Triple Win: Coaches—and Friends—Reach Career Milestones Together
It might be cliché to say it takes a village, but that’s the reason three Saints coaches—each of whom are friends off the field, raised their families near campus, and had kids attend St. Lawrence—reached career milestones in their respective sports this past year.
Men’s Basketball Head Coach Chris Downs surpassed 400 career wins, and Women’s Hockey Head Coach Chris Wells ’92 collected his 300th win on the same weekend in January, while Men’s Lacrosse Head Coach Mike Mahoney ’93 was on track to reach, and even surpass, his 300th win this spring season.
They owe it all, they say, to the quality of student-athletes St. Lawrence attracts, as well as support from the administration, from their loyal staff, and, it turns out, from each other.
“Mike [Mahoney] and Chris [Downs] and I are all good buddies, and it’s beyond words to be able to share in each other’s success here,” says Wells, who played professional hockey in Europe before embarking on his coaching career.
Wells credits his teams’ successes, in part, to the way St. Lawrence views athletics as an extension of academics, rather than as a competitor for time and attention.
“I think the biggest thing is we let our athletes enjoy college for what it is while also being able to play at a very competitive level,” he says. “St. Lawrence is a very special place, and we want our student-athletes to experience it like all other students.”
I think the biggest thing is we let our athletes enjoy college for what it is while also being able to play at a very competitive level."
–Women’s Hockey Head Coach Chris Wells ’92
Coach Downs, the longest tenured Liberty League coach, shares that philosophy and says he’s “blessed” to be considered among a group of high-level coaches like Mahoney and Wells.
“We’re using athletics as a co-curricular activity, not an extra-curricular activity, as athletics are every bit as tied to success as the academic work.”
Coach Mahoney, who graduated St. Lawrence in 1993 and was captain his senior year of both the football and lacrosse teams, agrees that the University produces well-balanced student-athletes.
“I’m very fortunate to be at a school that values athletics,” he says. “Everything trickles down from that, and it allows us to attract students who want to be successful in the classroom and on the field.”
All three coaches insist their accomplishments ultimately belong to the players, but many of the players themselves attribute their team’s success to the quality of the coaching staff.
“Coach Mahoney has showed all his players what it means to take pride in what you do,” says Padraic “Paddy” Condon, senior captain of men’s lacrosse.
“He shows up every day giving his absolute best throughout the ups and downs of a season, and it’s an honor to play for him.”
Gavin Macaulay, a senior on the men’s basketball team, says Coach Downs holds both his players and himself to high standards and a strong work ethic, which underlies his sustained success.
“Coach Downs wants nothing more than for us to be a great team, and he gives us the confidence to make that happen,” Macaulay says.
Junior women’s hockey goalie Emma-Sofie Nordström says of Coach Wells, whom the team affectionately calls “Wellsy,” that he’s not only a great coach, but a great person, and is “genuinely invested in both his players and his community.”
“The way Wellsy believes in us makes it easy to perform at our very best,” she says. Franco Bari ’98, M’10, director of intercollegiate athletics, says these coaches have been outstanding mentors for their student-athletes and also for their colleagues at St. Lawrence.
“We are grateful for the commitment and longevity of Chris, Chris, and Mike,” Bari says. “They have truly embodied what it means to be a Saint.”
If you think it’s a coincidence these three coaches have reached such heights of accomplishment around the same time, think again.
“Just the other week I called Chris Wells to ask his ideas about our playoffs strategy,” Coach Downs says.
But it runs deeper than that.
“[Wells’] wife was my kids’ first babysitter, our kids all grew up around St. Lawrence, and most of them even went here,” Downs says. Mahoney agrees. “Coach Downs and Wells are two of my best friends, our families are friends, and it’s
been really rewarding to share our professional journeys together,” he says. “That’s what makes St. Lawrence really special,” he adds, “is to be able to share our roots in our school and in our town, and to share these professional experiences that we can all look back on with a ton of pride.”
Wells, like the other coaches, feels honored to be able to give something back to the school and community that has given him so much.
“I was born here, raised here, went to school here, and have been coaching here my whole career, so I’m humbled to contribute something back,” he says.
Mahoney, who had the chance to coach all three of his sons—Mark, John, and Daniel—speaks for all the coaches when he says it’s the relationships he’s built, not the wins, that he will look back on most fondly when all is said and done.
“When I reflect on my career, a number isn’t going to define it,” he says. “It will be those relationships with the amazing people who have come through our program that I will look back on with a sense of pride.”
