Professional indoor lacrosse returned to Philadelphia in 1987 when the Eagle League of Pro-Box Lacrosse was born. When the Philadelphia Wings took to the floor that season, they were led on the field by Mike French and off the field by Dave Huntley, who was the team's first Coach and General Manager. At least he was until late in the six game regular season when he added player to his title as well due to injuries on the Wings. So it was very interesting on June 7, 2007 when the Wings, with French as one of the team's owners, announced that Huntley would take over the coaching reins from Lindsay Sanderson, who remains on board as General Manager.
"It’s good to be back," Huntley said at the Wings Red Status meet and greet held on June 25 at the Wachovia Center, just over two weeks after his return to the Wings was announced.
While Huntley may not have been on the fan's radar of potential coaches, he says he wasn't surprised when the Wings approached him about the team's vacant coaching spot.
"I think I was delighted and honored. I don’t want to say I was surprised," Huntley said. "Mike French and I go back a long way, have stayed friendly through the years. When the opportunity came up, I think I was more delighted than honored."
Huntley hopes that his return to coaching the Wings goes more successfully than his stint in 1987, when the Wings went 3-3, eventually losing in the semi-finals to the Washington Wave. That's not to say he didn't have fun during that season, even though he felt he could have done better on the coaching, playing and managing of the team.
"It was a lot of fun," Huntley said. "I think as I look back on it, I don’t think I was a very good GM, I was probably a worse coach and managed to even be a worse player so it was not a great debut looking back on. It was fun just to be part of getting something going, looking back some 20 years later I was glad I was a part of that."
One thing Huntley brings to the table in his return to Philadelphia lacrosse is a ton of experience, mostly very good. Huntley was a member of a pair of NCAA Championship teams with Johns Hopkins in the late 70's and was a three time All-American. He also was a part of Canada's two World Field Lacrosse titles, as a player in 1978 and as an assistant coach in 2006. He also assisted Gary Gait with the MLL's Baltimore Bayhawks for three seasons (2003-2005), with the Bayhawks winning the MLL title in 2005. His experience hasn't been limited to the outdoor game either. His experience in the indoor game after 1987 involved stints as an assistant coach with Baltimore beginning in 1997 through the franchise's eventual moves to Pittsburgh (as GM in 2000), Washington (2001 and 2002) and Colorado (scout in 2003). Huntley feels this experience will serve him well with the Wings.
"Probably the best thing I can say is I’ve been a part of, recently, some very successful organizations," Huntley said. "The other side of the equation is I’ve also been part of some teams that weren’t very successful both on and off the field. I think it gives you some perspective. It’s one thing to know what it’s like to win but I still remember what it’s like to lose and hopefully be able to relate to how to get out of those situations."
As Huntley prepares the Wings for the 2008 season, he must deal with a number of pressing matters. A team and fan base that has been used to success has seen that well go dry since the team's last championship victory in 2001. The Wings have missed postseason play in each of the last five seasons (last making it in 2002, losing to the Washington Power, where Huntley assisted Darris Kilgour) and fan discontent has been growing while attendance has dropped. Huntley understands the fan frustration and feels he can deliver what the players, owners and fans have been seeking, a return to the Wings glory days.
"Make no mistake about it, one of the attractions for me to this job was to be able to play in front of these fans on the right side of the bench," Huntley said. "The other thing people should know is I don’t think anyone has been more unhappy or dissatisfied with the results on the field than the ownership (Russ Cline, Chris Fritz, and Mike French). One of the things in this league is that the Wings have gotten better the last three years, make no mistake about it. This team under Lindsay Sanderson’s guidance has really improved. With the talent level on this team, I feel like I’m taking over something that’s just getting ready to emerge and burst. The tough part about that is the league has gotten a lot better too. I think the quality of players in the league right now is at a level that we’ve never seen before. I think the league is absolutely terrific. So even though we’ve been getting better, the rest of the league’s been getting better so maybe the results haven’t been there on the floor."
