Jake Elliott is the premiere play-by-play announcer in the sport of lacrosse. Guiness hasn’t stamped it yet, but no-one has called more lacrosse games. Period. WLA, Junior A, Mintos, Manns, Presidents Cups, World Championships, and holding down two play-by-play jobs in the National Lacrosse League with Vancouver and Las Vegas. But did you know he was a college attackman, WLA heavy weight fighter, NLL scout and Junior ‘A’ coach? On this podcast we give flowers to Jumbo. Clip it!

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Guest @PxP4Sports @LaxClassPodcast

Jordan Hall has a sweet gig. He’s the Offensive Coordinator & Director of Player Personnel for the San Diego Seals of the NLL. A west coast boy made good in the east but now coaching in sunny San Diego and with Team Canada Sixes. A chance to work with the Merrill brothers and Joe Tsai, living the lacrosse dream. From the mean streets of Surrey to a number one overall pick in the NLL in 2007, he put together a solid 14-year career winning an NLL championship with Georgia in 2017. New York, Orlando, Rochester, Philly, New England and Georgia he was always in demand and always made every team he touched better, a leader with an off-the-charts lacrosse IQ, he was the guy every coach trusted in every situation, he carved out a career defined by intelligence, grit, and creativity. And now, he's bringing that same vision and voice into coaching—shaping the next wave of talent with a mindset that’s as modern as it is authentic. On this podcast we dive into the coaches who left a mark, how to do everything well and finding your lacrosse superpower.

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Ian Llord knows how to win.

Nicknamed the “Llord of the Rings” by the Fort Erie Times, Ian built a career defined by championships—NLL titles, Mann Cups, a Minto, a Prezzy, and now provincial and national championships as a coach. A Top 10 all-time leader in NLL games played, he’s seen every era, system, and rule change the game has thrown his way.

Back with the Rochester Knighthawks chasing one more championship, the underappreciated legend joins the show to talk longevity, adapting across generations, Rule 67.16 and shot-blocking in the crease, coaching your own kids, and playing in the Darris Kilgour defensive system that changed the game forever.

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Tyrell Hamer- Jackson is one of the most popular players in the National Lacrosse League. One of the most followed lacrosse influencers on the planet, a fan favorite and an entrepreneur – but he’s never played a full season in the NLL. His is a story of perseverance. Being one of the games most recognizable faces, while simultaneously scrapping to become a full-timer comes with some built-in weight but the Las Vegas Desert Dog face-off specialist is going about it in a calculated and serious way. This is Coaches Calls; Conversations with the leaders of lacrosse, a place where we get deeper into the insights and philosophies behind some of lacrosse’s greatest minds, and the most followed NLL player on social media is no doubt a leader of lacrosse. On this episode we’ll break down the art of the faceoff, 7-hour roundtrips to practice, how he’s teaching the next generation of face-off specialists, and how you never know who’s watching.

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Guest: Instagram + Tik Tok @tyrellhj | Website: Loading Lacrosse

Goats recognize Goats and lacrosse broadcasting legend John Gurtler has had a front row seat to watch the evolution of John Tavares and the Buffalo Bandits as their lead Play-By-Play Voice for the past 21 years. A team in the midst of a three-peat and vying to become the first team in NLL history to win 4 consecutive titles. Gurtler is the reigning NLL Media Person of the Year and has called a record over 400 consecutive games for the league's most storied and popular franchise. On this episode we'll talk about what makes Tavares such a great coach, how the Bandits can remain on top, and peak behind the pipes of one of the most famous voices in the sport.

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Watch: The NLL on NLL+ and TSN.

Andrew McBride is the defensive coordinator for the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League … again. A team that has missed the playoffs in the two years since he wasn’t behind the bench of the team that went to back-to-back league finals, in his last two seasons coaching before taking some time away with his family. He’s an underdog, a captain, a champion and a coach. In this podcast we’ll talk about what winning a Minto would mean for Alberta, how the rag tag Ladner Pioneers lit his lacrosse fire, and how he's changed and how he’ll be a better coach heading into this NLL season.

