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Message: [QUOTE="BillSU, post: 5045669, member: 6809"] You are right, no one knows the future. And you don’t know how well he will interact with the players at SU or coach them. But, I am going to give him a break because of his record with a D III team. Engelstad had a pretty fair start to coaching with Southern Vermont. To take over a team that was 1 – 24 and be 16 – 10 the next year, 25 – 4 the next year, 24 – 4 the year after and be selected Coach of the Year, tells me he, as a coach, is doing something right which includes communicating with your players. I don’t think Red would hire someone who didn’t know how to coach or has had seasons like the ones I listed. Engelstad, a former assistant coach at the Mount under Milan Brown, spent five seasons at the helm of Southern Vermont College (SVC) in Bennington, Vermont, where he led a remarkable turnaround and helped carry the program to new heights. The Bethesda, Maryland native posted a 104-34 (.754) career record at SVC, was named the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Coach of the Year three times, and helped guide the program to a pair of NECC Championships, including the school’s first-ever title in 2016. Engelstad took over at Southern Vermont following a 1-24 season, and guided SVC to one of the top turnarounds in the country in 2013-14. The Mountaineers, who finished the campaign at 16-10 overall, opened the season with a victory over nationally-ranked Williams College, and went on to win the Tri-State Tournament and finish fourth in the NECC, as they earned their first playoff berth since 2011. The following year, Engelstad led the Mountaineers to a historic season as they finished with the best record in program history at 25-4 overall, and went a perfect 16-0 in NECC play. Engelstad earned his first of three NECC Coach of the Year Awards that season after guiding Southern Vermont to a regular season title and an appearance in the conference championship game. Although the Mountaineers lost in the NECC Championship game, they were invited to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Tournament as the No. 1 seed, where they defeated Anna Maria and Fitchburg State to capture the school’s first-ever ECAC Championship in any sport. In addition to Engelstad earning coach of the year honors, he also saw his players collect the NECC Player of the Year (DeShawn Hamlet) and Rookie of the Year (Daemond Carter) Awards. In 2015-16, Engelstad’s Mountaineers went 24-4 on the year and recorded their second straight undefeated record in conference play at 16-0, earning Engelstad Coach of the Year honors once again. Entering the conference tournament as the top-seed, SVC rolled past Regis College and Becker College to earn its first-ever NECC Championship and second berth to the Division III NCAA Tournament, where the Mountaineers were eventually edged by Tufts. Engelstad became the program’s all-time winningest coach during the season with a victory over Elms College on February 18. During the 2016-17 campaign, SVC received weekly recognition in the NCAA Division III Northeast regional rankings and received votes for the national top-25 poll. Engelstad led the Mountaineers to their third consecutive Tri-State Shootout Tournament Championship during the regular season, and helped SVC reach the NECC Title game for the third straight season as well. Engelstad guided the Mountaineers to another 20-plus win season in 2017-18 as they earned the No. 1 seed in the NECC Tournament for the fourth consecutive year. In the conference tournament, they topped Lesley College and Becker to capture the second NECC Title in program history, and Engelstad earned Coach of the Year honors for his third time in five seasons. In addition to his own personal honors, his players won two major awards as Mike Pierre was tabbed the NECC Player of the Year and Daemond Carter earned NECC Defensive Player of the Year honors. [/QUOTE]

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