Knighthawks Name Paul Gait Head Coach

The Rochester Knighthawks named Paul Gait the fifth head coach in franchise history today at a press conference at The Blue Cross Arena. Paul is reunited with his twin brother, Gary, who came out of retirement to play for Rochester this past October. Paul begins his professional coaching career in 2009, replacing departed Head Coach Paul Suggate.

“I am very happy having been offered this position and am looking forward to a great season and a great start to my coaching career,” said Paul Gait. “I finally have had some time to get back into the sport I love and the sport in which I work in every day. To be back involved with players again is going to be a great situation. I missed it a lot.”

“Paul brings a resume full of lacrosse success both on and off the floor,” said Knighthawks General Manager Regy Thorpe about Paul Gait, who is the president of deBeer Lacrosse. “He is a very well respected lacrosse icon that guys will have immediate respect for and rapport with. He will transfer his lacrosse knowledge to his players and lead the coaching staff. I know the players, staff and organization are excited to have him come on board to help us in our quest for the Cup.”

The National Lacrosse League Hall of Famer and 11-time All-Pro returns to the Knighthawks, where he played three seasons (1995-97) and helped the franchise win its first championship in 1997. He also earned the team’s MVP award that season as he completed his Knighthawks career with 87 goals and 58 assists in just 27 games.

Those three seasons were part of an unprecedented 13-year playing career that began in 1991 and ended in 2005. Gait played in 128 regular season games for teams in Detroit, Philadelphia, Rochester, Syracuse, Washington and Colorado. In Syracuse, he was also the Director of Player Personal. He won titles in 1991 (Detroit), 1994 (Philadelphia) and 1997 (Rochester) and was named the league’s MVP in 2002. Further, he was an eight-time First Team All-Pro and a three-time Second Team All-Pro. He still ranks third all-time in league history in goals (410) and eighth in points (712).

Gait led the league in goals in four seasons (1991, 1992, 1994, and 2002). He was also outstanding in the playoffs, scoring a record-setting eight goals in the 1994 Championship Game for the Philadelphia Wings, the most goals ever scored in a league championship game. Gait also holds the record for most career championship game goals with 23. After retiring following the 2002 season, Gait, made a brief comeback with the Colorado Mammoth in order to play again professionally with his brother Gary before Gary’s retirement in 2005.

“We are very excited to be introducing Paul Gait as our new head coach today. Needing to fill this position, only two weeks before our season gets underway, presented a challenge for sure,” said Knighthawks President Lewis Staats. “Having Paul available and agreeing to come on board with all his experience both on and off the floor will make this transition a lot easier. And finally, I’m sure the opportunity to coach his brother made his decision a little easier as well.”

To go along with his three NLL titles, Gait captured an additional nine championships in his career. He earned a Minto Cup in 1998 with Esquimalt-Victoria Legion, and won four Mann Cups: 1990 with Brooklin, 1994 and 1995 with Six Nations and 1999 with Victoria. In 2001, Gait helped the Long Island Lizards win the inaugural Major League Lacrosse championship. At the collegiate level, he earned first-team All-America honors from 1988 to 1990 and helped Syracuse win three straight national championships.

He was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player in 1989 and was named to the USILA North-South All-Star Game in 1990. Gait played for the Canadian National Team in the ILF World Championships in 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002, earning All-World recognition in 1994. Lacrosse Magazine named him to its All-20th Century Team and the NCAA named him to its 25th Anniversary Team. In 2003-04, he was named to the Knighthawks’ All-Time Team. In 2005, both brothers were inducted into the United States Lacrosse National Hall of Fame. In 2006, both Paul and Gary were among the five charter members to be voted into the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame. In addition, he was named to the Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

