Two weeks ago, Gary Gait received a phone call from Regy Thorpe with a surprising proposition.

Thorpe, the general manger of the Rochester Knighthawks lacrosse team, told Gait he had just lost one of his star players. Thorpe thought Gait, the Syracuse women’s lacrosse head coach, could be the new star for the Knighthawks, which play in the indoor National Lacrosse League (NLL).

Originally, Gait thought Thorpe, a Syracuse alumnus and personal friend, was ‘crazy’ and that coming out of retirement was ‘out of left field.’ Then, Gait’s two children Taylor and Braedon heard the idea and sold their dad on returning from retirement.

‘My kids said ‘you’ve got to play, dad, you’ve got to,” Gait, in his second year at SU, said. ‘After watching my kids get so excited about it, I did, too, and I decided to play.’

Gait, 41, will return from a three-year hiatus, after previously playing 15 years in the NLL. Every season he earned All-pro accolades, and led the NLL in points and goals seven times. Gait also won three pro-championships, in 1991 with Detroit and back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995 with Philadelphia.

Rochester traded forward Andrew Potter and its 2009 and 2010 first-round draft picks to Colorado in exchange for Gait’s playing rights.

A potential conflict arose when Gait signed with the Knighthawks; this season’s Rochester schedule runs from Dec. 17 to April 18. Although Syracuse’s 2009 schedule has yet to be released, in 2008 its season lasted from Feb. 20 to May 23.

Avoiding an overlap looked impossible.

But Gait vowed his coming out of retirement will not affect his duties as head coach. He will be able to play in 14 out of Rochester’s 16 games without missing a single Syracuse contest. During the Big East tournament the Knighthawks have a bye week, eliminating any potential conflicts. Gait said most NLL players have full-time jobs and find ways to make their schedules work.

‘Coach sat us down to talk about all this and promised Syracuse is his first priority,’ senior midfielder Bridget Looney said. ‘We are behind him 100 percent. Now, whenever I’m in the weight room he’s right there next to me. It’s really exciting.’

Gait said he has already discussed his training regiments with Syracuse strength and conditioning coaches. Gait said he is in shape, but not ready yet to play the hard-hitting, indoor style of play.

‘I don’t know if the other guys in the league are ready for what coach (Gait) has to offer,’ Looney said. ‘He’ll probably create some new move while he’s back playing.’

Gait, the most accomplished player in lacrosse history, said coming out of retirement is the one thing he hasn’t done in the sport. Rochester is already reaping the benefits of Gait’s return; the Knighthawks sold 40 season tickets in the two hours following the announcement of the trade.

Gait said he will practice six to seven days a week, start to eat a balanced diet and lift weights.

‘I have the passion right now,’ Gait said. ‘I’m excited about it, and now it’s a matter of putting in the hard work.’

In his first season as head coach, Gait led Syracuse to an 18-3 record, a Big East championship and the program’s first final four appearance.

Gait won three national titles as a player for the Orangemen, spanning from 1988-1990. When he was an assistant women’s lacrosse coach at Maryland, the program tallied seven national titles. Gait also played in the NLL while at Maryland, claiming he had no conflicts between his two commitments.

‘This is a great opportunity to show my young Syracuse athletes what it takes,’ Gait said. ‘How much work and effort it takes to compete at a professional level but also to prepare yourself to play for a championship.’

mkgalant@syr.edu

Published on October 16, 2008 at 12:00 pm