Athlete Profile | Derek Cunha

Hockey
New Bedford, Mass.

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Derek Cunha first laced up a pair of hockey skates at age 5. They've taken him far - from youth and high school hockey leagues on the South Coast to prep school, college and play all over the US among the country's elite young hockey stars.

A New Bedford native, Cunha was a two-sport star (hockey and soccer) at Greater New Bedford Vocational High School where his father is the head soccer coach. But the younger Cunha decided he would follow in dad's athletic footsteps with skates, not cleats. He pursued hockey at Noble & Greenough School in Dedham and from there went on to play hockey at Division 3 Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.

But Cunha still aspired to a dream to play hockey at the top of the college sports tier - Division 1. The quickest route to accomplishing this was to take a year off from college and showcase his talents in the national Junior Hockey League, where the country's top young stars play a grueling schedule of more than 60 games in cities and towns all over America. A scout from Division 1 Holy Cross College in Worcester spotted Cunha and recruited him as a goalie.

Cunha was the starting goalie at Holy Cross as both a junior and senior, playing in 26 games and fending off literally thousands of slap shots as he helped lead his team to a third place finish this year in the Mid Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Cunha played almost 1,500 minutes for the Crusaders this past year and finished the regular season with a 14-8-3 record, 90.4 percet save percentage and 2.95 goals against average. He was named the conference "goalie of the week" twice during the season.

His goals:

Hockey has brought Cunha academic as well as athletic advantages. He decided after graduation this year to pursue opportunities in the business world where he will lead another kind of team as an insurance underwriter.

His ultimate dream is to one day have a coaching role on a professional hockey team and he plans to become involved in youth coaching and training schools for goalies.

How Southcoast has kept him in the game:

After 18 years of playing hockey, often at the highest levels of competition, Cunha describes his body as "pretty beat up." Throughout his hockey career, no matter where he was playing, Cunha always returned to Southcoast's SPORT team, and local orthopedic surgeons, to treat his injuires.

The most serious was a hamstring tear during his junior hockey year. This was the showcase season, when he was "onstage" for college recruiters and needed to be his absolute best. Athletic trainer Joe Scott, ATC, and therapist Melinda Tviet, PT, helped with supportive therapy that included deep tissue massage and a strength and conditioning program that kept Cunha in top shape.

On sport:

"The main thing for me has always been that sport is fun. No matter what else is going on in my life, I always know that I have those hours at the rink where I can escape.

"I have a very tight bond with my teammates that will always stay with me. And I've been instilled with an inner feeling of motivation and competitiveness that drives everything I do. This really made me stand out when I was interviewing for professional jobs this spring.

"I would have to say that everything in my life that is going to make me successful will be what I've learned playing hockey."

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Photos by Corinna Raznikov.