The line of lacrosse fans snakes through a deserted hallway, into another hallway, and another, before finally reaching the Zamboni entrance rink side at Blue Cross Arena. The doors open and 700 turquoise-covered fans tidal wave onto the Rochester Knighthawks’ turf.

They race to the main attraction behind the team bench, Gary Gait. Fresh off an 11-10 win over the Boston Blazers, the 42-year-old Gait is mobbed like a rock star. He signs autographs from the bench for about 15 minutes and circumnavigates the field inch by inch, posing for pictures.

Gait, biceps bursting out of his compression shirt, has bags of ice wrapped around each knee and one his shoulder. Playing against athletes young enough to be his sons takes its toll.

But that’s something Gait chose when the Syracuse women’s lacrosse head coach decided to come out of his retirement to play for the Knighthawks. Gait is treated by Syracuse’s trainers just like all the other athletes on campus.

‘You never want to have regrets,’ Gait said. ‘I just still had the itch to play. I had the drive and wanted to do it.’

When Gait decided to return to the National Lacrosse League in October, he knew conflicts were inevitable. Now he thrives in two completely different worlds. There is Syracuse, where he is methodically building a national powerhouse at the same school where he won two player of the year awards and graduated in 1990 as the school’s all-time goals leader. And there is Rochester, where he is back in the limelight.

These worlds do collide. Gait – the single biggest ambassador of the sport – coached two games and played in another from March 27-29.

‘Just another ‘day in the life of…” he laughs.

Friday morning starts with Gait conducting a team walkthrough, entertaining a high school recruit during the day and then coaching the Orange against Louisville at night. Saturday morning, Syracuse has practice from 10 a.m. to noon. Gait woos more recruits during the day, and then it’s off to Rochester – a quick 90-minute commute – to join his Knighthawk teammates against the Boston Blazers.

While Gait lists his itinerary for the weekend, twirling his lacrosse stick around like a lanyard, other events spontaneously pop into his memory.

‘Oh yeah, it’s my son’s birthday, so he’ll have a whole group going to the game, too,’ Gait said. ‘I’m sure I’ll have to make sure they’re all down on the field to get autographs.’

After playing Boston, Gait returns to Syracuse. He tries to get his usual six hours of sleep and wake up early the next morning to start preparing for Syracuse’s game against Cincinnati.

The weekly 180-mile round trip to Rochester and occasional four-and-a-half-hour road trips to Six Nations in Ontario for practice are all worth it. With the AHL’s Rochester Americans also occupying Blue Cross Arena, the Knighthawks often head way north.

‘Oh, it’s a fun trip. I love it,’ said Gait with a hint of sarcasm.

All worth it. The time commitment, tight hamstrings and body checks have a prevailing purpose in Syracuse

‘Here I am, I don’t have to do it,’ Gait said. ‘I do it because I want to. I try to preach that when I’m coaching. You should be loving the game. You do it because you want to do it and it’s fun. Hopefully they get that message.’

***

Ninety-four seconds into Syracuse’s game against Louisville Friday night, Katie Rowan scores. Decked out in his all-black suit, Gait keeps his hands in his pocket while everyone else on the sideline cheers. He taps the ground a few times with his foot. Nothing more.

‘If he is (stressed), you can’t tell,’ junior Halley Quillinan said. ‘He’s such an easygoing coach and an easygoing guy that if he’s stressed you can’t really tell.’

Players refer to Gait by his first name. They say they’ve never heard him yell, save for maybe once at a referee. Gait has cultivated an informal relationship with players that have produced a powerhouse. In his first year as Syracuse’s head coach, Gait went 18-3 and took SU to the final four – the best season in program history.

The key to doing it over again this year is staying focused in the moment, Gait said. Tomorrow night’s game could make or break the Knighthawks season, but tonight Gait blocks that out.

‘Whether it’s playing, coaching, whatever I’m doing, I can shut off everything else and focus on the task at hand,’ Gait said. ‘I pride myself in that ability and make sure I use it.’

Gait’s wild weekend starts with a 15-4 bang. After talking about the game briefly, he pauses and looks up into the crowd.

‘I see my wife, but no kids. I know my daughter is away playing in Boston for a tournament,’ said Gait, referring to Taylor Gait, a sophomore at Christian Brothers Academy. ‘Two tournaments. One Saturday, one Sunday. I don’t know where my son is, but he’s not here.’

The recruit visit earlier in the day went well. ‘We’ll only know down the road how it really went,’ Gait laughs.

Time to head home for dinner with his wife and grab some sleep. Big day tomorrow. Practice at 10 a.m., game at night. Gait should be stressed out with the quick turnaround, but he’s not. As he strides toward his wife, Gait waves off any notion of stress.

‘Nah, nah, I’ll be fine.’

***

The lighting at Blue Cross Arena fades to black and a spotlight shines on the Knightingales, Rochester’s scantily clad dance team.

In risqué, bikini-style uniforms, they dance to Lady Gaga’s ‘Poker Face.’ The Knightingales are replaced by a group of Native American dancers that perform a brief ritual, and then the team mascot, R. Thunder, storms out to the backdrop of ‘Thunderstruck.’ Paul Gait, Gait’s twin brother and head coach, gives a pregame interview over the Jumbo-Tron, which is impossible to hear over the deafening crowd.

A scene from ‘Rudy’ replaces Gait on the screen, then a clip of Michael Buffer belting ‘Let’s Get to Rumble,’ then a Jock Jams track blares, then, finally, the hometown starters are announced.

Air horns, whistles, high-pitched squeals from 8-year-olds, thunder sticks and a seismic standing ovation from 7,329 in attendance greet every Knighthawks player.

