Last week, CHS Head Boys Varsity Hockey Coach Brian Shuman announced his retirement from his position here as a Bulldog. It is impossible to overstate the impact that he has made here over his more than two decade career. 
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.
Coach Shuman by the Numbers-
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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