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Watch: The NLL on NLL+ and TSN.

Dane Dobbie was one of the fiercest competitors the lacrosse world has ever seen and this summer he announced his retirement from playing the game he loves but is immediately taking on a management role with the Calgary Roughnecks – the Lacrosse Operations Adviser for the team he played 13 seasons for and won two championships with.

My broadcasting career started in the BC Junior ‘A’ League in 2007 when Dane Dobbie was playing for the then dynasty Burnaby Lakers under Curt Malawsky and even then, he was the Dane Dobbie we came to know in the NLL. Ridiculous stick skills and creativity, the grit to be punished with and without the ball, the IQ and the compete that stayed with him throughout his entire NLL career. The spirit of the game personified. The type of players you love to watch play the game.

He’s retiring 10th all-time in points in the NLL, 6th in goals and 1st all time in playoff goals where legends are made. He’ll be the first to tell you those numbers will come if you hang around long enough, but he was of the players that you’ll remember for much more than that. There were so many Dane Dobbie moments throughout his career – especially in the later years – that will go down in lacrosse lore.

He’s a warrior that’s been through it all and seen it all and know he’ll bring that expertise to the Roughnecks as he helps Josh Sanderson and Mike Board bring back a winning Roughneck culture to the exceptional lacrosse city of Calgary, Alberta.

On this episode we’ll talk about the ingredients that made up his most successful teams, where his unrivaled competitiveness came from and why it’s ‘heart’ above everything.

Dane Dobbie is on Coaches Calls, thanks for listening.

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The shorter the bio, the greater the man. Simply, John Tavares is the GOAT. The National Lacrosse League’s all-time leader in goals and points. He won 4 championships as a player with the Buffalo Bandits and another 8 Mann Cups while casually summering north of the 49th.

But in recent years, he’s found equal, if not even more success as a head coach. He just completed the NLL’s second ever 3-peat. Winning back-to-back-to-back championships with the Bandits. And now he’s simultaneously trying to do the same with his Six Nations Chiefs. The back-to-back Mann Cup champions are trying to make it a 3-peat as they descend on New Westminster later this week to face the Salmonbellies in the 2025 Mann Cup.

In this episode, we’ll talk about JT’s memories of winning the Mann Cup in New West as a player and as a coach, his thoughts on the current state of summer lacrosse and Mann Cup roster construction, and why it’s so tough to stay on top.

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Watch the 2025 Mann Cup: https://playfullscreen.com/

What does it mean to be a lax rat? New Westminster Salmonbellies head coach Jason Bishop played in the 1995 Mann Cup, falling to the Six Nations Chiefs at Queen's Park Arena. He's now the head coach of the Salmonbellies who will host the 2025 Mann Cup at - you guessed it - Queen's Park Arena. A 30-year shot at redemption for the life long lacrosse obsessed player's coach. In this episode we'll talk about his diet of film, how coaches can enter 'the zone,' and how he's excited to get to the arena every single day for a game or practice.

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Previous Episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/jason-bishop/id1714388311?i=1000683817470

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 Calder Cup in the AHL with Rochester. In the NHL, he took Philadelphia (twice) and Chicago to the Stanley Cup final before he led the New York Rangers to the title. Along the way, he led Team Canada to two Canada Cup victories, and later in his career won a Kontinental Hockey League championship in Magnitogorsk, Russia. He is still coaching today, with the Italian national team. Mike Keenan coached some of the greatest stars in hockey and is remembered as one of the game’s most colourful personalities.

His book Iron Mike is out now, and, on this podcast, we talk about what he brought to hockey from lacrosse, line juggling and experimentation on the ice, if his methods would work today and why Gretzky to Lemieux was such a wild concept back in the day.

You can find Iron Mike, My Life Behind the Bench wherever you buy books. Or here -->

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