Yes, Gary Gait’s world is much different in Rochester. It’s louder. Faster. Constant promotions and hype produce raw ecstasy. Or a piercing migraine. Either way, this atmospheric pressure was everything Gait has been missing since retiring in 2005.

‘That’s one of the reasons I went back,’ Gait said. ‘It’s fun. It’s a great atmosphere. It’s great to get back in the locker room with the guys and be playing on the field, and have to perform.’

At the 4:30 mark of the first period, Gait strikes. With a basic fake-high, shoot-low maneuver, he fools Boston goalie Anthony Cosmo to put Rochester ahead, 2-1. Through an innovative Internet game-film feature, Gait was able to scout Cosmo during the week. Gait fist bumps teammates and trots back to the sideline.

Box lacrosse is perfect for Gait. It brings him back to his roots as a youngster growing up in British Columbia with his brother. Rather than racing up and down the field like he did in the early ’90s, revolutionizing the sport forever, Gait substitutes into the game when Rochester gets the ball in the zone. He stalks around, usually setting up at the wing where smarts take over.

‘This is certainly not the way I used to play, and I’m OK with that,’ Gait said. ‘I’m not the dominant player that I was. I’m out there to be a role player and score a couple goals here and there as opposed to the guy holding the ball all the time making things happen.’

Yet, Gait is still one of the best players on the field. He dishes three assists and scores two goals as Rochester goes back and forth with Boston.

Gait’s Knighthawks are wearing pink uniforms as part of ‘Pink in the Rink’ night. The jerseys are later auctioned off for $19,000 to fight breast cancer. Gait’s jersey sells for nearly $700. The man with six NLL MVP awards is an immediate icon here. Rochester received 40 new season ticket packages within two hours of Gait’s signing.

Deadlocked at seven, shades of Air Gait resurface. The man who leapt from behind the net to dunk goals for Syracuse hasn’t lost his zest for acrobatics. Ten yards in front of the net, Gait reaches around a Boston defender with his right arm (he’s left-handed) and slingshots a goal past the league’s best goalie. Teammates are used to the trapeze acts by now.

‘I see him in practice all the time,’ Rochester goalie Pat O’Toole said. ‘Nothing surprises me.’

Gait’s five points on the night give him 34 on the season, third-best on the team even though he’s missed four games. While watching Gait sign item after item after the game, O’Toole reflects: He played with Gait in Brooklyn during the summer in the early ’90s, he said.

As O’Toole signs autographs, full circle, kumbaya righteousness sets in.

‘When I first played with him I was just in awe,’ said O’Toole, sweat dripping furiously from his brow. ‘I knew who he was. He had no idea who I was. It’s just fun to have him back. I know who he is now and I don’t have to sit there with my mouth open.’

Finally, after one last signature, Gait ambles toward the bench and into the locker room. His weekend isn’t quite done yet.

***

With his son’s friends awake until 2 a.m. for the young kid’s birthday party, ‘being 12- and 13-year old boys,’ Gait barely gets a wink of sleep Saturday night. Doesn’t matter. Forty-nine seconds into Syracuse’s game against Cincinnati, Christina Dove scores and the bleeding never stops.

The Orange pummels the Bearcats, 23-7.

Still, Syracuse’s sophomore goalie Liz Hogan is worried. Dove, Quillinan and Rowan – SU’s renowned triple threat that combined for 10 goals in the win – won’t be around forever. The trio is the face of SU’s loaded junior and senior classes. Hogan strolled into Gait’s office and took a seat in his comfortable leather couch. How can Syracuse possibly catch Northwestern when its core is on the verge of graduation?

‘We’re pulling in some great people,’ Gait told Hogan. ‘I really wouldn’t worry about it.’

It’s easy to see Gait’s point during the Cincinnati wipeout. Camouflaged within the crowd are streams of high school players in their school jackets. After talking with Gait, Hogan’s concerns waned.

‘I think you’ll see a lot more when the recruits come in,’ Hogan said. ‘He can get his own recruits, the type of players he’s looking for.’

Gait’s Midas touch for the sport continues spreading across every sphere of lacrosse. This week, the expansion Toronto Nationals of Major League Lacrosse announced they signed Gait to a contract this summer. Another challenge. In the wide-open MLL, half-court substituting doesn’t fly. Gait will have plenty of doubters against the likes of Mike Leveille and Steven Brooks, 2008 Syracuse graduates.

But his team in Syracuse assures he’s in shape. Gait illustrates his concepts manually. He’s running, catching and shooting with the entire team. Part of the reason Gait returned to the field was to practice with his team in Syracuse. In the fall, one Gait rifle struck Hogan in the shin. The resulting bump lasted two months.

‘He’ll just stand there and rip them,’ Hogan laughs. ‘It’s good for our defense. If you can stop Gary Gait, you can stop anyone.’

For Gait, actions have always spoke louder than words. He isn’t one to rah-rah the Orange during games – assistant coach John Battaglino handles that. In Rochester, Gait is quiet in the locker room. O’Toole said one-arm goals tend to speak for themselves.

So do weekends like this one. Through all the frenetic moonlighting, Gait wanted the SU women to adopt a greater appreciation for the game. That was the goal alone.

The Orange listened loud and clear.

‘He’s 40-something and he can push himself that hard,’ senior midfielder Bridget Looney said. ‘If we’re 20-something, we should be able to push ourselves just as hard or probably harder. He just shows a lot of hustle, heart and just a love for the game. That passes on to us wanting to love the game as much as he does.

‘He kind of reminds you of why you play.’

thdunne@syr.edu

Published on April 7, 2009 at 12:00 pm