Regy Thorpe, who boasts more than 20 years of experience as a coach and general manger at nearly ever level of men’s and women’s field and box lacrosse, has been named the head coach and general manager of the National Lacrosse League’s expansion franchise in New York, the league announced Monday morning.
The NLL also announced that the team, which was awarded to GF Sports in December and will call Long Island’s Nassau Coliseum its home, would unveil its name and logo in February.
Thorpe, currently the Syracuse women’s team’s associate head coach and head coach of the U.S. indoor team, will retain the latter role while relinquishing the former as a full-time employee of the newest NLL franchise.
“After conducting a broad search for this position we are thrilled to have Regy on board to build and lead our new team. He has not only had success as a professional player and coach in both box and field lacrosse, but is also personally committed to building the sport from the youth to the professional level,” said Gary Fuhrman, Managing Partner at GF Capital and Board Member of GF Sports. “As a New York-native with deep roots in the lacrosse community throughout the region, Regy’s unique experience and perspective will also be invaluable as we continue connecting with the lacrosse community locally to forge the relationships we know will be important to the success of this franchise.”
The upcoming college season will be Thorpe’s last as an assistant for the Syracuse women’s team. He has coached alongside Orange head coach Gary Gait since 2010, helping Syracuse reached the final four six times, with two national championship game appearances.
Thorpe also has extensive experience coaching in Major League Lacrosse and junior box lacrosse in Ontario. On the women’s side, he led the Long Island Sound to the United Women’s Lacrosse League (UWLX) title in 2017.
Thorpe, who was an All-American and captain for the Syracuse team that won the 1993 NCAA men’s lacrosse championship, played in the NLL for 15 seasons with the Rochester Knighthawks. He holds the league record for most games played by an American. He also served as captain for the 2007 U.S. indoor team.
Thorpe was named the U.S. indoor team head coach in February 2017 and will lead Team USA in the FIL’s World Indoor Lacrosse Championship in Langley, British Columbia, in September.
“I would first like to thank Gary and the whole team at GF Sports for their trust and confidence in me. I felt an instant connection the first time we met and their vision for this franchise, both short-term and long-term, aligns perfectly with mine,” Thorpe said. “New York has a long and rooted history of lacrosse that we will look to build on. The people of New York deserve a team that they can be proud of and one that not only will have success on the field but that is truly part of the community. The passion that so many New Yorkers have will help fuel our team and certainly be part of our team DNA. I couldn’t be more excited about this opportunity and look forward to the quest that lies in front of us.”