I bet you didn’t know that Mike Keenan’s first ever coaching gig was the high school lacrosse coach at Toronto’s Don Mills Collegiate. He grew up playing lacrosse in Whitby/Oshawa and the rest is history. Mike Keenan is one of the most successful coaches ever. He began his hockey coaching career at Forest Hill Collegiate in Toronto, and his star ascended rapidly. He won an Ontario championship in junior with Peterborough, a Canadian university championship with the University of Toronto, and a C...
Mar 03, 2025•56 min•Season 12Ep. 11
I grew up in Ladner, and I wear that with pride. But whatever Four Winds-drinking, potato-munching, flatland patriotism I can muster is nothing compared to Logan Schuss. I’ve watched him grow up. I even played a bit of lacrosse with his older brother, Carlton, and Logan was always there. Thursday night Pioneer games, Friday night Junior A games, mid-week Intermediate B, Peewee, Novice, or Tyke at Ladner Arena—Logan Schuss was just always there. From the time he was 10, we all knew he was going p...
Feb 24, 2025•52 min•Season 2Ep. 10
One of the NLL's unsung heroes. A man behind the curtain. Jeremy Tallevi, an assistant coach alongside Derek Keenan for over two decades, is an unsung personality in the league. His career began as a young scout during the Toronto Rock's Les Bartley dynasty era. He then coached the Western Mustangs in the CUFLA for 20 years, winning multiple Baggataway Cup national championships. His coaching experience spans all levels—tykes, minors, juniors, seniors, and pros—culminating in the insightful lead...
Feb 10, 2025•43 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Every team has its unsung heroes. Its people behind the curtain. Its secret weapons. Sean Ferris has been one of those guys since the 90s! The NLL's International Man of Mystery, and that's part of the reason this podcast exists: to shine a light on some of these legends, pick their brains, and tell their stories, honoring their impact on the game. Sean Ferris started as a scout in the NLL during the Les Bartley-led Toronto Rock dynasty and carries Bartley's coaching legacy into the game today. ...
Jan 27, 2025•49 min•Season 2Ep. 6
It’s always fun talking to the O and D coaches in the NLL. The real lax rats. They always bring a very open and honest dialogue about what they’re up to, all in an effort to grow the game. They’re passionate and they see the game from a unique angle. Today is one of the goods guys of the game. NLL superfan as we’ll learn, but always one of the just the nicest dudes to see at the arena, O coach for the NLL 2022 Champion Colorado Mammoth, Jason Bishop. He’s also the head coach of the legendary New...
Jan 13, 2025•44 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Dan Carey is the first and only General Manager and VP of lacrosse operations for the NEW incarnation of the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League. A role in which he oversees all aspects of lacrosse operations, including team services, player acquisitions, and personnel development. He was named the NLL’s GM of the Year in 2023. The team has made back-to-back playoff appearances in 2023 and 2024. Carey previously spent three years with the Colorado Mammoth, serving as general ma...
Jan 06, 2025•56 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Merry Christmas! We just passed our one-year anniversary, so thanks to everyone who has downloaded, subscribed, commented, and listened to an episode. I appreciate you, thanks for an amazing year. It’s that time of year when stockings are filled with lacrosse balls, and kids are unwrapping awesome new gloves and shafts from under the tree. Most years, we get a little mini-break from the NLL, but because Christmas falls mid-week this year, we're keeping the momentum going full tilt. There were ga...
Dec 23, 2024•46 min•Season 2Ep. 4
With his long stride and familiar gait, it's hard to miss Robert Hope on a lacrosse floor. He also gets loud and takes it as a compliment like any good defender should. He's an NLL champion, World champion, multiple Mann Cup champion and one of the longest serving captains in the NLL today. He's been one of the league's best defenders for a decade. He's also the head coach of the Peterborough Junior A Lakers, a role he took to give back to the community that's given him so much. On this episode ...
Dec 17, 2024•53 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Don Koharski is one of the most respected and well-known officials in the history of professional sports, with a career that spans over four decades. He built a reputation for his no-nonsense approach, deep understanding of the game, and ability to manage high-pressure situations on the ice. After an illustrious 32-year career in the NHL, Koharski transitioned to a key role in the National Lacrosse League as Officiating Supervisor, further cementing his legacy as a master of officiating. The coa...
Dec 09, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 3
The greater the man, the shorter the bio. Derek Keenan is the GOAT. The winningest coach in National Lacrosse League (NLL) history, he's coached the most games and won more championships than anyone else in the league. He's been a part of nine championships: two as a player in Buffalo, four as an assistant coach in Toronto, and three as head coach with the Rush. He also won two Minto Cups as head coach with Whitby. His accolades include multiple Les Bartley Awards for Coach of the Year and multi...
