What Does a Head Coach Do When He Has No Team?

I was meeting with goaltender Ginny Capicchioni last week when she asked me what I am doing for work. Despite the Boston Blazers taking the season off, I was fortunate enough to remain employed by the organization. Now that the season is underway, Randy Fraser and I have begun our scouting efforts to rebuild the Blazers for next winter. Not a bad gig. No matter how in depth we want to get in our NLL scouting/analysis, it still leaves quite a few hours in the week left for other activities.

So what does a full time Coach and GM do when he doesn't have a team?

Randy and I have been taking crash courses from the blazerslacrosse.com webmaster in order to get our website back up and running. I feel that lacrosse is a much better career choice for both of us. Nonetheless, we should have it back up and running in the next few days.

Relating to our scouting efforts is the task of assembling a team for next year. I started last June putting a team together for this season. I have to admit that being out of the league for a few years led to me falling behind on my knowledge of player personnel. Much of the work I did leading up to the NLL Expansion Draft and Entry Draft was done through research as much as through personally knowing each player.

Being Coach of the U.S. Indoor Team last winter brought me in touch with over 100 U.S. players that would love to break into the NLL. I myself got cut the first time I tried out for the Boston Blazers in 1993, so I can sympathize with American players who lack the opportunity to learn the game. From the first day of Team USA tryouts I stated that our secondary goal (USIL) is to promote Indoor Lacrosse and develop U.S. players. That being said, when September rolled around I was getting a couple emails a day from both local players interested in giving it a shot as well as box players from across North America who saw Boston as their best chance of getting on an NLL team. I have to admit that it was a bit overwhelming.

I know that there are American players out there with the potential to succeed in the NLL. But without any box experience, how do you know where to start? Adam Mueller is another proponent of teaching the indoor game to Americans. Despite his best intentions, there is only so much one can do during NLL training camps/tryouts. He mentioned one of the distinguishing characteristics that he looks for is how quickly a player picks up what he is trying to instill. Makes sense.

I get calls and emails from time to time like the following I received a couple weeks ago.

“Coach Ryan,

I was wondering what I would have to do in order to play for the Boston Blazers.

I have played field lacrosse my whole life but had the opportunity to compete in some box play and I have to say, I love it. I know that training camp isn’t for months but if there are any leagues you think I could join that would be great, I’m open for suggestions.”

I don't know what to say? There are only a handful of leagues in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions that approximate box lacrosse. There are a few players who migrate north of the border to play in the summer. It's not easy to find a team that will take you. So what do you do?

As part of the U.S. Indoor Lacrosse group, we are trying to set up scrimmages for prospective players this winter and will be taking a team to Six Nations for the Warrior Cup in the spring. It's not much but it's a start.

In my spare time I have been doing some reading. I have never been much of a fan of fiction, and now is no exception.

I am currently reading:

Lombardi and Me by Paul Hornung and Billy Reed.

Moneyball by Michael Lewis

Creative Coaching by Jerry Lynch

Success is a Choice by Rick Pitino and Bill Reynolds

Wooden by John Wooden and Steve Jamison

The list consists mostly of books written by or about legendary coaches. More than being exposed to revolutionary ideas, I have found the books helpful in solidifying my beliefs and philosophy on what it takes to be successful in sport.

I have heard other GMs in the NLL refer to aspects of the job such as the Expansion Draft as a Poker Game. If so, then it appears I entered the World Series of Poker last year with little more than a working knowledge of the rules. I did watch the World Series of Poker on ESPN just recently. Maybe I should pick up Play Poker Like the Pros by Phil Hellmuth or Poker Wisdom of a Champion by Doyle Brunson. Perhaps enter a team in the NLL Fantasy League?

In the meantime Randy and I are headed to Toronto on Friday and splitting up to see both games in Buffalo and Rochester on Saturday. We are doing what we can do.