on the bulldog bench over the years, I would be remiss if I did not state that Coach Shuman did “start at 2nd base” when he took over the Bulldog Boys Hockey program early this century. Canton Hockey had been well established in this town since the middle of the 1900s. We had had many, many championship seasons prior to the arrival of Coach Shuman. Our Youth Hockey program has been a bellwether for other communities to model. Our CHS Boys Hockey alumni from the 1900s will remind us all that we have always been a dominant program. And they would be correct. However, Coach Shuman created something in the CHS Boys Hockey program that redefined what a successful, championship program really looks like.
Our run of success over the past 15 years is unlike anything the program had seen in the past. The team this year played a level of hockey rarely seen in any high school team…period.
In no way am I diminishing those that helped make CHS Boys Hockey a powerhouse in the past. To the contrary, I would assume that all of those great players and teams are beyond proud of the foundation they built and the legacy that they have seen develop. The success of the Bulldog Boys Hockey team under Coach Shuman is something that our entire Canton community, and more specifically, our hockey alumni community, should be enormously proud of.
Finally, with one of Coach Shuman’s own important values in mind- gratitude- I want to thank Coach Shuman for everything. For being a great role model for his student athletes and his fellow coaches. For dedicating so much of his time, love and care to our boys. For setting a very high bar of excellence for all CHS coaches to continue to strive towards. And for making the world a better place.
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| Coach Shuman (yes, that's him!) with his 2010 State Champions |
Career Record- 371-72-38
Winningest coach in Canton High School history (all sports!)
5 MIAA State Championships
19 Hockomock League Titles
USA Today’s NATIONAL High School Hockey Coach of the Year in 2019
3-time Boston Globe Coach of the Year
Averaged 18 wins per season….with a typical regular season schedule of 21 games
More than a dozen Sportsmanship Awards
2026 inductee to the Massachusetts Hockey Coaches Hall of Fame
Typically in May and June, many of our fall sports programs host informational meetings for students who are interested in participating. As those meetings get added, I will share them through this blog entry.
BOYS SOCCER- Important informational meeting for any boy interested in joining the Boys Soccer program in the fall...Wednesday, May 13th at 12:30pm in the Distance Learning Lab at CHS. NOTE- This is an early dismissal day for GMS and CHS. Unable to attend but interested in joining the program? email coach Erickson- ericksond@cantonma.org
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| Coach Joe Sweeney |
Sweeney took the reigns mid-season this past winter as our head interim coach and piloted the 'dogs to a tournament bid and a tournament game win. He also served as our Freshmen Boys Coach for the entire 2025-26 season. He is no stranger to our Bulldog Basketball program.
Sweeney played basketball at Pembroke High School before heading off to Bridgewater State University where he minored in Coaching. He has worked with the Level Up Hoops AAU program out of Hanover. He has been with the CHS coaching staff for the past two seasons.
Sweeney had this to say about his appointment-
"It’s an honor to be named the next varsity basketball coach at CHS. This is a tremendous opportunity to serve our student athletes and represent our school community. I believe in building a program that emphasizes unity, hard work, perseverance, and consistency. I’m excited to grow connections with our players, families, and supporters as we work together to build a program the Canton community can be proud of.”
CHS Athletic Director Danny Erickson had this to say about this hire-
"Joe has made a huge mark here at CHS in just two seasons. When we made a mid-season shift this past winter, it was clear to everyone, from our coaching staff to our student athletes and to me that Coach Sweeney was the way to go. He has a very high basketball IQ. He is a student of the game. But more importantly, he truly is a coach fit for today's student athletes. He prioritizes joy and competing. He gets how to get the most out of his kids. I'm excited to watch his journey here."
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| Elation in the Garden |
When our Bulldog teams win this ultimate prize, there are usually things that stick out as indicators of how they achieved such greatness. This year's Bulldog Boys Hockey team is no exception. To me, the thing that made this team excellent- more excellent than any other team in the state- was easy to see- JOY.
Yes, Joy. Not the joy of winning it all, which was incredibly apparent by watching our boys on the ice after the final buzzer on the biggest stage- the Garden. The joy I'm referring to is more permanent and powerful. It's the love of each other and the joy of the journey.
This team clearly loved each other and played for each other. They not only supported each other- they truly rooted for each other. On a team that could have been destroyed by egos, the opposite happened. It is so easy and even natural for teammates to envy each other and thus chip away at a strong team culture. That is NOT what happened with this amazingly talented group. The team was ONE.
None of this is a new, foreign concept. Many of the best coaches in the world have recognized over the past 20 years that LOVE/JOY and strong relationships are as important/more important than other key ingredients of team success like talent, discipline, hard work, resilience, desire, and mental toughness.
Some of these amazing coaches include Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors, Patrick Roy of the New York Islanders, Jurgen Klopp of Liverpool FC, Sean McVeigh of the LA Rams, Pete Carroll (let's focus on his time in Seattle!)....and clearly Canton's own Brian Shuman (despite the photo of him in the Citizen on the bench in the Garden looking like he is Darth Vader scanning over the destruction of the Rebel Alliance!)
Don't get me wrong, legendary Notre Dame Football Coach Lou Holtz (note- Lou Holtz was NOT a "Joy" coach!) was not wrong when he said something like this (paraphrase): "You can't win without talent, but you can certainly lose with it."
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| Teddy and Matt soaking in the state championship moment |
A state championship does not happen without talent, discipline, and hard work, but add the secret sauce of JOY, and a championship becomes a whole lot more attainable. Coach Shuman knew that. His leaders on this team knew that. And they all leaned in heavily to the idea that Love will lead to a championship.
Warriors Coach Steve Kerr said this- “When you have joy, you play better. You share the ball, you defend better, you connect.”
Islander Coach Patrick Roy said this- “Hockey is a game. We want the guys to enjoy it again. When you have joy, you’re going to perform better.”
Signs of this joy and team love were evident throughout the entire 2025-26 championship season- particularly during the playoff run. Microphones were put in the faces of many of these boys as the games got bigger and bigger each round. If you heard what they each talked about when asked "Why" it all happened, the common thread was- We love each other, and we love working together to win. They credit each other and deflect praise away from themselves. They throw the love on their coaches and teammates.
Ryan Elrick, after the title game- "I think it's just sticking together. We are a brotherhood. We have never been on a team this close- any of us."
Cam Guerschuny, after the title game in which he scored the game-winner- "I definitely credit our coaching. Coach Shuman prepares us every day. He knows what he needs to do and Coach Ford and the other coaches. Also, just the upperclassmen- our seniors and captains- we wouldn't be able to do it without them. I mean, we are a brotherhood, and that's what older brothers do."
Teddy Shuman after the Semi-Final- "It's a Canton High School Hockey brotherhood in there. We are all playing for each other. And we love each other, so we are going to give it all we got, and that's what wins championships."
So- Bulldogs of our future teams...those starting their spring seasons now, those who will get going in August or next December, and those who are still in elementary school, take note of the 2026 Boys Hockey Championship team. The "secret sauce" is no longer a secret. We all need to learn from this team if we want to experience success of our own.
They loved each other.
They rooted for each other.
They found joy in all parts of the journey.
They were Champions.
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| MIAA STATE CHAMPIONS- The Canton Bulldogs ALL photos by Caitlin Tureski |