Paul Day is the man.

That’s the intro.

One of the most respected leaders in all of lacrosse.

He’s the head coach and general manager or the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League.

A Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Famer, he’s been to the National Lacrosse League finals nine times, capturing five titles as a player, coach or general manager.

He did it all while maintaining a 27-year decorated career as a full-time sergeant for the Niagara Regional Police Service.

He specialized in street crime, intelligence and recruiting.

We’ll hear how that compliments his lacrosse life.

He retired from the force in 2017 to focus his attention on the Wings.

A two time Les Barley Award Winner for NLL Coach of the Year. He won the award 16 years apart in 2004 and 2020.

A native of Peterborough, ON, Day used to ride his bike to the local library and watch 8 mm movies on a projector of old Philadelphia indoor lacrosse games. He’s won multiple Mann Cups with the Peterborough Lakers.

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Mike Hasen might be the most underrated coach in lacrosse.

Over 200 games coached in the NLL. 5th all time.

100 wins in the NLL. 6th all time.

3 NLL titles.

He’s led hall of fame laden dynasties, coached up MVPs and helped build an expansion team and took them to the playoffs in year 3.

Not usually mentioned along with the all time greats but why not?

It might be the fact he’s a calm humble guy that doesn’t get too high or too low, and lets his records and teams speak for themselves. The ultimate player’s coach.

But the wheels of preparation, passion and knowledge are spinning.

He’s the only coach in the history of the league to have coached a team to a 3 peat!

Back to back to back championships!

Mike Hasen is the head coach of the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League; a title he’s held since 2011 when he was awarded the NLL’s Les Bartley award for coach of the year - in his rookie season.

Hasen led the Knighthawks to 3 consecutive NLL titles from 2012 to 2014.

Still the only 3 peat in league history.

Captain of the Knighthawks during his playing days, Hasen won a title as a player in 2007. And all together played 13 seasons in the NLL with Rochester and Buffalo.

Hasen has won multiple Mann Cups as a player and coach during the summer in Canada.  

On this podcast we break down the challenges of the 3 peat season by season, TRY to hear about his best attributes as a coach and learn about how he leads from within the trenches.

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A new year brings new beginnings and Josh Sanderson is a first time Head Coach in the National Lacrosse League and the new head coach and Assistant General Manager of the Calgary Roughnecks.

He played 19 seasons in the NLL winning 2 championships.

One of the greatest play makers of all time, he sits third in NLL history in assists.

In his final full season - he set what was then the league record with 83 assists. He retired the next season and was inducted into the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame the same year.

After retiring, the Orangeville, Ontario native was quickly hired by the Toronto Rock as Assistant General Manager. He moved behind the bench of the San Diego Seals as Offensive Coordinator and Director of Player Personnel before accepting the head coaching job in Calgary in the summer of 2023.

His dad is hall of fame coach and lacrosse legend, the late Terry Sanderson.

I think Josh’s playing career alone should set him up for success as a coach. One of the smallest guys on the floor but always played with the biggest heart and the craftiness and creativity that makes our sport so special. An inspiration.

On this podcast we discuss the impact of his dad on his coaching style, his approach to using video to improve his players and why

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This podcast wouldn’t exist without Curt Malawsky.

One of my pre game rituals and routines for the NLL on TSN is to chat with each head coach before the game of the week to prep story lines and get insight on players, and the chats with Curt Malawsky are always a high light of game week and are the chats that inspired this podcast into existence.

As you’ll hear, he talks a mile a minute, goes off on tangents, and is super well prepped. I often have to listen to his interviews multiple times to transcribe and take notes because he gives so much information, it’s like taking a university course in lacrosse.

“Good people make good teams.”

“Well done is better than well said.”

“Honest effort, honest result.”

Just a few Curt-isms that we’ll trace back on this episode.

With Curt, it’s family first. Behind the passion and the lacrosse IQ is a good family man. You’ll hear how important that is to his success.

Curt Malawasky is the Head Coach and General Manager of the Vancouver Warriors of the NLL. He signed a long term deal with the team in the summer of 2023 after winning the Head Coach of the Year award in Calgary and guiding the team to the West Final in 2023. He won a championship as their head coach in 2019, and as a player in Calgary in 2009 after a 12 year pro playing career.

A Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Famer, he won a Mann Cup as a player with Coquitlam in 2001. And 3 Minto Cup’s coaching Burnaby (2004, 2005) and Coquitlam (2010).

