November 5, 2009
Day by Daye, coach is on the job
by Scott Souza/
In a league that plays a three-month schedule in the summer, with players who have full-time jobs during the week and often suit up in another league during the winter, one might think the fall is a time for Boston Cannons coach Bill Daye to take it easy.
Daye would like to think so too. But with key personnel dates sprinkled throughout the offseason, and the drive to finish the business the Cannons felt they left on the field in Annapolis, Md., during Major League Lacrosse’s championship weekend in August, there isn’t a day or two that goes by without the coach working toward the start of next year’s training camp in April.
“I would love to say it’s a part-time job,” he said with a laugh. “But I am talking with people about the team all the time. I talk with (general manager) Mark Kastrud three or four times a week about our thoughts on personnel. I talk with my coaches once a week. I keep in touch with players as well about how they are doing and what they are thinking about for next year.”
As his players scattered throughout the country following the disappointing semifinal loss to Denver in the semifinals Aug. 22, Daye began looking toward next season, which will be his fifth at the team’s helm. The first item of business was to finalize the team’s 23-man protected roster by Sept. 28.
Players not on the protected list are released into the open player pool and eligible for the supplemental draft, which will take place Dec. 9. Among those not protected was seven-year MLL veteran Kevin Cassese, who told the New England Lacrosse Journal he plans to retire from the league after one season with the Cannons. Daye and his staff decided to protect goalie Jordan Burke, giving the team three goalies on the roster in Burke, Michael Levin, and Kip Turner, who played well in the playoff loss.
Aware that professional opportunities outside of lacrosse and family life can cut short an MLL player’s career, Daye keeps a keen eye on youth and development to prepare for roster turnover each season.
“Jordan Burke is a perfect example of that,” Daye said of the 22-year-old Brown University alumnus. “This guy has shown he could be one of the top goalies in the country and could play at this level. He is the type of guy whom we want to hang on to and take a closer look at in training camp.”
Although Daye’s responsibilities as coach include being in charge of personnel moves, he said he seeks counsel from throughout the organization.
“In creating the team that I want to coach I look for a lot of perspectives,” he said. “I talk to a lot of people and try to get a lot of input.
“Once a month (in the offseason), I will get together with my coaches for dinner and just talk about things and what we are thinking about for next year. Then, when training camp gets closer, I am meeting with them once or twice a week. I spend a lot of time in the office (in Allston) working on promotion and talking with Mark about the team.”
The next big date on the calendar is the supplemental draft. After that, Daye will contact his returning players. Throughout February and March, he will talk with each player and go over what he expects by the start of training camp. Though MLL, unlike many other pro sports leagues, doesn’t have an extensive offseason program, Daye said there are few concerns about whether his players are keeping up with their skills throughout the winter.
“Most of the guys play in other leagues and the ones who don’t are training almost every day,” he said.
One of the leagues to which many of them gravitate is the National Lacrosse League. The indoor circuit, which includes Boston’s Blazers, has become a great league for skill development, according to Daye. While some might see the leagues as rivals, Daye said that couldn’t be further from the case.
“The Blazers staff invites us to their training camp and we invite them to ours to look at players,” he said. “Indoor lacrosse has been mainly a Canadian game, but over the last few years more American players are learning the game and making a name for themselves there too.
“It’s such a confined space that you have to have great stick skills. You have to know how to handle the ball. Those are great skills to have when you get back outdoors.”
The indoor season begins in January with playoffs extending into early May. Players who play in both leagues – Daye estimates about 30 percent of the Cannons will play in NLL this winter – have no respite between seasons.
“Some guys come out of that a little banged up and they need a little time to rest their bodies,” he said. “For the rest of the guys, they get right into a training regimen so that they can get up to the level we need them to be accustomed to playing.”
Daye hopes that will mean playing all the way through championship weekend. This time, ideally, with a different result. He said the roster consistency afforded the MLL teams helps him to build a program and retain his top players, but that he is always looking to add to a team that was arguably the most talented in the league last summer despite its late-game struggles. The Cannons (6-7) suffered seven one-goal defeats, including three in their final four games.
“I still haven’t necessarily put my foot on it yet,” he said of why the Cannons had such a hard time holding second half leads at the end of the season. “But, obviously, in this league you can never have too much offense to keep pressure on opponents. I want to see more firepower out of the midfield next year. That’s what we will be looking to add in the supplemental draft. Then we’ll get those guys into training camp and see what they can do.
“Our goal is to get back to championship weekend. As a coach, my job is to put together a group of players that can get there. Then, once the season starts, to find a way to get them to churn out victories.’’
