Botelho named Lakers hockey coach
Ed Botelho is enthusiastic when it comes to coaching.
He’s even more passionate about hockey.
His zealous attitude toward coaching hockey made him stand out among a handful of candidates to replace Craig Correia as the Apponequet/Old Colony varsity hockey coach.
“He has a tremendous amount of energy and passion for the game,” said Apponequet athletic director Jim Cabucio of Botelho. “It was his energy level; he had a great amount of energy and love for the game. He demonstrated a passion for teaching the game. He brings a young fresh perspective. We’re pleased to have him."
Botelho becomes just the third head coach in the co-op program’s history. He takes over for Correia, who stepped down in the offseason after five years at the helm. The Lakers went 39-63-6 under Correia, finishing with winning records in 2014-15 and 2017-18.
“We were pleased with what Craig did for us and we want to thank him for his time with us,” Cabucio said. “It was a mutual thing that change was going to occur.”
This is Botelho’s first head coaching gig at the high school level.
“I had always liked coaching, but I had never had the opportunity to head coach a hockey team,” the 26-year-old Warren, Rhode Island, resident said. “Jim has given me the opportunity. It seems like the program fits somebody like myself to be a head coach for the first time. It gives me the opportunity to learn and progress as a head coach and develop some kids. We have a lot of young players. It seems it’s a good marriage.”
Botelho, a Bristol, R.I. native, has experience as a baseball assistant coach at Barrington High and La Salle Academy and as a hockey assistant at Portsmouth High. He also coached Cole Middle School in East Greenwich to a state championship in baseball.
Botelho grew up playing hockey and baseball at Mount Hope High School. With hopes of joining the Johnson & Wales University hockey team, Botelho played junior hockey for the Mass Maple Leafs before the team moved out of the area. Botelho said he then switched his focus to coaching before graduating from JWU in 2015 with a Bachelor's degree in sports and event entertainment management.
“I always wanted to be an athletic director,” said Botelho, who is a financial advisor with Baystate Financial in East Providence. “I get what I put into it with my own financial practice. It’s the same thing with hockey. If you are not determined to get better every time you stake, you’re not going to get better. I’m going to stay on these guys, every time we got on the ice, we’re going to get better.
“I’m going to be very dedicated to teaching these kids life lessons and I’m going to expect a lot out of them.”
Botelho said he likes the different life lessons student athletes can learn through hockey.
“It’s more of a team-oriented sport like football and basketball,” he said. “I think it’s cool that I’m out there for 45 seconds and then my teammate goes out there for 45 seconds. You rely on each other to do each other’s job. You’re battling not only for yourself, but also for your team. I think that’s a huge learning experience for the kids.”
After getting acquainted with several returning players and their families on Monday during a Meet the Coaches night at Apponequet, Botelho said he is excited for the first day of tryouts on Dec. 2.
“Figuring out what works early and determining where guys should go and how we should organize some things I think that should be the biggest challenge,” he said, “but I’m looking forward to it.”
Follow Laurie Los Lee on Twitter @LaurieLosSCT.