As far as what needs to be changed to bring success back to Wingland, Huntley has noted a couple of items he feels need to be addressed in order for the Wings to get back to their winning ways.
"There’s a couple of things we’ve identified in the early going," Huntley said. "I’ve had a chance to speak with most of the players and I’ve had the benefit of the feedback sent to management at the end of the year. We need to improve communication. It’s not gonna be so visible to the fans but it should be visible in terms of how we behave on the field. The other thing that should be very visible is we need to run on and off the floor. I had a chance to watch four games from last season; this is a team that needs to run on and off the floor. A simple thing like running on and off the floor shows they (the players) are selfless and that they do actually care about each other. We need to demonstrate that to the fans. It’s very visible when you see a guy hustle on and off the floor. Wings fans should pick up on that so that should help a lot. From a tangible perspective it’s going to give us longer shot clocks to work with on offense, it will also make for shorter shot clocks on defense, which will generate fewer quality scoring chances. Two big things, communication and hustle. I think we’ll be better."
At the meet and greet, Huntley announced that Chris Sanderson would be returning as an Assistant Coach, specializing on the defensive end. Sanderson had been the Wings Offensive Coach the last three seasons and has not been very popular with Wings fans after a rough night in goal against Columbus in 2002. Again, Huntley understands the fans feelings yet has very strong feelings of his own about this move.
"Chris and I go back a long way," Huntley said. "I was fortunate enough to coach Chris in 1998 for the Canadian National Team; he was also part of the Thunder (1999). The main thing I’ll tell you about Chris is he’s seen both sides of the coin. We go back a long way, I trust him. I’ve alluded to communication earlier, if you talk to the players who’ve played with Chris, whether it’s in the professional game or whether it was on International teams, Chris is a great communicator, one of the great communicators in the game. As a goaltender in the outdoor game, communication is huge. He has to be a coach on the field and he’s been very successful at that. We (Team Canada) had a terrific World Championships this summer and Chris was a huge part, blending together a group of defensemen who never really played together at all before and in a short period of time and being our field general. One of the things in my hiring process was before I was hired I asked Lindsay about having Chris as an assistant and the ownership endorsed it. I’m delighted that they did, it was an important part to me. What I found out later, the players were also very enthusiastic about Chris returning to the team. I respect the viewpoints of the fans, obviously they’re the ones who pay our salaries. I think you’ll be very proud to have Chris as our assistant."
Another issue that Huntley is ready to deal with is what kind of style of play he wants to see from the Wings. The team has long been a predominantly American team, field players with a mix of Canadian players with both field and box experience. The recent NLL Entry Draft continued that trend with their selections. The Wings seem to be a team that has always played the perimeter passing style associated with the field game while not really cutting to the middle and challenging defenses for quality shots like in the box game. Huntley feels he knows where to go with this come training camp.
"I think what you’re referring to is a style of play issue," Huntley said. "First and foremost, the style of play that we play is going to be determined by the players. I’m really looking to seek the active involvement in our players of how they want us to play. They need to have ownership of that and we’ve already begun those discussions. What I’m excited about is their vision for this team is very similar to mine, a team that runs. When I think back to the Wings teams that I coached against, I think of those teams as teams that ran, that literally challenged you on the floor. That’s what this group of guys wants to be. They very much want to be that, that’s they style I’d prefer to play from a coaching perspective. I believe we have the talent and athleticism to do that, we have the will to do that. You should expect to see a team that’s going to run. Changing lines has been a problem with the Wings for a long time. Guys not running on and off the floor, Philly’s always been a slow changing team. This will not be a slow changing team; this is a team that’s going to get on and off the floor quickly. Again, I think that’s a sign of selflessness. To extend the question about a team like Toronto and how they cut the middle, which is an important thing to do, again that’s a selfless act. I think we do have selfless guys. I think left to their own devices, I think they’ll reach that conclusion. Hopefully we’ll hit the mark on both of those aspects."
Lastly, Huntley goes back to what excited him about coming back to the Wings and what he hopes to accomplish this time around.
"I’m honored and excited to be back, it’s a great opportunity for me," