Gary Gait applauds flashy play from his team in practice. The head coach of the Syracuse women’s lacrosse has always been one to try something new.

So his players are allowed to do the same. And nine games into their season, Gait and the Orange players feel they are reaping the benefits of his loose practice setting, as it has yielded a free-flowing offense.

The Orange (6-3) has scored in droves this season. Syracuse is averaging 15.4 goals per game, placing it sixth in the nation through Sunday. And Gait and his players, including star freshman Michelle Tumolo, feel the success on the field is because of their mentality off of it.

‘He just doesn’t care what you do,’ Tumolo said.

Gait’s non-conformist approach to coaching may seem liberal at times. But the changes he has implemented to his offensive attack couldn’t be more serious. And he’s hoping those changes will help Syracuse defeat Connecticut (7-4) Friday at 4 p.m. in Storrs, Conn.

Sure, Gait gives the green light to players like Tumolo to attempt behind-the-back shots in games. But the true effect of Gait’s coaching style has surfaced with regards to how the Orange has been attacking opponents’ goals. Gait has switched up his offense this season to attack goalies more often from behind their own nets.

In certain situations, Gait doesn’t want his players going straight at the goal. With the influx of talent like Tumolo, he has been stressing to open up the offense by setting things up behind the net.

‘We attack from behind and up top,’ Gait said. ‘That’s something in the past we focused on, attacking from the top, and it’s made a big difference,’ Gait said. ‘It’s made the defenses have to respect us in every area of the field.’

Tumolo has seen success in these behind-the-net situations. She has been able to turn that practice into production.

Case in point: On Feb. 21 against then-No. 13 Stanford, Tumolo pulled off a behind-the-back shot. And though it was a breakaway rather than an attack from behind the net, it yielded from that same loose mindset Gait has preached to his players. The lesson was learned.

And the crowd was stunned.

‘If you throw a behind-the-back shot and miss it, he doesn’t care,’ Tumolo said. ‘He’ll be like, ‘Do it 10 more times until you get it.”
Gait isn’t coy about his approach. He promotes the style of play because he feels it only improves the players. The more things that the players can do, the better the players become.

‘At high school my coach cared a little bit more about that stuff,’ Tumolo said. ‘(Gait) teaches us how to do it and they tell me to do all these crazy shots, so maybe you’ll see more during the season.’

Senior Jackie DePetris was able to see a difference in coaching styles between former coach Lisa Miller and Gait.

After Gait’s intimidating presence quickly diminished, veterans like DePetris quickly translated what Gait harped on into positive results.

‘When he came in he was a lot more laid-back and easy going,’ DePetris said. ‘You want to work hard for different reasons. Not because you’re worried you are going to get yelled at, but because you want to work hard for him and the team.’

Two decades after creating for himself, Gait is having his most success yet as a coach creating for others. Creating for his players. He conjures up ways to score from the sidelines.

With that, Gait conjures up confidence as well. For his players.

And for himself.

‘I think it builds a lot of confidence in each other,’ DePetris said. ‘There’s so many people that can put the ball in the back of the net and can make something happen.

‘It’s not just one or two people we’re relying on.’

adtredin@syr.edu

Published on April 7, 2010 at 12:00 pm