HELPING HAND
Shaun Robinson enjoying assistant coaching gig with Capers.
Shaun Robinson seriously considered packing up his hightops and returning home to Boston during his first season with the Capers.
Now, 25 years later, not only does he call Cape Breton home, he’s back with the Cape Breton University men’s basketball program as an assistant coach.
“My first year, I wanted to leave, actually, because it wasn’t the city I was used to,” said Robinson, 44. “You’re away from all the conveniences — your family, your folks and all that. The first weeks, let alone months, I was ready to go home, but then after awhile I just stuck it out, and the next thing you know one year was gone, two years were gone and three years were gone.”
Robinson said a conversation with his mother convinced him to stick it out and use his hoops skills to earn a degree from what was then the University College of Cape Breton.
The 6-7 forward ended up playing with the Capers from 1992-96, capturing back-toback conference banners in the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons on his way to earning his bachelor of arts degree. More importantly, he met his future wife Michelle, who is from Cape Breton, while at university and today they’re raising their three children — Annalise, 13, Nathanial, 10, and Arabella, 8 — in Point Edward.
“It’s been great for me. I went from really not liking the place to sticking it out and seeing what the place is really about at its core, all the good things that it is — especially for my young family,” said Robinson.
Capers head coach David Petroziello said that experience makes Robinson the perfect fit behind the bench of a Capers team that is full of new faces. Last season, the team struggled to an 0-20 record, so this year Petroziello executed a complete overhaul, recruiting 12 new players, as well as making wholesale changes to the coaching staff.
“I knew Shaun would bring Petroziello SHAUN ROBINSON
Age: 44
Born: Boston, Mass.
Lives: Point Edward
Family: Wife Michelle; children Annalise, 13, Nathanial, 10, and Arabella, 8
On the court: Member of University College of Cape Breton Capers men’s basketball team from 1992-96
so much to the table for us. He’s a great connection to some of the best days of the Capers program, and being able to have him in the gym with us and on the road, during timeouts and post-games, it’s a great resource for our guys — and it’s a great resource for me and the other coaches as well. He’s fantastic because he connects with the guys both on the court and off the court. He’s like an uncle to our guys in a lot of ways, and he tells them the truth and he holds them accountable, of course, as a coach has to,” said Petroziello, who had praise for his other assistants, former Sydney Academy coach Steve Fifield and Richard MacInnis, who coached at Glace Bay High School.
“They deserve a lot of recognition for the growth and progress the team is making. They’ve been incredibly hard-working and supportive. They’re really good coaches and they’re really good friends and it’s made this whole journey this year so enjoyable for me as a head coach. They’ve been great for they guys, too —they’ve gotten them better.”
For his part, Robinson, who hasn’t coached or played since university, said he just tries to be approachable and keep the lines of communication between the players and coaching staff open.
“For me, being behind the bench is just helping these guys out who are in the same position that I was, and might be thinking the same things,” he said. “I can kind of see what they’re going through and it’s like a replay. If I can give them a heads-up, say ‘Look, this is what’s going to happen. This is what you need to do,’ I guess it’s coaching.”