Stars and Stripes

After having been selected as one member of the 24 person World Cup Training Team, I am filled with mixed emotions. It is invigorating to be one step closer to the World Cup and in realizing the potential of a childhood dream. At the same time, when I think back to my first years on the US Team and about how young I must have looked and acted, I can’t help but to generate a timid smile. I was still in awe of veterans such as Jess Wilk, Danielle Gallagher, and Cherie Greer, among others. These veterans are the players who I, as well as my teammates, have looked up to and have tried to emulate throughout our US careers. They are the players who inspired us to pursue our love for lacrosse and they are the players who helped grow the sport to where it is today. We have simply followed in their footsteps. Now, I suppose that there are those of us who can be considered “vets” which leaves me feeling nostalgic and also eager to fill their shoes. As I look around at practice now, I not only see the best lacrosse players in the world, but also some of my best friends. Practice cannot be classified as just drills, but as overall entertainment. The laughter, chemistry, and overall enjoyment of the game combine to make being a part of the US Team not only an opportunity to compete at the highest level, but it also serves as an avenue to befriend some of the best people in the sport.

While all of this reflection is great, I know that the hard work is not over—not even close. The final roster of 24 will not be officially complete until February. The 48 players, who make up the US National Team, as well as their staffs, will continue to push each other in healthy competition throughout the upcoming months as we work to form the USA World Cup Team. I am both proud and determined to be a part of the US Team and hope to one day realize my dream of playing in a World Cup.

Road Trip

Syracuse, NY

October 11-12, 2008

In the several years I have been a part of the US Team Programs, we’ve never had a long-distance team bus trip.  So, as we, the players and staff living in the greater Baltimore area, met the bus in a parking lot to load up for Syracuse, NY, there was an air of excitement.  Next stop, Harrisburg, PA to pick up a few more Eagles.

Well, here we are, Stars and Stripes Weekend.  The coaches are cutting the 48 player pool to the 24 player World Cup Training Team and the 24 player Developmental Team.  The pressure is really on.  After an ugly weekend playing the aftermath of Hurricane Hannah in September, we are all looking to really turn it on and show why we belong at the World Cup in Prague in 2009.

After two games on Saturday versus Vermont and Cornell, we are back at the hotel suiting up for our game against Syracuse in the Dome.  I’ve put on a USA uniform many times in the last 11 years, but it NEVER loses its power.  The sense of pride that comes with wearing USA across your heart is exhilarating.  It’s the same feeling you get as you hear the national anthem prior to the game.  It’s no longer just something you do, its no longer just part of the game…  It’s your US jersey; it’s your national anthem.  You represent your country as the best of the best.  The best in the world.

Kelly Berger

Hello Everyone out there in the wonderful Lacrosse world that we all live in! (At least I like to believe the only world to live in is the lacrosse world)

My name is Kelly Berger and truly believe that lacrosse rules my life, and that’s OK with me!

I graduated in the spring of 2007 from James Madison University with a major in Kinesiology and a minor in Business but it truly felt like I majored in Lacrosse.

I have been a member of the USA National Teams Program for 4 years now and I am so proud to say that I play for my country. You not only get the chance to play with so many unreal players who challenge you to be better each and every time you play, but you get to watch the best players in the world in “aw”and say, wow she is GOOD!

Playing in the US National Teams Program has given opportunities that I never thought could be possible. It has given me the chance to travel and visit places I may have never gone if it was not for lacrosse and US. We have traveled the US to spread the game of lacrosse. SOUTH to Orlando, Florida to visit Mickey and compete… WEST to Portland, Oregon to see how lacrosse has grown and is getting bigger every year… NORTH to Syracuse, New York to see how they play in the cold and never complain…. and even the Czech Republic where we learned that lacrosse can bring people together simply for the love of the game.

After leaving James Madison I wondered if I would ever have the feeling of a team that felt like your second family. Nothing will ever be like my JMU teammates and I will never forget how close we all were… but I soon realized how my USA family was very similar. We aren’t together everyday and sometimes we are not even together every month but we find time to learn about each other and HAVE FUN each and every time we got the opportunity…. even if it is just through a simple email joke we send to each other. It’s a family where people take pride in one another. Pride for the hard work we all put in. Pride for the competition we all feel each and every time we play. Pride for the want and need to get better and the effort make each other better…. for the love of Lacrosse. It’s something that’s hard to explain but its something that everyone feels that plays in the US program. In the end we know how to have fun and that’s the best part!
Thats it for now guys… be sure to check back. Spring will be here before we know it and that means even more LAX!
Kel