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Gary Gait

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Gary Gait
BornApril 5, 1967
Victoria, British Columbia, CA
NationalityCanada
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight210 pounds (95 kg)
ShootsLeft/Right
Positionmidfield
NLL teamsDetroit Turbos
Philadelphia Wings
Baltimore Thunder
Pittsburgh CrosseFire
Washington Power
Colorado Mammoth
MLL teamsLong Island Lizards
Baltimore Bayhawks
Former WLA teamVictoria Shamrocks
Pro career1991–2005

Gary C. Gait (b. April 5, 1967 in Victoria, British Columbia) is a retired professional lacrosse player, and currently head coach of the Colorado Mammoth. He is a member of the United States Lacrosse National Hall of Fame and the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame, and is widely regarded as the best lacrosse player of all time.[1][2][3][4] In a fairytale finish to his playing career earned him every possible major lacrosse title, he scored four goals in the last quarter of Canada's historic 15-10 victory over the United States in the final of the 2006 World Lacrosse Championship, his last ever game.

College career

Gait and his twin brother Paul both attended Syracuse University and played in the NCAA, setting many records during their time there. Gary was a four-time All-American at Syracuse. He graduated as the Orangemen’s all-time goal leader with 192. He led the team to three Division I Championships. He was NCAA Player of the Year in both 1988 and 1990 and was Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament in 1990. Gait was also widely known for his acrobatic "Air Gait," where he would jump over the crease from behind the goal, scoring while in mid-air, and then successfully landing on the opposite side of the crease.

NLL career

Gary started playing in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League (later the National Lacrosse League) in 1991 and won the Rookie of the Year Award. In April 2005 he announced his retirement; he played his last game on April 22, 2005.

In the opening game of the 2006 NLL season on December 30, 2005, at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, the Colorado Mammoth raised Gary's jersey number (22) to the rafters as the first retired jersey in NLL history.

In 2006, both Gary and his brother were among the 5 charter members to be voted into the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame.

Records and awards

Gait set many NLL scoring records during his career. He still holds the records for most goals in a single season (61 in 2003) and most career goals (596).

Gait was named league MVP six times, including five consecutive seasons. Other than Gary Gait, only John Tavares (3 times) has ever won the award more than once.

He was also given the NLL Sportsmanship Award twice, in 2004 (tie with Peter Lough) and 2005.

NLL Weekly and Monthly Awards:

  • Player of the Week (1994-2001) 7 times
  • Overall Player of the Week (2002-) 6 times
  • Offensive Player of the Week (2002-) 3 times
  • Player of the Month 6 times

MLL career

Gary has also played in Major League Lacrosse since its inception in 2001. He was a member of the Long Island Lizards. After the first season, Gary was traded to the Baltimore Bayhawks where he has served as a player-coach for the next four years. In 2005, Gary won the Steinfeld Cup as a player-coach. He scored six goals in the Championship Game and was named MVP of that game as well as the season.

WLA career

Gait, along with his brother, had great seasons with the Victoria Shamrocks of the Western Lacrosse Association. Gary won the MVP of the Mann Cup as a Shamrock in 1997, and was co-MVP of the Cup with Paul Gait in 1999.

International lacrosse career

1990 - Member of Team Canada, finalists in the World Lacrosse Championship
1994 - Member of Team Canada, 3rd place at the World Lacrosse Championship
1998 - Member of Team Canada, finalists in the World Lacrosse Championship
2002 - Member of Team Canada, finalists in the Heritage Cup and World Lacrosse Championship
2004 - Member of Team Canada, winners of the Heritage Cup
2006 - Member of Team Canada, winners of the World Lacrosse Championship

Statistics

International

    World Lacrosse Championship   Heritage Cup
Year Team GP G A Pts LB PIM GP G A Pts
2002 Canada             1 1 3 4
2004 Canada -- -- -- -- -- -- 1 3 2 5
2006 Canada 8 21 5 26 4 0

Major League Lacrosse

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team GP G 2ptG A Pts LB PIM GP G 2ptG A Pts LB PIM
2001 Long Island 14 30 0 8 38 0.5 33 2 3 0 2 5 9 0.5
2002 Baltimore 12 25 0 6 31 2.0 29 2 4 0 4 8 8 0.0
2003 Baltimore 11 30 0 13 43 22 2.0 2 8 0 1 9 6 0.0
2004 Baltimore 12 32 1 14 47 21 0.5 1 1 0 1 2 4 0.0
2005 Baltimore 12 42 0 21 63 28 0.0 2 11 0 0 11 2 0.0
MLL Totals 61 159 1 62 222 133 5.0 9 27 0 8 35 24 0.5

National Lacrosse League

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team GP G A Pts LB PIM GP G A Pts LB PIM
1991 Detroit 10 32 36 68 67 12 1 3 3 6 1 0
1992 Detroit 8 27 22 49 51 17 1 0 4 4 5 2
1993 Philadelphia 8 21 13 34 68 0 2 5 7 12 5 2
1994 Philadelphia 7 16 17 33 38 6 2 9 3 12 13 2
1995 Philadelphia 8 30 18 48 58 4 2 12 4 16 10 2
1996 Philadelphia 10 43 22 65 74 4 2 5 5 10 16 0
1997 Philadelphia 10 40 32 72 65 8 1 4 1 5 0 0
1998 Baltimore 12 57 28 85 64 13 3 9 10 19 26 0
1999 Baltimore 11 50 32 82 60 2 1 3 3 6 2 0
2000 Pittsburgh 12 38 45 83 63 4 -- -- -- -- -- --
2001 Washington 14 43 47 90 82 10 1 3 1 4 6 2
2002 Washington 16 50 62 112 120 8 2 6 2 8 7 2
2003 Colorado 16 61 35 96 105 4 2 5 9 14 18 0
2004 Colorado 16 55 38 93 80 8 1 1 0 1 5 0
2005 Colorado 16 33 48 81 81 4 1 1 4 5 7 0
NLL Totals 174 596 495 1091 1076 104 22 66 56 122 121 12

Awards

Preceded by NLL MVP
2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by NLL MVP
1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 		Succeeded by
Preceded by NLL Sportsmanship Award
2004 (tie with Peter Lough), 2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
none
 NLL Rookie of the Year
1991 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game MVP
2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Major League Lacrosse MVP (with Mark Millon)
2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Brian Voelker
 Head Coach of the Baltimore Bayhawks
2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Major League Lacrosse
Championship Game MVP
2005 		Succeeded by

References

  1. ^ "Lacrosse legend retires as 'Jordan of sport'". MSNBC.com. April 17, 2005. Retrieved 2007-03-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "Interview with John Grant, Jr". Lacrosse - Inside the Game. February 26, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Gary Gait HOF Biography". US Lacrosse. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  4. ^ "Lacrosse Legends". SportsLearner.com. Retrieved 2007-03-28.

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