David Huntley
Encyclopedia
Dave Huntley is a former Canadian lacrosse
player and current head coach and general manager with the Philadelphia Wings
of the National Lacrosse League
. Huntley played collegiate lacrosse
at Johns Hopkins University
where he helped his team win two national championships
. In 1979, Huntley was honored with the McLaughlin Award
, which is presented annually to the nation's most outstanding college lacrosse
midfielder. His son, Kevin Huntley
, was also an All-American at Johns Hopkins. Huntley was also the first ever head coach for the Toronto Nationals
.
playing box lacrosse
, an indoor version of the game which is played most commonly in Canada
. Huntley was recruited to play field lacrosse
for the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays
and helped the team win two consecutive national championships, in 1978
and 1979
. While playing with the Blue Jays he was named a three time All-American and was awarded as the nation's most outstanding midfielder in 1979 when he was presented with the McLaughlin Award
. He finished his college career as the leading goal scorer at Johns Hopkins among midfielders. Huntley also played internationally and was a member of Team Canada’s gold medal winning 1978 World Lacrosse Championship
team.
Huntley and his son Kevin Huntley
, also a former All-American at John's Hopkins, are the only father–son duo to win two national championships, and are only the second pairing to score 100 or more goals each in their respective Division I lacrosse careers.
of the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League (a predecessor of the National Lacrosse League
) in 1987 when he served as the Philadelphia Wings
general manager and coach. As general manager, he recruited lacrosse stars Mike French, John Tucker
, and John Grant, Sr. to play for his team. During the season, due to team injuries, Huntley stepped down from his coaching position and joined the team as a player. In two games, Huntley scored three goals. In subsequent seasons, Huntley worked in various capacities for the Baltimore Thunder
, Pittsburgh Crossefire
, Washington Power
and Colorado Mammoth
.
Huntley has been an assistant coach, at times, for Loyola College in Maryland
, the Baltimore Bayhawks
of Major League Lacrosse
, and four times for Team Canada in World Lacrosse Championship
competitions. Huntley served as Assistant Coach for the 2006 World Lacrosse Championship
gold medal winning Canadian team.
In 2008, Huntley returned to Philadelphia to be Head Coach of the Wings. The 2008 Philadelphia Wings season
marked the first season in five years that the Wings made the playoffs, ending the longest playoff drought in the history of the franchise. Following the 2010 season, Huntley was also named General Manager of the Wings, following Lindsay Sanderson's firing.
Prior to the 2009 MLL season
, Huntley was named the head coach of the expansion Toronto Nationals
in Major League Lacrosse
. He and the Nationals went on to win the 2009 MLL Championship with a 10-9 win over the Denver Outlaws
. The following season, the Nationals went 3-9 and missed the playoffs. On January 12, 2011, Huntley resigned as head coach of the Nationals.
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
player and current head coach and general manager with the Philadelphia Wings
Philadelphia Wings
The Philadelphia Wings are a member of the National Lacrosse League, a professional box lacrosse league in North America. They play at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
of the National Lacrosse League
National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League is a men's professional indoor lacrosse league in North America. It currently has nine teams; three in Canada and six in the United States. Unlike other lacrosse leagues which play in the summer, the NLL plays its games in the winter and spring. Each year, the playoff...
. Huntley played collegiate lacrosse
College lacrosse
College lacrosse refers to lacrosse played by student athletes at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. In both countries, men's field lacrosse and women's lacrosse are played in both the varsity and club levels...
at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
where he helped his team win two national championships
NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship
The annual NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament determines the top men's field lacrosse team in the NCAA Division I, Division II, and Division III....
. In 1979, Huntley was honored with the McLaughlin Award
McLaughlin Award
The Lt. Donald McLaughlin Jr. Award — also known as the "Don McLaughlin Award" — has been given annually since 1973 by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association to the NCAA's most outstanding college lacrosse midfielder. The award is presented to the best midfielder in Division I,...
