AMCAT Conversations: Riley and Niamh Cote, Patrick Manning, and Allison Sholds

The AMCAT Conversations series is a way to allow others to get to know the student-athletes of Anna Maria College on and off the field/court. We hope you enjoy their conversation. 

PAXTON, MA - In our fourth edition of AMCAT Conversations, we sat down with women's hockey twin forwards, Riley Cote and Niamh Cote. The Cote's are juniors from Tewksbury, MA, and Riley is a Business Administration major, while Niamh studies Social Work. Riley attended Tewksbury Memorial High school whereas Niamh went to Kent Hill. Next, is men's hockey sophomore forward, Patrick Manning. Manning is a Sport Management major from Messena, NY where he played for the Vermont Lumberjacks of the Eastern Hockey League. Finally, we talked with softball junior first/third basewoman, Allison Sholds. Sholds is a junior Health Science student who currently resides in Metheun, MA where she attended Essex Tech.

Why Anna Maria College? Why Division III?

Riley Cote: I decided on Anna Maria because of the small school atmosphere and being able to play hockey at the Division III level is something that I really wanted to do. I also chose Anna Maria because being able to ask questions to the professors and that I was not just a number to them is something that I knew I wanted in a college.

Niamh Cote: I choose Anna Maria College because of the small school atmosphere as well as the low number of students to professor ratio in a classroom. I choose Division III because it was always a dream of mine to play ice hockey and I knew I was not good enough to play Division I. I knew I had to look at division III schools and when Coach Cox reached out to me, I was in shock and beyond excited I would get a chance to play ice hockey at the college level.

Manning: Coach McCauley reached out to me during my junior hockey season. He said that he was starting a Division III hockey program from the ground up. I thought it would be a great experience playing Division III and developing AMCATS Men's Ice hockey culture for its first four years in program history. Division III you can have a good balance of academics, and hockey. 

Sholds: The reason I decided to go to Anna Maria was because of the small size. I went to a small high school and enjoyed how it was a very close community. I played softball all my life and it didn’t matter what division it was but that I was able to keep playing the sport I loved.

What is your favorite class and professor?

Riley Cote: I have two Favorite classes this semester: Sports Marketing with Professor Sasso and Exercises Physiology with Professor Mulroney. I enjoyed Sports Marketing because that is something that I am interested in pursuing also, with one of the best professors on campus. I enjoy Exercises Physiology because I want to know more about how to keep my body healthy and learn new things about working out. This class I also get to take with two of my teammates and having teammates in your classes always makes it so much more enjoyable. 

I also have two favorite professors the first one is Professor Nolin. I had her my Freshmen year for Principle of Management and Principle of Marketing, and she made these two classes the best. As a professor she helped me in the classroom but also in life and I still talk to her as she always told us “Her door is always open”. 

My other favorite professor is Nancy Fournier. She was my English professor in the second half of my Freshmen year. She is the kindest person I have ever met in my life and she is someone who is very knowledgeable about so many things. She is another professor who has so much knowledge about life and someone who is always available to talk. I took an 8 am with her and would go fifteen minutes early just to talk with her! 

Niamh Cote: Child Development &Professor Desto. 

Manning: My favorite class is Global History 2. My Favorite Professor is Professor Limanek, I had him for two classes and he does a good job of making the class fun and keeping everyone entertained. 

Sholds: My favorite class would have to be Human Anatomy with Dr. Gow.

What is your favorite place on campus?

Riley Cote: My favorite place on campus is Room 301 in Alumina Hall. 

Niamh Cote: 301 in Alumnia Hall. 

Manning: My Favorite place on campus would have to be St. Anne's because that is where you will find everyone mingling at any time of the day. 

Sholds: My favorite place on campus is The Hub because of the ice cream and the grilled cheese.

What motivates you to work hard?

Riley Cote: You only get four years of college sports and I want to make them the best possible four years. I always want to be better than I was the year before. 

Niamh Cote: When my dad became sick with cancer, he never gave up every day he fought for his life, and still to this day he is fighting but that represents hard work. I use that to motivate myself to prove to myself there is nothing I cannot do, I just have to work for it and when times get tough I think of my dad and how hard he worked and never gave up, and it motivates me to work hard and never give up.

Manning: My teammates motivate me to work harder every day whether that is on the ice or in the classroom. 

Sholds: My parents have always told me to keep going and they really push me to be a better person every day.

Who is your favorite school to play against?

Riley Cote: Salve Regina because that was our ice hockey team's first NCAA win in program history. 

Niamh Cote: Salve Regina. 

Manning: SUNY Canton would have to be one of the schools I enjoyed playing against. They are one of the better teams we played last year, and I got to play against all my buddies I played with growing up. Plus, it is a battle every time we skated on the ice to play them. 

