SPORTS PROFILE – Anthony's Site

PITCHES

1. Aidan Cadogan

Coach Cads is new to UNE Football this year as one of the specialist coaches. He is a recent graduate of the University of Maine where he was a starting punter for the Black Bears. He brings lots of interesting experiences to the staff and wants to give back to specialists in Maine where he now lives.

2. Sam Lenson
Coach Lenson is not new to the UNE Football staff but is also one of the specialist coaches. He has been around UNE for many years now and teaches in South Portland. Lenson works with a wide variety of specialists and teams around New England and has made a huge impact on many programs.

3. Henry Osmer
Henry is a sophomore student and assistant coach for the men’s soccer team here at UNE. He started off his freshman year playing on the team and has now transitioned into coaching for his sophomore year. It is a super interesting dynamic and I think he would be a good candidate for a profile.

FIRST DRAFT

From Player to Coach: Aidan Cadogan Kicks Off New Chapter with UNE Football
Although he still laces up his cleats, Cadogan now spends his time on the field in a new way, using his experience to mentor UNE’s specialists.

It’s not often you hear quacking on a football field or find players spraying each other with water on the sideline. But that’s just a part of Aidan Cadogan’s coaching style. He keeps practices fun but competitive, using creative distractions to make every drill feel game realistic.

Originally from Belmont, Massachusetts, Cadogan began his college career at the University of New Hampshire, taking over punting duties as a sophomore in 2021. He finished this season as the third most efficient punter in the conference, averaging 41.8 yards per punt.

After then spending his junior year primarily as a holder, Cadogan decided to transfer to the University of Maine for his senior season in 2023. The move proved well worth it. In his first year with the Black Bears, he set a UMaine single season record with an average of 43.5 yards per punt.

“QUOTE FROM CADOGAN ABOUT THE TRANSITION AFTER TRANSFERRING”

In 2024, Cadogan returned for a graduate year and continued to excel, averaging 41.0 yards per punt and earning Fourth Team All Conference honors. He would also go on to receive the Woody Carville Student-Athlete Achievement Award, recognizing his excellence both on the field and in the classroom.

Cadogan’s college career wasn’t all about stats and records though. Along the way, he played in some of the toughest pressure situations you can have in a career. From facing Pittsburgh while with the Wildcats to taking the field against Oklahoma with the Black Bears, Cadogan was tested in some of the biggest stadiums in college football.

“QUOTE ABOUT TAKING THESE EXPERIENCES AND BECOMING A COACH”

PEER REVIEW DRAFT

From Player to Coach: Aidan Cadogan Kicks Off New Chapter with UNE Football

Although he still laces up his cleats, Cadogan now spends his time on the field in a new way, using his playing experience to mentor UNE’s specialists.

It’s not often you see a football coach quacking like a duck or spraying players with water on the sideline, but that’s the kind of energy Aidan Cadogan takes to the practice field. A former standout punter in college, Cadogan now brings his firsthand knowledge of the position to the University of New England as the newest specialists coach.

“I wished when I was playing that I had a coach who could help me technique wise, mentally, and who had been there before. It just wasn’t around when I was playing, so being able to provide that coaching now means a lot to me” said Cadogan.

Originally from Belmont, Massachusetts, Cadogan began his college career at the University of New Hampshire, taking over punting duties as a sophomore in 2021. He finished this season as a top three punter in the conference, averaging 41.8 yards per punt.

“The biggest challenge was probably academic, a masters in civil engineering is no joke, it was a lot harder than my bachelors,” said Cadogan. “Football wise though, it was tough to get acquainted and build trust with teammates coming from a rival school, so being up there in the summer with them all really helped.”

In 2024, Cadogan returned for a graduate year and continued to excel, averaging 41.0 yards per punt and earning Fourth Team All-Conference honors. He would also go on to receive the Woody Carville Student-Athlete Achievement Award, recognizing his excellence both on the field and in the classroom.