, which is presented annually to the nation's most outstanding college lacrosse
College lacrosse
College lacrosse refers to lacrosse played by student athletes at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. In both countries, men's field lacrosse and women's lacrosse are played in both the varsity and club levels...
midfielder. His son, Kevin Huntley
Kevin Huntley (lacrosse)
Kevin Huntley is a professional lacrosse player with the Toronto Nationals of Major League Lacrosse and the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League. He plays the attack position...
, was also an All-American at Johns Hopkins. Huntley was also the first ever head coach for the Toronto Nationals
Toronto Nationals
The Hamilton Nationals are a Major League Lacrosse professional men's field lacrosse team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They began play in the 2009 season from Toronto, Ontario as the Toronto Nationals, becoming the first-ever Canadian team in MLL history...
.
Playing career
Huntley grew up in OntarioOntario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
playing box lacrosse
Box lacrosse
Box lacrosse, also known as indoor lacrosse and sometimes shortened to boxla, LAX or simply box, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in Canada, where it is the most popular version of the game played in contrast to the traditional field lacrosse game...
, an indoor version of the game which is played most commonly in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Huntley was recruited to play field lacrosse
Field lacrosse
Field lacrosse, sometimes referred to as the "fastest sport on two feet," is a full contact outdoor men's sport played with ten players on each team. The sport originated among Native Americans, and the modern rules of field lacrosse were initially codified by Canadian William George Beers in 1867....
for the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays
Johns Hopkins Blue Jays lacrosse
The Johns Hopkins Blue Jays men's lacrosse team represents Johns Hopkins University in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college lacrosse. The team was founded in 1883 and is the school's most prominent sports team...
and helped the team win two consecutive national championships, in 1978
1978 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
The 1978 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament was the 8th annual Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament. Twelve NCAA Division I college men's lacrosse teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament.The championship game...
and 1979
1979 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
The 1979 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament was the 9th annual Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament. Twelve NCAA Division I college men's lacrosse teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament.The championship game...
. While playing with the Blue Jays he was named a three time All-American and was awarded as the nation's most outstanding midfielder in 1979 when he was presented with the McLaughlin Award
McLaughlin Award
The Lt. Donald McLaughlin Jr. Award — also known as the "Don McLaughlin Award" — has been given annually since 1973 by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association to the NCAA's most outstanding college lacrosse midfielder. The award is presented to the best midfielder in Division I,...
. He finished his college career as the leading goal scorer at Johns Hopkins among midfielders. Huntley also played internationally and was a member of Team Canada’s gold medal winning 1978 World Lacrosse Championship
World Lacrosse Championship
The World Lacrosse Championship is the world championship for international men's field lacrosse. From its inception in 1967 through the 2006 event, it was sanctioned by the International Lacrosse Federation...
team.
Huntley and his son Kevin Huntley
Kevin Huntley (lacrosse)
Kevin Huntley is a professional lacrosse player with the Toronto Nationals of Major League Lacrosse and the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League. He plays the attack position...
, also a former All-American at John's Hopkins, are the only father–son duo to win two national championships, and are only the second pairing to score 100 or more goals each in their respective Division I lacrosse careers.
Coaching career
Huntley's career in professional lacrosse began in the inaugural season1987 Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League season
-Awards:-Statistics Leaders:-References:*...
of the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League (a predecessor of the National Lacrosse League
National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League is a men's professional indoor lacrosse league in North America. It currently has nine teams; three in Canada and six in the United States. Unlike other lacrosse leagues which play in the summer, the NLL plays its games in the winter and spring. Each year, the playoff...
) in 1987 when he served as the Philadelphia Wings
Philadelphia Wings
The Philadelphia Wings are a member of the National Lacrosse League, a professional box lacrosse league in North America. They play at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
general manager and coach. As general manager, he recruited lacrosse stars Mike French, John Tucker
John Tucker (lacrosse)
John Tucker is a retired American professional lacrosse player and the former head coach of the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League.-Playing career:...