Sholds: I think it would be Mass Maritime, they really give us a run for our money and keep the game interesting.

Who is your favorite professional team?

Riley Cote: The Boston Bruins. 

Niamh Cote: Boston Bruins. 

Manning: Montreal Canadians. 

Sholds: My favorite team would have to be the New England Patriots. I grew up watching football every Sunday with my family all sitting around the TV.

What three people would you invite to a dream dinner party?

Riley Cote: Sara Sammons, Thomas Rhett, and David Pastrnak. 

Niamh Cote: Sara Sammons, Patrice Bergeron, and Lewis Capaldi.

Manning: I would invite Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, and Tiger Woods. 

Sholds: I would invite Kevin Youkilis because he is my favorite Red Sox player, Post Malone, and Alexa my roommate who I miss during the quarantine.

What would you eat at this dinner?

Riley Cote: I would have a create your own pasta bar. That way, everyone can have exactly what they want.  

Niamh Cote: Homemade tacos with rice. 

Manning: I would have New York strip steaks. 

Sholds: pasta, pasta, and for the side's, pasta. 

Who is your hero?

Riley Cote: My hero to me is my Nana (Joanne Kearns). She does so much for everyone and has helped me with so many things and that I hope one day I can be as great as she is. 

Niamh Cote: Eoin Cote, my brother.

Manning: My father is my hero. 

Sholds: My hero is my dad and as corny as that sounds, he has been the rock in my life dealing with many struggles of his own health-wise and still managing to put a smile on my face every day. He has been my coach for as long as I remember in softball and pushed me to be the player I am today.

If you could choose to do only one thing for a day, what would it be?

Riley Cote: I'd have free Dunkin Donuts Coffee because I love Dunkin Donuts it’s the best coffee that makes me happy every time I drink it.  

Niamh Cote: Well not for just only one day, but I want the coronavirus to end, and be able to hang out with my girlfriend. 

Manning: I would play golf for a day. 

Sholds: Watching Netflix. 

What are some of your hobbies?

Riley Cote: One of the hobbies that I enjoy is painting. I love painting different things even though I am not good at painting, I still enjoy it.

Niamh Cote: Going on walks and runs. 

Manning: Golf, rollerblading, and boating. 

Sholds: Softball, photography, drawing, eating, and sleeping.

What sports did you play growing up?

Riley Cote: I played many sports, hockey has always been my main sports but I also played softball, lacrosse, soccer, and Irish step dancing. Some of these sports only lasted a year. 

Niamh Cote: Ice Hockey, Basketball, Field Hockey, Lacrosse, and Softball. 

Manning: Football, baseball, golf, and obviously hockey. 

Sholds: I played a lot of sports growing up but none of them stuck with me. I played soccer but got cleated in the face and quit, I danced for one hour and didn’t like it, I did gymnastics for about 5 years, but softball came into my life and I loved softball more.

If you had superpowers, what would they be and what would be your superhero name?

Riley Cote: My superpower would be flying because I do not have patience so I could just fly places my name would be RiRi Fly.  

Niamh Cote: That's a tough one, I'm not sure.  

Manning: If I were a superhero I would want the power to read minds, and my superhero name would have to be The Mind Reader. 

Sholds: Invisibility and my name would be Invisi-Allie.

What is your favorite movie?

Riley Cote: Miracle. 

Niamh Cote: Miracle.

Manning: Dark Knight Rises. 

Sholds: My all-time favorite movie is Grease, I watched it as a kid and knew all the words to all the songs and did all the dances.

What is your favorite TV show to binge?

Riley Cote: One Tree Hill or Tiger King. 

Niamh Cote: All-American. 

Manning: Ozark, South Park, or Shark Tank.  

Sholds: That would have to be The Office which is a typical answer but it makes me laugh all the time and I can always watch it if I don’t have anything else.

If you had to describe yourself as an animal, what would it be?

Riley Cote: A bunny or golden retriever. 

Niamh Cote: Fox.  

Manning: A honey badger. 

Sholds: I would be described as a turtle. I am an introverted person who has a strong outer shell and I’m also slow at running.

What is your dream job?

Riley Cote: I don’t know what my dream job would be but maybe something in the sports industry.

Niamh Cote: I would like to work with young children in an environment that will help them to become comfortable and confident with themselves. I also want to look into teaching young children and having that feeling that when you teach them something, they are so happy they finally understand it. When children smile and laugh it really puts a smile on my face.

Manning: My dream job would have to be either become a sports agent or work for a financial advisory group. 

Sholds: Something in the healthcare field like physical therapy or radiology.

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