(August 15, 2024 - Austin Owens)
After taking home a bronze medal in the last four Men’s U-20 World Lacrosse Championships, the Haudenosaunee Nationals have been looking forward and planning for the next iteration of the squad. The first steps in that process were completed with the team locking in its coaching staff for the 2025 Worlds, which will take place in Seoguipo, South Korea.
The Haudenosaunee will look to go one step further than the previous tournaments and make their first-ever gold medal game in 2025.
When looking for the man to lead this group, there were a lot of great candidates for the Head Coaching job. However, General Manager Delby Powless landed on Florida Southern Head Coach Marty Ward, who related well to this age group of players. Powless felt that he deserved the opportunity to be at the helm of the U-20 team.
“We’re really excited to have Marty on board. He was the first name for us when we were searching for a Head Coach,” Powless said. “I’m a big believer in letting the Head Coach pick their staff, so Marty was instrumental in helping to round out the staff with people he’s comfortable with and happy with.”
Ward has been the Head Coach of the Division II program since 2011. During that time, he helped the program produce 10 USILA All-Americans and 71 All-Conference selections.
Ward is a member of the Cherokee Nation and has competed for the Haudenosaunee Nationals, helping the team medal as a goaltender in 2014. He was also a member of the 2006 and 2010 Men’s National teams.
He is currently the only Indigenous Head Coach at any level in the NCAA.
Joining Powless and Ward on the staff are Assistant GM Taylor Smoke, Offensive Coordinator Chris Doctor, Defensive Coordinator Sean Woods, as well as Defensive Assistant Ron John, Offensive Assistant Blake Gibson-McDonald, Goalie and Face-Off Coach Andy Meyers, and Video Coach Jon Lanzalotto.
Powless added that familiarity was a massive part of this staff coming together. Along with the pedigree of both coaching and playing at the top flights of the sport, the U-20 staff has also been around the Haudenosaunee program previously and knows the importance of representing the program on the world stage.
“I think it’s really important that we have guys who have come through this program that are now taking on new roles as coaches. There’s pride that comes with representing the Haudenosaunee,” Powless said. “I think it’s really good to see these guys giving back to the next generation as coaches. It gives them a chance to develop as well. So it’s a big thing to have our Haudenosaunee players on the staff, and they can learn from the coaches who have been doing it for a little bit longer.
“We wanted to give these guys as many opportunities as possible, and hopefully, they can carry this experience with them to the future.”
Along with Ward’s extensive experience with the Haudenosaunee program, Doctor was also on the staff for the Men’s 2014 squad and the 2016 U-20 team.
John has spent time with the Nationals, both at the Men’s level along with playing for the U-20s back in 2016. He also plays for the NLL’s Ottawa Black Bears and the PLL’s California Redwoods.
“It’s a great honor to be an Assistant Coach to this team, and I’m thankful to Marty for giving me this opportunity to share my knowledge and give back to the next generation,” John said. “It’s an amazing chance to grow as a coach, and I’m also excited to use my experience as a current player to help navigate this young team towards greater success.”
Gibson-McDonald is also a former U-20 product and has appeared for the Men’s team following his collegiate career at Davenport. The 28-year-old plays for the Las Vegas Desert Dogs in the NLL.
“I am incredibly honored and grateful to be named an Assistant Coach of the U-20 Haudenosaunee lacrosse team,” Gibson-McDonald said. “This opportunity means a great deal to me, both personally and professionally. As a former player in this program, we will be able to relate on a personal level and I understand the importance of what it means to wear the jersey. I hope to inspire them to achieve their goals on and off the field.”
The staff will now look towards the construction of the roster for next summer’s games. This squad will be using the U-20s as the first stepping stone towards making their pro careers a reality down the line. Additionally, with the 2024 Olympics taking place currently in Paris, France, some eyes have already started to look towards the next games in 2028, which will feature lacrosse in Los Angeles.
There’s a chance that members of this team could make the jump and represent the Haudenosaunee at those games, but for now, the focus remains solely on the chase for gold and helping to grow the program in the present and into the future by developing the new generation of indigenous stars.
“Having lacrosse back in the Olympics is exciting, of course. I’m just grateful for the opportunity to work with this group,” Powless said. “The U-20 Haudenosaunee teams – both the Men’s and Women’s – are extremely excited to represent at the Worlds level. We’re just going to focus on putting the best team we can out on the field in 2025.
“...The big part of this age group is developing players. These are guys that, eventually, you want to see playing for the Men’s team. These guys have developed through high school and now into college, but we want to continue that development to make our program as competitive as possible, year in, year out, every time the Haudenosaunee take the field.”
