Hall of fame coach returning to coach Junior Adanacs

A lacrosse hall of famer is returning to the helm in Coquitlam. 

Pat Coyle, a Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee and five-time National Lacrosse League (NLL) champion, will be taking over as head coach of the Junior A Coquitlam Adanacs, the team announced on social media last week. 

Coyle previously coached the junior Adanacs from 2015 to 2019, leading the team to a pair of Minto Cup Championships — the national championship for Junior A programs across the country — in 2016 and 2018. 

Coyle, who was hired as a co-coach of the NLL’s Colorado Mammoth in 2014, stepped down as the team’s Junior A coach in 2019 to focus on other coaching commitments. He took over as the Mammoth’s full-time head coach in 2018 and led the team to an NLL championship in 2022. 

Coyle also took over as head coach of the Adanacs’ senior team ahead of the 2020 season, but didn’t coach that squad until 2022, as the pandemic wiped out the 2020 and 2021 seasons. 

Following the 2023 season, Coyle informed the Adanacs he would not be returning as head coach of the senior team, said Garrett Ungaro, vice president and governor of the Coquitlam Junior Adanacs, in an email to the Dispatch. 

The Adanacs then expressed interest in having Coyle return as bench boss of the junior team, especially as Coquitlam is slated to host the Minto Cup Finals this summer for the first time since 2010, before agreeing to a deal.

“Pat is one of the best box lacrosse coaches in the world and we saw first hand how successful he was in working with our Jr A team previously,” Ungaro said. 

Coyle will resume head coaching duties of the Mammoth, whose season runs from December to June.

The Orangeville, Ont. native played for the Adanacs’ senior team as a player in the late 1990s and early 2000s and captained the team to their last Mann Cup — the senior men’s lacrosse national championship — title in 2001. 

“Pat Coyle has been proven to be one of the most successful lacrosse players and coaches in the history of the sport,” the Adanacs posted on Facebook. 

“The club is beyond excited to be welcoming Pat back.” 

The Adanacs will turn to Coyle months after falling two wins short of claiming their first Minto Cup title since 2018. 

In August, the Junior A squad was swept in a best-of-three series against the Burlington Blaze, members of the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League, in the Minto Cup Finals. 

Coyle has a special ability to guide players to their potential, Ungaro said, which is evident by his coaching success in the NLL. Ungaro added that he believes the coach’s stewardship will be critical for a group of returnees that are keen to achieve success on home court this summer. 

“We feel we have a core returning group who can push to return to the Minto Cup Finals in 2024,” Ungaro said. “If you look back at our team’s rosters in the year’s Pat coached, I’m not sure you can find a coach who has that many alumni playing in the NLL.” 

James Abbott, president of the Adanacs, echoed that sentiment, adding that Coyle’s communication with players makes him a standout coach and ideal candidate to lead the junior team ahead of a pivotal summer.

“Players know where they stand all the time,” Abbott said. “They’re given opportunities to fix any issues or given second chances. . . . They trust him and they’ll go through a wall for them.”

The Adanacs’ regular season is expected to start this spring.