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The Toronto Rock are the most famous lacrosse team in Canada.

25 years of history. 6 Championships. The NLL Hall of Fame is bursting with their alumni. A deep rooted tradition of lacrosse excellence.

It means a lot to coach the Toronto rock. The coach of the year award is named after their first coach, Les Bartley.

Only 9 people have done it. And only 6 people have been invited back for another season.

Now entering his 7th season – no one has done it longer than Matt Sawyer.

A career winning percentage of over .600, Sawyer has guided the team to the NLL East Division Final in 4 of his 6 full seasons. Hailing from Orangeville, Ontario, Sawyer is a 3-time Minto Cup Canadian Jr. A Champion as a Head Coach and 2-time Minto winner as a player all with the Orangeville Northmen. He served as an assistant coach in the NLL in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, and got his first head coaching gig with the Boston Blazers in 2011. During the summer he coaches the Oakville Rock of Major Series Lacrosse to keep his feet wet.

Matty does not like talking about himself. You’ll hear throughout this chat that one of his philosophies, and one he got from the late Terry Sanderson is to surround yourself with good people and to credit team above all else. He has a world class bench in Toronto with Rusty Krueger and Bruce Codd and he’s a great connector and someone who helps people get better.

On this podcast we discuss his approach to using video, how to get the most out of slumping players, lazy players and one of the game’s all time greatest players.

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Eddie Comeau is a gentlemen and a scholar. For real. He has a master’s degree in coaching. The Georgia Swarm head coach is a lifer behind the bench. He got his start coaching the McMaster University field lacrosse team in Hamilton, Ontario in 1987 and then in the junior circuit with Burlington and Brampton in the 90’s.

Joining the Toronto Rock from their inception, Ed Comeau has been coaching in the National Lacrosse League for 25 years and has coached a lot of the game's best players.

He’s won 6 titles, most recently with the Swarm in 2017, a season in which he was also awarded the prestigious Les Bartley Award, for the NLL’s Head Coach of the Year.

Fitting as he was the late Bartley’s offensive coordinator in Toronto, for whom which the award is named after. He won four NLL title’s as a coach with Toronto and his fifth as Rochester’s head coach in 2007, another year where he was named Head Coach of the Year.

Comeau was also a recipient of the GM of the Year Award in 2009 when he coached and managed the New York Titans to the NLL Final. A hybrid team of legendary American box lacrosse players.

Internationally, Comeau is the General Manager of Team Canada’s Men’s Indoor team who will be competing at the 2024 World Championship. He won gold as Canada’s GM in 2019 and previously as GM and Head Coach at the 2015 Worlds.

On this podcast we discuss what he learned from the great Les Bartley, how he defines “working hard” and the importance of changing and adapting to the new generation of lacrosse player.

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Pat Coyle is an intimidating dude. Just ask Casey Powell. Probably the most intimidating defender of all time in the National Lacrosse League. He’s also an exceptional coach.

Now the longest serving head coach in the NLL, he’s been behind the Colorado Mammoth bench since 2014. He also has more rings than he can fit on one hand. A six time National Lacrosse

That season despite finishing 10-8 and third place in the West Conference, Coyle lead his group to a 5-2 playoff record, underdogs in every series en-route to the team’s first championship since 2006. The Mammoth returned to the finals in 2023 but fell to the Buffalo Bandits in the rematch.

Coyle was named the 2002 NLL Defensive Player of the Year in the inaugural season of the award. In 2014, he became the first defenseman in league history to be inducted into the NLL Hall of Fame.

He’s also a Minto Cup champion head coach with the Coquitlam Junior Adanacs.

On this episode we discuss the importance of having one voice that everyone can follow, how Navy Seal culture inspires his locker room, and the impact of losing before you can win it all.

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National Lacrosse League Hall of Famer Tracey Kelusky is one of the leaders that inspired this podcast into existence.

There is a legend that when he was picked up by the Calgary

Tracey is the head coach of the Panther City Lacrosse Club of

Today Kelusky is a full time coach with the NLL and his own company E-volve Lacrosse and is regarded as one of the best captains and leaders in the history of the game.

On this episode we discuss his approach to creating a family feel, how to get more out of talented young players and the check list of fundamentals that are core to his coaching.

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Conversations with the Leaders of Lacrosse.

From lacrosse commentator Brad Challoner. The leaders of lacrosse talk about their life, motivation, and building winning teams.