, and John Grant, Sr. to play for his team. During the season, due to team injuries, Huntley stepped down from his coaching position and joined the team as a player. In two games, Huntley scored three goals. In subsequent seasons, Huntley worked in various capacities for the Baltimore Thunder
Baltimore Thunder
The Baltimore Thunder were a member of the National Lacrosse League from 1987 until 1999. They were based in Baltimore, Maryland, and won the first Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League championship in 1987...
, Pittsburgh Crossefire
Pittsburgh CrosseFire
The Pittsburgh CrosseFire were a member of the National Lacrosse League during the 2000 NLL season. They were based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The franchise started out as the Baltimore Thunder before moving to Pittsburgh. After a single season, they moved again to Washington, becoming the...
, Washington Power
Washington Power
The Washington Power were a member of the National Lacrosse League during the 2001 and 2002 seasons. After the inaugural championship in 1987 in Baltimore through 1999 and an unsuccessful stint in Pittsburgh , the franchise moved to Washington, D.C. in 2001...
and Colorado Mammoth
Colorado Mammoth
The Colorado Mammoth are a member of the National Lacrosse League. They have played at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, United States, since the 2003 season....
.
Huntley has been an assistant coach, at times, for Loyola College in Maryland
Loyola College in Maryland
Loyola University Maryland is a Roman Catholic, Jesuit private university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early and eight other members of the Society of Jesus in 1852, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges...
, the Baltimore Bayhawks
Baltimore Bayhawks
The Chesapeake Bayhawks are a Major League Lacrosse professional men's field lacrosse team based in Annapolis, Maryland. They have played in the MLL since the 2001 season. From the league's inception in 2001 through 2005, they were in the National Division and from 2006 to 2008, they were in the...
of Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse, or MLL, is a professional men's field lacrosse league that is made up of five teams in the United States and one team in Canada.- History :...
, and four times for Team Canada in World Lacrosse Championship
World Lacrosse Championship
The World Lacrosse Championship is the world championship for international men's field lacrosse. From its inception in 1967 through the 2006 event, it was sanctioned by the International Lacrosse Federation...
competitions. Huntley served as Assistant Coach for the 2006 World Lacrosse Championship
2006 World Lacrosse Championship
2006 Warrior World Lacrosse Championship, held in London, Ontario from 13–22 July 2006, was won by Team Canada and featured a record twenty-one competing nations...
gold medal winning Canadian team.
In 2008, Huntley returned to Philadelphia to be Head Coach of the Wings. The 2008 Philadelphia Wings season
2008 Philadelphia Wings season
The Philadelphia Wings are a lacrosse team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania playing in the National Lacrosse League . The 2008 season was the 22nd in franchise history....
marked the first season in five years that the Wings made the playoffs, ending the longest playoff drought in the history of the franchise. Following the 2010 season, Huntley was also named General Manager of the Wings, following Lindsay Sanderson's firing.
Prior to the 2009 MLL season
2009 MLL season
The 2009 Major League Lacrosse season was the 9th season of the league. The season began on May 15, 2009 and concluded with the championship game on August 23, 2009.-Rule changes:...
, Huntley was named the head coach of the expansion Toronto Nationals
Toronto Nationals
The Hamilton Nationals are a Major League Lacrosse professional men's field lacrosse team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They began play in the 2009 season from Toronto, Ontario as the Toronto Nationals, becoming the first-ever Canadian team in MLL history...
in Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse, or MLL, is a professional men's field lacrosse league that is made up of five teams in the United States and one team in Canada.- History :...
. He and the Nationals went on to win the 2009 MLL Championship with a 10-9 win over the Denver Outlaws
Denver Outlaws
The Denver Outlaws are a Major League Lacrosse professional men's field lacrosse team based in Denver, Colorado. They began playing in the MLL in 2006 as an expansion team. From 2006 to 2008, they were in the Western Conference. With the MLL contraction in the 2009 season from 10 to 6 teams The...
. The following season, the Nationals went 3-9 and missed the playoffs. On January 12, 2011, Huntley resigned as head coach of the Nationals.