Decosse Talks New Era for Raiders

A new chapter in Colgate Women’s Hockey is underway. 

There’s a new –– yet very familiar — face at the helm in Stefan Decosse, who took over as head coach on July 1. After joining the program as a volunteer nearly a decade ago, and working up the ranks to become the top assistant coach and head of recruitment under former long-time head coach Greg Fargo, Decosse is now the face of the program.

That means it’s up to the North Vancouver, British Columbia, native to continue the success of a program that has become an ECAC dynasty. 

The team heads into the 2024-25 season as winners of not two, not three — but four consecutive conference titles. And while the Raiders are primed for another run deep into March, it is a period of transition for Colgate.

Fargo, after 12 years at Colgate, is now with the PWHL New York. Chelsea Walkland, an assistant coach under Fargo, has moved on to coach a girls’ hockey program in Rochester, N.Y. 

In addition, a handful of seniors who achieved exceptional careers as Raiders have graduated and are now in the PWHL. That group includes the program’s all-time scorer in Danielle Serdachny.

But Decosse knows the program inside out. As Fargo’s top lieutenant, Decosse learned much about coaching and played a huge role in the program’s success. He knows the players who will soon be reporting to training camp, having met them during the recruiting process. 

Decosse is stepping into the new role with boundless enthusiasm, energy, and a love for Colgate Hockey.

He’s also inheriting a team that’s loaded with talent. 

It has been a busy summer for Decosse. When he stepped into the new role, he had two assistant coaches to hire during the thick of recruiting season. And he had to reach out to his team to discuss the new season.

Decosse recently spoke to Colgate Athletics about the upcoming season and his busy summer since becoming head coach.

You were an assistant for nine years. Now you’re the head coach of the program. How does it feel?

It’s a tremendous honor and privilege. Super excited and grateful for this opportunity. I started here as a volunteer coach back in 2015-16 and knew immediately that this was going to be a program and community that I would want to invest deeply in. The subsequent nine years were such an enriching experience. I learned a lot. I was able to experience some big wins and some tough losses. But also, I had the privilege of working with some tremendous athletes and people. It has been such an incredible ride. For this opportunity to reveal itself this summer, I knew immediately upon learning the news about Coach Fargo that this was a dream job for me. I feel privileged and excited for what the future holds.

You have been really busy since becoming the head coach. What things have you been doing?

My first priority was connecting with our players and incoming recruits. I was able to FaceTime everyone and had some great conversations. I learned a lot and got a sense of their expectations for the coming year and where they feel we can evolve as a program. After that, I wanted to connect with the people in and around the program. Our equipment person, our athletic trainer, our assistant coach Breanne — how fortunate we are to have her back for the upcoming season. We have to hire two assistant coaches. That took up a lot of my time. We are very excited about hiring Alex and we are in the process of hiring another coaching staff member. In addition to that, it’s recruiting season. So, it’s very busy with recruits, and having those conversations, being on the road in person, watching recruits perform. And we’re scheduling visits. We have three visits this week. It’s busy, but a great form of busy, one that wakes you up energized. You jump out of bed and you’re ready to take on the day ahead of you.

Have you had a chance to meet with the team in person or only through FaceTime?

Unfortunately, we had no players on campus. It was all FaceTime. We jumped on a team Zoom as well. We had the players form little pods and groups. They jumped on their own calls together to have discussions on what we want it to feel like this year. They will be pouring in as soon as the Aug. 18, which is super exciting. This Sunday we will have our first player returning back and they start trickling in from there until Aug. 29, when we have our first practice. 

You oversaw recruiting under Greg Fargo. Now that you’re head coach, will you continue the same recruiting role?

One thing that is crystal clear for me is that in order to have success in recruitment, the head coach has to be actively involved. Coach Fargo modeled that brilliantly. I don’t believe we would have had the same level of success in recruitment, without his active involvement. With that said, we are going to hire great people to do great work. The assistant coaches will be on the front lines of recruitment, but I certainly plan on staying actively involved moving forward.

Greg Fargo was a big supporter of the “we play free” mentality. Do you plan on continuing that initiative?

Absolutely. It’s foundational to my own philosophy as a coach. I had such a great pleasure learning from Coach Fargo. He was a great mentor to me. But it was such a collaborative effort as a staff. We love our program. We love how we do things. We don’t see any need for an abrupt change. It’s just a continued evolution as it always has been. We take a lot of pride in that mentality. We feel it fosters an environment where our student-athletes can do their best work.

Could you explain the meaning behind “we play free?”

As a coach, everything we do is centered around creating and fostering an environment in which our players can play free. To be play free is to play in a way where players are empowered to be their true authentic selves, free of any form of external judgment or fear. We encourage our players to be present. To be where their feet are. We feel strongly that our players and staff members are able to perform at their best when they are playing free.

You lost a number of seniors who had great careers at Colgate. How do you fill the gap?

Every year, every team is different. We are certainly losing a real storied class. But, I don’t think we necessarily expect others to fill gaps. It is a brand new team, each year is a different puzzle. With that comes a whole new set of challenges. Our job is to put the right pieces in place. 

Will the style of play change?

I don’t foresee any drastic change in that area. We are going to continue to look for ways we can evolve our style of play. But I think the very core and spirit of our style of play will remain the same. We are going to be a team that’s oriented around possessing the puck and making plays, and being really hard to play against. We take a lot of pride in erring on the side of physicality. In our minds as a staff, it’s going to look very similar. Certainly, we are always open to evolution. That’s part of the process. But the very spirit of things will remain the same. 

What are your expectations for the 2024-25 season?

It’s an exciting opportunity. We have lost a handful of players from last year, players who played big roles. I’m super excited for the opportunity that it presents for some of our other players. I look forward to this group coming together. We have some great pieces up and down the lineup. We have some younger players who will have the opportunity to step up and play bigger roles on the team; some older players who are poised and also ready to jump into bigger roles. I think the possibilities are incredibly exciting. We are going to be back on the ice in two weeks. We can’t wait to see how things come together here.

The program has won four straight conference titles. Is there pressure to continue the success? 

Four consecutive league championships is an incredible accomplishment. There is some pressure, naturally, for sure. But for me, it’s more the pressure of ensuring that our process is still where it needs to be. It’s about being the best at getting better. From Aug. 29 on, we are building to be at our best at the right time of year. That is where the pressure derives from for me — ensuring our process is up to the standard that it needs to be because we want to be the best at getting better.

What is it about this team that gets you excited?

Our roster is built with players who consistently play hard, creatively, and with heart. We have a lot of speed. We have a lot of physicality. We have players who love to make plays. And we have exceptional goaltending. We have an exciting team and players who can really create magic out there. It’s going to be really exciting for fans and supporters alike.