Owner | 16U Head Coach

Michael Taylor III is no stranger to hockey in the Berkshires. Michael was a product of St Joseph Central High School where he played all 4 years of varsity hockey, winning one Hennessy League Championship & finishing 4th in the state in scoring his Senior Year. Mike then branched off and played one season at the CP Dynamo 18u AAA before heading to the CD Selects Junior program in the EJ. From there Michael went back to Massachusetts to play for the Springfield Jr Pics for two seasons. Mike quickly got into coaching right after his playing career. He was involved in youth hockey in Berkshire County & learn to skate program. He was a part of the rebuild of the Wahconah Warriors Hockey program. Mike joined the program and within two seasons took the program to the Western Mass Finals. Mike has been on the 2006 Academy staff for two seasons.

18U Academy Head Coach

Coach Paul Traynor has been involved in hockey for 35 years. A native of Thunder Bay Ontario, he grew up playing AAA hockey for the Thunder Bay Kings

After 3 seasons with Kitchener Rangers of the OHL, Paul was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. He then began his professional career playing in over 1,000 games over 16 seasons, including 6 years in the AHL & ECHL, 9 years in Germany and 1 season in Norway. He also represented Team Canada in several international tournaments.

Following his retirement, Paul worked for the ECAC as an on ice official in the Division 1 Mens Hockey Division from 2017-2019.

Paul then transitioned into coaching working for the CP Dynamo out of Clifton Park NY.

16U Academy Coach

Coach Jake King has been involved in hockey for 20 years. A native of Sheffield, Massachusetts in Berkshire County.

He grew up playing with the Berkshire Rattlers at the age of 4 & then moved to the AAA level for the Springfield Rifles (Springfield Jr Thunderbirds) from age 9-17. As a 13-year-old Jake decided to leave home to live with a billet family where he began to play for Cathedral (Pope Francis Prep). Jake was able to earn the Eddie Shore Award for the most outstanding defenseman in all of Western Mass during his senior year. He was named to the Boston Herald Dream Team, the Shriner’s All-star team, and signed a tender with the Boston Junior Bruins in his playoff run to the D1 state finals with Pope Francis.

In his rookie year for the Bruins, playing with 15 Division 1 commits, they won the Dineen Cup but unable to repeat the next year due to covid canceling their season. Jake was invited & averaged a point per game in the Des Moines Buccaneers USHL tryout camp. Jake did however, earn a scholarship to play at Endicott College. In the fall of 2020 he started community college studying Business Administration where he was on the Dean’s list and earned a 4.0 in his most recent semester.

Jake’s coaching career began at the age of 21 for Mt. Everett High School as the Varsity Head Coach where he is finishing his second year before going full-time with Academy. Throughout the years he has always helped and volunteered his time with youth programs.  In 2022, he will also given the opportunity to coach the AC Selects 18U AA team, helping them achieve first place in one of the tournaments and bringing a team together and making them a lifelong family.  Currently, Jake helps with the Berkshire Rattlers learn-to-skate program, as giving back to his community is important and where it all started.

15U Academy Head Coach

18U Varsity Academy Assistant Coach

Christopher Swanson has been involved in hockey for 18 years. As a native of Salisbury, Connecticut he grew up playing for the Salisbury Redhawks before moving on to the AAA level. Shortly before he completed his playing career of four years with the Housatonic Valley Varsity hockey team, he suffered from a stress fracture in his back. Throughout the years Christopher was always interested in the coaching aspect of the game, but after his injury his interests peaked. He then hosted strength training sessions for young athletes at his local gym. Christopher attended Plymouth State University and shortly after, he began coaching hockey to remain a part of the community. He coached skills sessions for AAA youth hockey teams, giving back to the upcoming players of the game. Christopher then provided support to Jake King as he coached the Mt. Everett High School Varsity hockey team. Chris continues to support young hockey players as they grow and develop in and out of the rink.

Girls Summer Director / Academy Assistant Coach

Raised in Winnipeg Manitoba where she played boys AAA hockey up until her sophomore year then attended St. Mary’s Academy and made the switch to female hockey.

During her career there she also played for Team Manitoba 2x and represented Team Canada at Worlds.

Kayla Spent 3 years at St. Cloud University and she was captain before transferring and finishing her college career at Clarkson university.

Kayla was drafted 2nd overall in the NWHL/PHF draft by the Connecticut Whale where She played one season then signed with the Boston Pride this year & won the Isobel Cup.

Kayla was an assistant coach for D3 Umass Boston for the 2021-2022 season. As well as helped coach a u12 female program & player development coach for the Boston lady whalers summer program. Kayla was also the female instructor at Elev802 during 2021 summer.

