NLL: Swarm Hires Lines as New Head Coach
from press release
SAINT PAUL/MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The Minnesota
Swarm have announced the hiring of Mike Lines to fill the vacant
Head Coaching position for the upcoming 2010 season. Lines, 38,
spent the last three seasons with the Swarm as an Assistant Coach
under former Head Coach Duane Jacobs who resigned earlier this
off-season.
"Mike's a familiar face in our organization, so he was a real
popular choice with our players and myself. The Arlotta's really
felt that Mike was a big part of the good things that were going on
last year, and we all felt that Mike was ready for this challenge,"
stated General Manager Marty O'Neill.
The St. Catharines, Ont. native will take over a Swarm team
that went 6-10 last season despite making the playoffs the previous
three seasons. "He has a real connection with the players and they
really stepped up and voiced their opinion and said we would like
to see him as the Head Coach," noted O'Neill. "We wanted to keep
the positive feeling that we had in the past with Mike and try to
build off that moving forward."
Lines, before joining the Swarm spent three years coaching the
Ontario Lacrosse Association's (OLA) Niagara Thunderhawks Junior
'B' team. During that time, he served as the General Manager for a
season and was named the league's "Coach of the Year" in 2006.
"It's exciting. I'm really looking forward to getting the season
started. It's going to be good," stated Lines on being named the
new Head Coach. "We don't have a lot to change actually. We're just
going to try to bring in a little more size and a little more speed
defensively and work to be more consistent on offense. We'll be
better next year."
Lines has also served as a scout for the National Lacrosse League's (NLL) Buffalo Bandits in 2005. His lacrosse playing background includes playing in the WLA, OLA and winning multiple provincial "A" championships and two Minto Cups during his minor lacrosse career in St. Catharines.