“You can never recreate playing in front of 70,000 people on the practice field, but you can get close if you have the whole team around you. When I’m in a smaller group setting though, it’s about recreating the random sounds of the game they’ll hear, so they can practice blocking it all out.”

By understanding the nuances of the position through his own experience, Cadogan takes the lessons he learned and applies them directly to his coaching at UNE. By creating a supportive environment and giving players consistent feedback, he helps them stay positive and confident.

“I always make sure to go up to the players I coach after every snap, good or bad. There would be many times in my career where I hit a good ball, and my coaches would congratulate me. Then another play I would hit a really bad ball, and I get nothing from the coaches, no look, no words, nothing,” said Cadogan. “That feeling of isolation, like I don’t even want to look at you, made me realize the importance of talking with the players I coach after each kick, whether it’s good or bad.”

In both of their first seasons at UNE, freshman placekicker and punter Massimo Puddu has already been able to lean on Cadogan’s to help him grow as a player.

“Coach Cads has been a relatable and inspiring coach this season. He has really helped me grow as a player technique wise, while also strengthening my mental game on the field,” Puddu said.

REFLECTION

I think our in class peer review time was super beneficial. It helped me to narrow down what I needed to add to my writing as well as understand the things I could clean up. I got a good sense from my group as to what I was missing and I feel like it really helped me add to the overall story. We talked about how in my anecdotal lead I talked a lot about Cadogan’s personality and then never really dove into it much more. I think I was able to add a little bit more in to make the lead still work without having to change too much. My group also helped me clean up some of the copy and sand some stuff down that didn’t really add much to the article. Overall I was really happy with how peer review went and think it was really beneficial.

FINAL DRAFT

From Player to Coach: Aidan Cadogan Kicks Off New Chapter with UNE Football

Although he still laces up his cleats, Cadogan now spends his time on the field in a new way, using his playing experience to mentor UNE’s specialists.

Originally from Belmont, Massachusetts, Cadogan began his college career at the University of New Hampshire, taking over punting duties as a sophomore in 2021. He finished this season as a top three punter in the conference, averaging 41.8 yards per punt.

“The biggest challenge was probably academic, a masters degree is no joke, it was a lot harder than my bachelors,” said Cadogan. “Football wise though, it was tough to get acquainted and build trust with teammates coming from a rival school, so being up there in the summer with them all really helped.”

Sophomore Cam Durkin, a now two time CNE All-Conference punter, attests to this. “Cads is a coach that I can really relate to. Being a younger coach he is easy to connect with. He is a fun coach where you get your work done, but you can also be yourself around him,” he said.

Part of what makes Cadogan so effective is the intentional way he communicates with his specialists, where much like kicking itself, consistency is key.

“I always make sure to go up to the players I coach after every snap, good or bad. There would be many times in my career where I hit a good ball, and my coaches would congratulate me,” said Cadogan. “Then another play I would hit a really bad ball, and I get nothing from the coaches, no look, no words, nothing. That feeling of isolation, like I don’t even want to look at you, made me realize the importance of talking with the players I coach after each kick, whether it’s good or bad.”

In both of their first seasons at UNE, freshman placekicker and punter Massimo Puddu has already been able to lean on Cadogan’s to help him grow as a player.

“Coach Cads has been a relatable and inspiring coach this season. He has really helped me grow as a player technique wise, while also strengthening my mental game on the field,” Puddu said.

Cadogan now steps into his new role at UNE, carrying lessons from his own career into every drill and conversation. From the biggest stadiums in college football to the practice fields in Biddeford, Cadogan’s approach is already giving UNE’s specialists something solid to stand on.

“Positive reinforcement is what it comes down to. A lot of football coaches think the way to get home to a player is to yell and scream at them to play harder, that doesn’t work with specialists. As a specialist coach you need to build trust in your players and let them go out there and ball out, and then deal with the result afterwards, good or bad. If it’s a good result, then congratulate them, and tell them to move onto the next snap. If it’s a bad result, briefly talk it through, then tell them to move onto the next snap.”