14U Academy Head Coach

Coach Dan Kearns has been involved in the game of hockey for 40+ years. Coach Kearns played High School Hockey for St Josephs (Pittsfield MA) where he was 3x All League & Regional Goaltender. Coach Kearns lead the Crusaders to back to back State Finals, from there he went on to play under the “Coaching Great” Brian Foster at Trinity Pawling School NY where he still holds the single game save record with 73 in a game vs Avon Old Farms. After TP Coach Kearns went on to play at UMass Dartmouth before suffering a career ending Knee injury. His coaching started at the age of 25 where he coached various age & skill levels. At 29 years old he was hired as the head coach of Taconic High School. In his 6 seasons the Braves qualified for 6 straight District Tournaments, 3 League Titles & 1 District final Championship. From there he went onto coaching AAA Hockey with the New England Falcons (now MassConn) where his 2001 AAA team won the peewee Minor “FED” Championship. Coach Kearns also won the EJEPL AAA 2001 Bantam Minor Championship with the Atlantic Coast Aces. Coach Kearns was a part of the start of Atlantic Coast Hockey Club, over seeing a big portion of the Spring & Summer Program. Coach Kearns is currently on the 16U Academy coaching staff.

18U Varsity Academy Associate Head Coach

Coach Jeromey Rancourt has 22 years of hockey experience. A native of Lewiston, ME joins the academy after finishing his four years at the nationally ranked Plymouth State University Men’s Ice Hockey team. During his time with Plymouth he won 2 MASCAC championships playing just under 100 games due to Covid-19 freshman year. Prior to his collegiate career he grew up playing for his local high school team earning 2 Class A state championships and the Travis Roy Award.

He was also a member of the Maine Moose program where he won two national championships before moving to play for Fox Motors in the U18 Tier 1 elite league. Followed by 2 years with the Twin City Thunder where he landed his commitment to Plymouth. Prior coaching experience Jeromey has actively given back through volunteer work during his playing career. Working with programs such as Lewiston High School, Maine Moose, Maine Gladiators, Hodge Hockey, and Own The Crease. Jeromey is excited to bring his knowledge, work ethic, passion, and leadership to the next generation of players as they develop both on and off the ice.

Summer Hockey Operations

Barry Cassevoy is a seasoned hockey player and coach who has recently joined the Atlantic Coast organization. He began his hockey journey in Jamestown, NY, where he played youth hockey with the Jamestown Lakers organization. He played four years of varsity hockey in high school and then moved on to play junior A hockey for the Buffalo Jr. Sabres of the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League (OPJHL).

After junior hockey, Barry attended Morrisville State, where he played two years of college hockey and won a National Championship. He also earned an Associate Degree during his time at Morrisville State. He continued to play hockey in college and transferred to Worcester State in Massachusetts to finish his degree.

Since graduating college, Barry has remained active in the hockey community by playing in local men’s leagues and coaching youth hockey teams. Barry, his wife, and their two children reside in Ludlow, MA, where he continues to share his love of hockey by coaching and watching kids grow and learn in their hockey experiences.

Academy Trainer

Christina is a Certified Athletic Trainer & Corrective Exercise Specialist with a passion for sports medicine, fitness, and personal development.
As a former collegiate athlete, she found there is a gap in accessible sports medicine care between an injury, the transition back into athletics, and recovery for injured and uninjured athletes.

Christina’s goal is to create a place in the Berkshires centered around: alternative self-care & rejuvenation, true injury preventative healthcare,
and accessible education of off-the-field performance enhancement topics.

Christina’s mission is to be a resource for the Berkshire community to increase accessibility and education around what recovery is, why it’s important, and how holistic alternative modalities aren’t just for professional athletes.

With a Bachelor’s Degree in Athletic Training from Salem State University, and a Master’s Degree in Applied Exercise Science, concentration in Human Movement from Concordia University Chicago, Christina has continued her training with additional certifications as a Corrective Exercise Specialist; RockTape, RockPods, and RockBlades Certified FM1-Basic provider; Graston Technique Certified practitioner; Integrative Dry Needling Certified provider; and most recently becoming a certified Owen’s Recovery Bloodflow Restriction provider.

Christina has experience working with an array of individuals ranging from East Coast Prep Post-Graduate Football, RIP City Academy’s AAU travel teams, Atlantic Coast Hockey Academy U15/U16 AAA, Pittsfield Sun’s FBCL Collegiate Baseball athletes, local elite runners and cyclists, to everyday athletes and those with undiagnosed pain.

By opening The Recovery Room, Christina offers elite recovery for every day athlete, preparing individuals for athletic endeavors or recover from an injury that might be holding them back. Her alternative treatments and unique perspective aim at addressing the root cause rather than just alleviating the symptoms.

Administrator

Leanne has been an avid hockey fan and has spent most of her adult life involved in youth hockey organizations. Her love of hockey comes from years of watching her nephews and now her own boys grow up on the ice.

Leanne has been an integral part of the Atlantic Coast Organization from the start. She is responsible for the multitude of back-end responsibilities that make up the plethora of programs within AC, such as registrations, contracts, website, USA Hockey, etc…

Aside from AC, Leanne is also on the Board for the Berkshire Bruins youth hockey program as well as the Taconic High School Hockey Booster club.

During normal hours, Leanne is the Director of Infrastructure Operations at an IT Managed Service Consulting company called Independent Connections. She resides in Pittsfield, MA with her husband Matt, and two boys Brayden (16) and Ethan (13).

When not working or living the hockey life, Leanne loves spending quality time with her family in the Berkshires.