Old Colony's all-time scorer and assist leader are back at the school as assistant coaches

ROCHESTER — Matt McGuiggan fondly remembers watching Jake Jason etch his name into the record books as the only SouthCoast boys basketball player to surpass 2,000 career points.

Now McGuggian and the rest of the Cougars are getting to learn from the best with Jason and Paul Soucy serving as assistant coaches for Old Colony this winter.

“It’s awesome because I grew up coming to these games and watching them,” said McGuggian, a junior. “Getting to know them and having them as coaches, it’s really cool.”

Old Colony junior Ryan Scott added, “It’s really cool seeing how good they’ve done and now having them coaching us and teaching us.”

Instead of hearing stories about the smooth-shooting Jason and high-intensity Soucy, the Cougars are seeing first-hand the legacy those two built at Old Colony.

“I guess you could say I’m a celebrity around here,” joked Jason, standing just feet away from the school's all-time scoring banner with his name on it. “But honestly I’m just another kid that put on the same uniform that they put on and that’s what I tell them. I tell them that to be close to what I was is going to take a lot of hard work and it’s going to take a lot of fighting through adversity.”

Soucy added, “They get to work one-on-one with us. It’s awesome. Because the age gap is so close there’s definitely a mutual respect there. They walk into the gym and they see Jake’s numbers on the banner. Coach talks enough about me and Jake. We don’t come here for the ego pat, but we come here to show how the game is played. We can’t go back and do this again so we want to make sure they make the most of it. I speak for Jake and myself, we’d both come back here in a heartbeat and do it all over again.”

With Soucy the prolific-passing point guard and Jason the high-scoring big man, the duo helped lead the Cougars to an overall record of 32-14 as teammates on the 2015-16 and 2016-17 teams that won two Mayflower Athletic Conference championships and one State Vocational Small School title.

“Jake always found a way to get open,” recalled Soucy, the program’s all-time assist leader. “He was a finesse player and he could put the ball in the rack real smooth. I was 100 miles per hour, up and down the court on offense and defense.”

They both shared a strong work ethic and the desire to help the Cougars succeed.

“Being a former player here, I know what it takes to win at this level (and) what certain teams bring and have to offer,” Jason said.

Now Jason and Soucy are passing on their knowledge to the next group of Old Colony players.

“From Jake you get a lot of moves that he’s always worked on and Paul always brings intensity to practice everyday,” said Scott. “It’s really nice knowing that they’re showing you something that actually works because they’ve done it. It's good having them around.”

As a tall point guard, Soucy developed some post moves in high school while Jason had an unbelievable shot for a big man.

“Jake and I work hand in hand,” Soucy said. “One day I'll take the guards and we’ll work on our no-look passing and our basketball IQ and getting back on defense and Jake will take them when they want to work on their shot or their handle or their individual game. When it comes to the bigs, we both work on post moves. We both have a different game on the post so they get a mesh of both of our games in one.”

Old Colony freshman Maxwell Finney has worked closely with Jason.

“He’s taught me a lot,” Finney said. “He’s taught me a lot of spin moves, pump fakes and going to the basket. Before I came here, I knew how to do it, but not as good as he taught me.”

Jason, who finished his career with 2,273 points, said he sees a ton of potential in Finney.

“I’m worried about him coming for my record,” Jason said of Finney, who is averaging 14.9 points per game as a freshman. “If there is any kid that I want to break it, it’s him and he’s got all the potential to do so. He’s a hard worker and he’s humble. I see a lot of me in him and it’s awesome to work with him.”

Soucy graduated from Old Colony in 2017 while Jason was two years later, but neither has lost a step.

“They’ve still got it,” said Old Colony head coach Matt Trahan. “Jake is still filling up the cup and Paul is splitting doubles like it’s nobody’s business.”

When the opportunity opened up to add some assistant coaches to Old Colony’s bench, Trahan knew where to turn.

Soucy, who played soccer at Westfield State University before graduating in 2021, recently became a teacher’s assistant in the carpentry field at Old Colony. As a junior at Bridgewater State University studying special education and history, Jason currently serves as a substitute teacher at Old Colony on days when he isn’t in class himself.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled than to have two quality people in the program,” Trahan said. “You always want to put your kids around good people and both of them were excellent basketball players, but even better people.

“I’m extremely impressed with their demeanor and their delivery and the way these kids have all bought into the Old Colony philosophy. They’ve been able to bridge the gap.”

Old Colony’s players have been able to relate to Jason and Soucy since they both were recently in their shoes.

“It’s great because they have the experience of playing here so they know what it’s like,” Finney said.

Old Colony senior Xavier Pratt added, “It’s great. They played here so they know the experience. We can relate to almost everything with them and all that they’ve been through. They’re a big help to us.”

Beyond teaching spin moves and no-look passes, Jason and Soucy are determined to help make the experience of playing basketball at Old Colony for the current Cougars just as special as it was for them.

“It’s awesome and it brings back a lot of great memories,” Jason said.

Soucy added, “It makes it feel like I never left. I took so much from this school and the people who supported me here — taught me here, coached me here, trained me here. I just want to be a part of coming back and giving even more to the kids that are here currently.”

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Jake Jason and Paul Soucy are Old Colony assistant basketball coaches