Dec 02, 2024•58 min•Season 2Ep. 2
“I’ve forced myself into very uncomfortable positions,” brand new head coach of the Philadelphia Wings being one of them, Ian Rubel is a three-time NLL Champion and a Constable Instructor in the training unit for the Niagra PD. He’s a low-key bad ass. He’s the only new head coach heading into the 2024-25 NLL season. Rubel joined the Philadelphia Wings as the Defensive Coach prior to the Wings return to Philadelphia in 2018 and was promoted to Head Coach ahead of the 2024-25 season after General ...
Nov 25, 2024•46 min•Season 2Ep. 1
The World Lacrosse Box Championships are upon us. Every four years since 2003, the world has come together for this tournament, in which Canada has never lost a game, let alone a gold medal. The tournament has swelled to 28 teams, ranging from Puerto Rico to Poland, Hungary to Hong Kong, and Australia to Austria. But none of these nations would be here if it weren’t for the Haudenosaunee. The people who created this game for the Creator. The people who view lacrosse as more than just a game or s...
Sep 18, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Glenn Clark returns! This time to talk about coaching Team Canada at the upcoming World Lacrosse Box Championships. A tournament where Canada has never lost a game, and has won all 5 gold medals. Glenn Clark has been a part of almost all of them as a player or coach. We’ll talk about Canada’s responsibility to exemplify lacrosse at the highest level, educate developing nations and grow the game all the while chasing gold and the perfect record. We’ll also talk about roster construction and the p...
Sep 17, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Walt Christianson is Head coach of England’s men’s box lacrosse team. And though current NLL fans might faintly only recall his 48 games coached in the National Lacrosse League over 3 seasons, he’s a hugely influential legend of the game that needs to be talked about. We talk a lot about the Les Bartley coaching tree. But what about the Chris Hall coaching tree? Island style! There might be no stronger limb or branch than Walt Christianson. Chris Hall, the NLL Hall of Fame head coach who won NLL...
Sep 16, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 25
The main definition of extroversion is simply gaining energy from engaging in social interactions. People who are high in extroversion get energized and refreshed from certain interactions. That’s definitely how I felt after this next conversation, and I hope it’s how you’ll feel too. Darryl Gibson brings the energy! As the offensive coach for the Albany FireWolves, he helped lead the youngest and smallest team in the NLL to the finals in 2024. It was a magical season and one of the best single-...
Jul 22, 2024•52 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Reilly O'Connor is a good dude. He's a great teammate. He's mentally tough. He's a leader, and he's the Head Coach of the Toronto Beaches of the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League. He walks the walk as a coach. The actions match the words, so much so that he's also still a player in the National Lacrosse League with the new Ottawa Black Bears. He's also-also a coach with Beast Athletics in Toronto and its offshoot Leadership Project. Dude is a full-timer. And it's super important to note that Reilly...
Jul 08, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 23
"Champions are never satisfied.” That's the mindset of the back-to-back NLL Champion Buffalo Bandits, and in over an hour of conversation with their General Manager and Assistant Coach Steve Dietrich, we barely spoke about their electrifying on-floor product. Dietrich is relatively new to coaching and devours film to improve his craft, soaking up everything he can from the GOAT—his head coach, John Tavares. What he was truly born to do is manage a professional lacrosse team. Trades, contracts, f...
Jul 02, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Paul Dal Monte has done everything in the sport of lacrosse. 3-time Minto Cup champion as a player with the hall of fame Burnaby Cablevision dynasty. 3-time Mann Cup champion as a player with the New West Salmonbellies. 3-time Minto Cup champion head coach with the hall of fame Burnaby Lakers dynasty. 3-years as the first and only head coach of the Vancouver Ravens. Current WLA Commissioner. All while building a successful career as an executive leader and brand and marketing expert with the Van...
Jun 24, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Welcome to NLL semifinals weekend! Only four teams remain: Albany will play San Diego, and in the time-honored tradition of the best rivalry in lacrosse, Toronto will host Buffalo. On this week’s podcast: Rusty Krueger. He is the offensive coordinator for the Toronto Rock and also the head coach of the Orangeville Northmen in the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League. Krug Dog, one of the most renowned offensive minds in the game, joined the Rock coaching staff in 2021. Prior to that, he served as an a...
May 03, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 20
It's playoff eve! On this bonus episode of Coaches Calls, we preview the highly anticipated 2024 NLL Playoffs with exclusive highlights of conversations with the 8 NLL head coaches still competing for the NLL Cup. Insights, strategies, expectations and philosophies from Matt Sawyer (Toronto Rock), Mike Hasen (Rochester Knighthawks), Patrick Merrill (San Diego Seals), Tracey Kelusky (Panther City Lacrosse Club), Glenn Clark (Albany Firewolves), Mike Accursi (Halifax Thunderbirds), John Tavares (B...
Apr 26, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 19
John Lintz has a lacrosse path and resume like no other. And a chip on his shoulder. Growing up in Edmonton, he had to roll the dice early and headed west to Coquitlam to try out for the Junior Adanacs in 2006. Now as Head Coach of the Edmonton Miners Junior A team, he is a big reason why Alberta boys and girls don’t have to leave home anymore to carve a path to college or the pros. He won three NLL Championships before stepping aside at 32 to coach the Vancouver Stealth’s defence. The youngest ...
