Courtesy of Brian Beard

Donal Mullane ’22 is in his third year as an assistant coach for the men’s lacrosse team. Although his athletic career as a Polar Bear was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic and an injury, he returned to his alma mater for the players and staff with whom he shared positive memories with.

“The kids who were juniors and seniors [when I started coaching] were actually kids I had played with when I was a senior,” Mullane said. “So, the chance to work with them [and Head] Coach [Bill] Mason, someone I’ve been really close with ever since my playing days—between those two things—it made a ton of sense [to return to Bowdoin].”

Mullane credits his Bowdoin education with teaching him about other people’s learning styles, helping him support players from a variety of different backgrounds.

“I think [my education] really helped me with coaching because no group [is] the same,” Mullane said. “You meet so many different people from different walks of life, [and] that helped too, because you need to meet every player where they are.”

Mullane pointed to Patrick Fitzgerald ’25 as an example of why he loves to coach.

“I played with [Fitzgerald] his [first] year. He had maybe 50 goals [in] his freshman year, [maybe] 60 [in his] sophomore year, and he was having a pretty good junior year, but he had a very debilitating knee injury,” Mullane said. “It was really cool for me seeing his approach in his senior year to how he attacked his rehab, and [when] he came back, he set our single-season goals record with 84 goals.”

As the Polar Bears prepare for another year with high expectations, Mullane described how the program’s coaching staff has contributed to its success.

“We have [Mason], who, to me, is the best coach in Division III. He’s great because he lets you make mistakes and make your own decisions, which is really cool, and I think atypical for a lot of head coaches who can be micromanagers,” Mullane said. “Zach Goorno [’24] is our defensive coordinator, and he’s done a really good job. Ethan Barnard [’24] is doing our faceoffs. And last but not least, we have [Thomas] McCabe, who was inducted to the Hall of Honor back in December. He was the head coach here for 22 years, so he just has so much institutional knowledge.”

Courtesy of Brian Beard

The Polar Bears look to continue building on their strengths and maintain a competitive mindset regardless of the number on the scoreboard.

“Something we try to stress all the time as coaches is, regardless of whether it’s practice or a game, we’re always playing like a ‘game to one,’ and the score is always zero to zero. We try to just keep guys grounded,” Mullane said.

Mullane is excited to see how his younger players develop, as many have been waiting their turn behind strong cohorts of upperclassmen.

“I think we have a group where the older guys are pulling us up, and the younger guys are pushing us forward. I think we have a lot of younger guys who’ve had to wait their turn behind some great players, particularly on the offensive end,” Mullane said.

As for the future, Mullane plans to take it on one day at a time and enjoy his job.

“Every day brings new challenges and, unfortunately, new surprises at times,” he said. “Anytime you can make an impact on other people’s lives, I think that’s important. That’s what I strive to do.”