Women's Lacrosse
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- gcgait@syr.edu
Orange All-American and lacrosse Hall of Famer Gary Gait is the second head coach in the history of the Syracuse women’s lacrosse program. Gait is a 10-time NCAA champion, having won three titles as a player for the Orange (1988-90) and seven as an assistant women’s lacrosse coach at the University of Maryland (1995-01).
In his first season at the helm, Gait led the Orange to new heights. Syracuse won its first outright BIG EAST regular-season crown and successfully defended the tournament title. The Orange earned a program-best fifth seed in the NCAA Championship. where it defeated Towson and North Carolina to advance to the Final Four for the first time in school history.
The Orange set four NCAA single-season records on its way to a school-record 18 victories. Syracuse led the nation in scoring with 541 points. The Orange also established new standards for goals (380) and goals (18.01) and points (25.64) per game.
Under Gait’s tutelage, four student-athletes earned All-America honors, while six were named to the All-Region First Team - both program bests. Syracuse dominated the BIG EAST awards, claiming Attack and Defensive Player of the Year honors and seven all-conference nods.
As a player, Gait enjoyed success at every level. While at Syracuse he helped the Orange to three-straight NCAA titles, earned first-team All-America honors three times and received the Player of the Year award twice. Gait’s dominance continued at the professional level as he earned league MVP honors in both the National Lacrosse League and Major League Lacrosse. On the international scene, Gait has been recognized as one of the sport’s best players, earning International Lacrosse Federation (ILF) All-World Team honors.
Success on the Sidelines
Prior to returning to his alma mater, Gait spent two seasons as the head coach of the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). In his first two campaigns, he led the Mammoth to two playoff appearances and the 2006 league championship. Gait’s professional coaching experience also includes four seasons (2002-05) as player-coach of Major League Lacrosse’s (MLL) Baltimore Bayhawks. He won championships there as well, taking home MLL titles in 2002 and 2005.
Gait tasted success coaching on the international level when he led Team Canada to the 2007 Men’s World Indoor Championship. Gait’s squad rolled through the tournament, winning all five of its games, including the championship tilt, 15-14, versus the Iroquois. This past summer, he served as the head coach of the Canadian men’s under-19 team that won the silver medal at the ILF World Championship.
As an assistant at Maryland, Gait helped build one of the most impressive dynasties in NCAA history. The Terps compiled a remarkable 164-16 (.911) overall record in his nine years on the staff, including four undefeated seasons (1995, 1996, 1999, 2001) and seven consecutive NCAA championships (1995-01). He coached and recruited some of the greatest players in the history of the women’s game, including NCAA career scoring leader and 2001 Tewaaraton Trophy winner Jen Adams, as well as four-time All-American and 1995 National Defensive Player of the Year and 1996 National Offensive Player of the Year Kelly Amonte.
In all, Gait has mentored 29 All-Americans and eight players that at one time earned national player of the year honors.
Dominance on the Field
Gait’s success as a coach might only be surpassed by his accomplishments as a player. He has won every major collegiate, professional, and international championship in the sport during his career. In addition to his three NCAA championships with the Orange, Gait has won three NLL titles (1991, 1994-95), three MLL titles (2001-02, 2005), three Mann Cups (1991, 1997, 1999), which are awarded to the senior men’s lacrosse champions of Canada, the Heritage Cup (2004), which goes to the winner of the international box lacrosse tournament every two years, and the International Lacrosse Federation (ILF) World Championship (2006).
Donning the Orange
A native of Victoria, British Columbia, Gait and his twin brother, Paul, began their playing careers at Syracuse in 1987. There, under the tutelage of SU head coach Roy Simmons Jr., the duo revolutionized lacrosse, bringing a sense of style and excitement to the game that had never been seen before. At no time was that more evident than in the 1988 national semifinal against Penn at the Carrier Dome when Gary unveiled the “Air Gait,” scoring twice by dunking over the top of the goal.
While Gait’s individual theatrics delighted the crowd, Syracuse also excelled as a team with him running the midfield. His Orange squads registered an overall record of 51-5 (.911) from 1987-90, won three national titles, and posted two undefeated seasons (1988, 1990). In 1990, Gait was selected as the NCAA Tournament MVP on what many still call “the greatest lacrosse team ever assembled.”
Individually, he earned All-America honors four times, including three straight first-team nods (1988-90). He also won the Lt. Raymond Enners Award (National Player of the Year) twice (1988, 1990) and the Lt. Donald C. MacLaughlin Jr. Award (Midfielder of the Year) in 1988 and 1990.
Gait still holds the Syracuse career goals scored record (192), which was the NCAA single-season record until 2008. He also owns SU’s single-season goals mark (70), and his nine tallies against Navy in the 1990 NCAA Tournament tied the tournament and school single-game standards.
In conjunction with the 1997 Final Four, the NCAA Lacrosse Committee named Gait, and his brother, Paul, to the 25th Anniversary Lacrosse Team.
Joining the Professional Ranks
After his collegiate playing career, Gait took his talents to the professional level, where he played 15 years in the NLL with the Detroit Turbos, Philadelphia Wings, Baltimore Thunder, Pittsburgh CrossFire, Washington Power, and Colorado Mammoth. In 1991 with Detroit, he was named the NLL Rookie of the Year, and later in his career he was selected the league’s MVP a record six times, including five in a row (1995-99). He was also an All-Pro every season.
Gait led the NLL in points and goals seven times and he finished his indoor career as the league’s all-time leading scorer with 1,091 points (since broken). He also won three league championships, leading the Turbos to the title in 1991 and the Wings to consecutive titles in 1994 and 1995. In 2009, Gait returned after a three-year absence to play for the Rochester Knighthawks.
In recognition of his extraordinary NLL career, he was selected as one of five charter members of the league’s Hall of Fame in 2006.
Gait also played five outdoor seasons in Major League Lacrosse. He made his MLL debut with the Long Island Lizards in 2001 before taking over as player-coach of the Bayhawks the following season.
In his final MLL campaign, Gait led the league in goals, points, and hat tricks. He finished tied in the voting for league MVP and was named the MVP of the championship game after leading the Bayhawks to their second Steinfeld Cup. Gait also won championships with Baltimore in 2002 and the Lizards in 2001.
Gait’s other playing accomplishments include helping the Victoria Shamrocks to the Mann Cup in 1997 and 1999, winning the 2004 Heritage Cup (Canada), and leading Canada to its first world title since 1978 at the 2006 ILF World Championship in London, Ontario. Playing on the international stage for the final time, Gait saved his best for last, tallying four goals in the ILF title tilt to lead the Canadians to a 15-10 upset of the U.S. squad.
Gait, a 2005 National Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee, also spends time off the field working to grow the game. He is the president of NDP Lacrosse, a national lacrosse development and education program, and was the chairman of the 2007 Under Armour Boys All-America selection committee.
He and his wife, Nicole, have two children, Taylor (14) and Braedon (12).
