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Ryan Sheehan Named As Hawks Varsity Basketball Coach
Ryan Sheehan has a winning attitude and he’s bringing it to Xaverian Brothers High School as the new head coach of the varsity basketball team.
Coach Sheehan, a 2014 graduate of Nichols College where he held the record for points scored (2,106) and games played (106), among 44 other notable achievements listed in the Nichols’ record book, has most recently served as full-time assistant basketball coach at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and as a coach in the Rise Above Basketball AAU program. He first made a name for himself at Bishop Feehan, where in his junior and senior years alone, he scored exactly 1,000 points for the Shamrocks in 43 games.
Now, with the departure of Coach Rob Bruckner, Sheehan is eager to take over the helm for the Hawks and build on the success of the last season to help shape a program with long-term winning power.
“We would like to thank Coach Bruckner for his five seasons as Head Coach for Xaverian basketball. We wish him all the best in the next chapter of his teaching and coaching career,” said Ted Currle, Xaverian’s Athletic Director. “At the same time, we are very excited to welcome Coach Sheehan. He’s a great addition to our Hawks coaching staff. We are confident his background as a successful player, his college and AAU coaching experience, his experience with college recruiting, and his desire to put Xaverian basketball at the top of rankings, will serve as an asset to our program and to our student athletes.”
For Coach Sheehan, he says he is just grateful to join the Xaverian team. “The aura of this school, its athletics and academics, it’s an awesome opportunity. To be able to say I work at Xaverian is something that I think people will respect, because they know the personality of the school and what Xaverian stands for. I’d like to thank Brother Daniel, Dr. Conca, Mr. Currle, and the rest of the hiring committee for this opportunity.”
Though the start of basketball season is still six months away, Coach Sheehan is already developing his game plan...toughness, hard work, and love of the game. “We need to develop a culture of toughness,” he said. “Having kids in the program who love basketball and want to get better and work at it is key, especially in high school basketball, where you can’t work with the student-athletes in the summer. It’s really on them. If they want it badly enough, they will get better. They’ll get in the gym and in the weight room. I want to put these guys in a position to succeed, teach them the techniques I’ve taken from the stops I have had coaching, and treat this like a college program. I want us to compete every single night in the Catholic Conference. With a league like this, there are no days off.”
No days off is fine with Coach Sheehan. He aims to win and he’s looking forward to doing just that. To balance that though, he remembers what his coaches taught him, something that he plans to instill in his student-athletes; that’s to keep a next-play mentality. “Don’t get so worked up about the something that just happened, because you’re going to get another opportunity at it,” he says. “In basketball and in life, there’s always a second chance. Don’t get too low, don’t get too high. Stay level-headed and do the next thing right.”
With Sheehan’s enthusiasm and optimism, Xaverian’s basketball program is doing just that...moving confidently onto the next thing under a new coach’s leadership.
Xaverian Brothers High School
Xaverian is a Catholic, college-preparatory school for boys in grades 7-12. As an inclusive community, we embrace diverse experiences and perspectives, welcoming students and families from all faiths and backgrounds. Through exceptional academics, athletics, the arts, faith formation, and service opportunities, we help young men discover their unique gifts and talents so they can share them with a world in need.
