
August 11, 2016 · 0 Comments
Toronto Rock owner, president, and general manager Jamie Dawick announced that former Orangeville Junior A Northmen head coach, Matt Sawyer will be the new head coach of the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League.
Sawyer served as an assistant coach and assistant general manager with the Rock during the 2016 season.
“I think Matt is the right guy for the job,” said Dawick. “This is a long time coming for Matt, he’s earned this opportunity. Matt pays attention to details and he’s focused on the little things that make a team successful.”
This will not be Sawyer’s first head coaching job in the NLL. He was with the Boston Blazers in 2011, guiding them to a playoff berth.
He has also spent time as an assistant coach with Montreal and Ottawa and had a previous tour of duty with the Rock, running the offence and winning a championship along side head coach Terry Sanderson.
“I’m very excited about the opportunity to be a head coach in the NLL again,” Sawyer said. “There are only nine of these jobs and having a chance to coach one of the most storied franchise in this League is a pretty special opportunity.”
The list of players in the NNL that Sawyer has coached at the Junior A level with the Northmen is a lengthy one.
As head coach in Orangeville he won three Minto Cups Junior A Championships in 2008, 2009, and 2012.
Joining Sawyer on the bench is Bruce Codd – current coach of the Orangeville Junior B Northmen.
Codd’s team won the 2016 OJBLL championship.