CANTON — Canton Golden Bears coach Dave Bradman loves to watch his sons Sam and Nick play lacrosse. He loves it so much that he will step down as coach after Canton finishes its 2008 boys lacrosse season.

"For the next few years I'm going to watch them," Bradman said. "I'm retiring from coaching so I can watch (Sam) and his brother."

And why shouldn't he? Sam is arguably the most exciting Northern Athletic Conference boys lacrosse player this season. The senior attackman leads the conference with 72 points, 41 goals, and 31 assists.

He has nearly equaled his scoring output from 2007 and still has five regular season games left.

"Watching him develop physically and the things he can do is just amazing," Dave said. "The biggest thing is seeing his skill improvement and taking control of a game."

Aside from playing the part of "proud dad," Bradman has to remain level-headed as a coach — something that, at times, is very difficult.

"I have to keep in mind to treat him as a player and not as the kid that doesn't clean his room," he said.

Being able to switch between the family and the athlete relationship is the greatest challenge for both of them.

"Sometimes when I'm mad he thinks it's his father and not his coach," Bradman said. "I have to treat him that way. If I get on his case, I have to remind him of that."

He added that he thinks his coaching style helped make the transition from parent to coach slightly easier. Coaching Nick, his oldest son who plays lacrosse at Tompkins Cortland Community College, probably helped as well.

For Sam, the positives of having his father also be his coach far outweigh the negatives. He attributes his playing success to his 24-hour access to the varsity coach.

"I get time in practice and time at home," he said. "I like it a lot more."

Sam will take his talents to the top NCAA Division III program in the country when he heads to Salisbury State next year. The Sea Gulls have won four of the last five national championships.

The decision to attend Salisbury wasn't an easy one for Bradman as he had told Division I Hobart that he would play there.

"I basically committed to Hobart," he said. "But then I looked into what I wanted more, which was P.E. and to follow my dad."

Hobart doesn't offer a physical education major while Salisbury does. That difference ultimately made Bradman choose Salisbury.

Before taking the field at Salisbury, Bradman will again lean on his father to help prepare for the college level.

"I'm going to have to work," he said. "He makes sure I eat right at home (and) he rides me and gets me in shape."

At the end of the day, though, Dave isn't the nutritionist or the coach. Instead, he reverts to his original role: Proud dad.

"He's a good kid," he said. "He responds well as a player and as a son."