Taylor Wray Joins Canada Coaching Staff

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The addition of Taylor Wray to the Canada 2010 coaching staff is a big plus for the team that will go to Manchester, England, next July to try to win a second straight world field lacrosse championship.

``Taylor will make a tremendous contribution in terms of both leadership and Xs and Os,’’ says general manager Johnny Mouradian.

Wray, 28, the Edmonton native who is an assistant coach of the men’s lacrosse team at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., will be working with defensive co-ordinator Randy Mearns on head coach Dave Huntley’s 2010 staff.

``I have a pretty good familiarity with the U.S. team, having played for the head coach (Mike Pressler) who coached me at Duke, so I think I can bring a lot to the table,’’ says Wray.

Wray played defence on Canada’s 2006 team that went to London, Ont., and beat the United States 15-10 in the final to win the world championship for the first time since 1978. His career in coaching can only be enhanced with another international assignment.

``To be a coach by profession and have an opportunity to coach on the national team, there’s no higher honour,’’ says Wray. ``It’ll be a valuable learning experience for me.’’

The other assistant coaches are Paul Stewart and Jeff Gombar, and Chris Sanderson will be on the staff, too, if he isn’t in the lineup as a goaltender.

``It’s a tremendous staff,’’ says Wray. ``From top to bottom, we’ve got some great people. I’m excited to be a part of it and to work with guys who’ve been successful at every level they’ve coached at. I’ll learn from them and help them where I can.’’

Huntley is sure that Wray will be a big help.

``I am thrilled to have Taylor join our staff,’’ says Huntley. ``He is one of the top NCAA assistants in the sport and well respected by our players. His knowledge of our opponents and ability to communicate our defensive game planb to our players will really help us in July.’’

Wray graduated from Duke University in Durham, N.C., in 2003 after helping the school to three NCAA tournament appearances. He was the No. 2 overall NLL draft pick, by the Calgary Roughnecks, in 2003 and was a major contributor in Calgary’s march to the 2004 NLL title. Wray was rookie of the year, shared the award for defenceman of the year with Cam Woods, and was named to the all-pro first all-star team. He then was an assistant coach at Queen’s University in Charlotte, N.C., for three years and commuted to play for the Roughnecks. In the process, he earned his masters degree in teaching from Queen’s in 2006.

In September 2007, Wray was named assistant coach and recruiting co-ordinator at Lehigh, reuniting with former Duke teammate Kevin Cassese who’d become head coach at Lehigh.

``Taylor is one of the finest leaders I have ever been around and is a natural born teacher and coach,’’ says Cassese.

Wray suited up in the NLL in 2008 and in 2009 for the Huntley-coached Philadelphia Wings and he’ll be playing for the Wings again in 2010 as well as moving into the new coaching role with Huntley with the national team.

``It’ll be great to be on the sidelines with him with the world team and to learn some of the things he does to help ensure everybody is on the same page,’’ says Wray. ``We’ll be able to share ideas. Even though I feel that I’m a young guy in coaching circles, being familiar with Dave will make it easier to offer my ideas. I have a prior relationship with just about everybody on the coaching staff. They’ve all been very welcoming.’’

Wray, whose international resume also includes being a member of Canada’s 1999 under-19 world silver medallists and Canada’s 2007 world indoor championship team, knows what it takes to be a good defender.

``The biggest thing you need is tremendous athleticism,’’ he says. ``In the past, people have kind of looked at the defensive end with the mentality that you’ve got to be a bruising hitter, but what helped us in 2006 and what will help us in 2010 is that we have some tremendous athletes on the defensive end, all of whom have stick skills and the ability to push the transition game.’’