Apr 15, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Troy Cordingley’s NLL coaching career has come full circle, all in an effort to never stop learning, growing and changing. He's all about lacrosse. A two-time NLL Champion head coach. 2008 Calgary and 2011 Toronto. Two-time Les Bartley Award winner for head coach of the year. 2008 Calgary and 2013 Toronto. He is fifth all-time in career coaching wins with 107. He started his NLL coaching career as an assistant with Buffalo and after head coaching gigs in most of the NLL’s most important markets;...
Apr 08, 2024•51 min•Season 1Ep. 16
For the first since the 1993 Orangeville Northmen, the Minto Cup had a first time champion in 2023 – the Burlington Blaze. From 2007 - 2022, only four teams have won Canada’s national junior A lacrosse championship - Six Nations, Orangeville, Whitby and Coquitlam. History and tradition were not on Burlington’s side. That all changed when Head Coach Dan MacRae’s vision started to take shape. An NLL and Mann Cup champion as a defensive stalwart player, MacRae brought a confidence and belief to the...
Mar 25, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 16
The shorter the bio, the more impressive the man. John Tavares is the GOAT. The all time leader in goals and points in the history of the National Lacrosse League. A three-time league MVP in ’94, 2000 and 2001. In addition, four time champion in ’92, ’93, ’96 and 2008. He was inducted into the NLL Hall of Fame in 2016. Lacrosse’s Wayne Gretzky he is not. He is John Tavares. He is ours. He belongs to Banditland, the city of Buffalo where he played for 24 seasons, and now coaches and stares up at ...
Mar 11, 2024•43 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Patrick Merrill coaches a super team and has one of the best gigs in lacrosse. He is the first and only Head Coach and General Manager of the San Diego Seals of the National Lacrosse League. Lacrosse and sunshine. A playoff team every season of their existence so far. A roster riddled with some of the league’s most electrifying players but early playoff exits in 2022 and 2023 are obviously leaving something to be desired for this group and Merrill and his staff are working tirelessly to get this...
Feb 26, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Shawn Williams is living every lacrosse nerd’s dream. Building a team from scratch. Picking his players. Developing the system. Developing the culture. Putting his 17 years of pro playing and life experience into his role as the inaugural Head Coach and General Manager of the Las Vegas Desert Dogs. The first ballot hall of fame player won two NLL Championships and is widely regarded as one of the best teammates and leaders the game has ever seen. Multiple Mann Cup Champion, he also won a Minto C...
Feb 19, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Jimmy Quinlan is the youngest coach in the National Lacrosse League, for whatever that is worth. He started coaching long before his playing career ended in 2013 though, so the experience is there. How could it not be stepping onto the Toronto Rock team in 2005, a roster riddled with at least 11 players who coach or have coached in the NLL. Legends of the game. His first coach was Terry Sanderson. It was a long road to Toronto for a kid who grew up in northern Alberta. Not even close to a lacros...
Feb 12, 2024•57 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Dan Ladouceur is the head coach of the New York Riptide of the National Lacrosse League. A role he has held since 2020. He joined the Riptide after spending four seasons as the offensive coordinator with the Georgia Swarm. In his first season behind the bench in Georgia, the Swarm set a new NLL record for the most goals scored with 266 and won the NLL championship. The six foot six “Big Dog” played 11 seasons as a defender for the Les Bartley led Toronto Rock dynasty and was a pivotal part of fi...
Feb 05, 2024•43 min•Season 1Ep. 11
They call Glenn Clark the Professor. I’ve never really traced that back to know why but I imagine it’s because he’s smart. He’s an educator by trade, and a born leader and coach. Over two decades of NLL experience as both a player and a coach, he was one of the youngest coaches that ever took over an NLL bench when he became head coach of the legendary Toronto Rock the season after retiring from playing. That was in the summer of 2006 when he was just 37! It was a bit of a rocky road in Toronto ...
Jan 30, 2024•51 min•Season 1Ep. 10
THE HALIFAX THUNDERBIRDS HAVE BEEN A TEAM ON THE CUSP OF A CHAMPIONSHIP SINCE 2020. THEY’RE RIGHT THERE, AND THE GUY DRIVING THE BUS IS MIKE ACCURSI. A FOUR TIME NLL CHAMPION AS A PLAYER, HE’S BEEN THERE. HE KNOWS WHAT IT TAKES. NOW IT’S TIME TO GET HIS TEAM TO REALIZE THAT, PUT IT TOGETHER AND GET OVER THE HUMP. BUT IT HURTS. WE’LL HEAR FROM MIKE THAT THE BEST TEAMS HE’S BEEN ON HAD TO GO THROUGH THAT PAIN TO COME OUT SHARPER AND BETTER ON THE OTHER SIDE. THE PIECES ARE THERE IN HALIFAX. THE FA...
Jan 22, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 9
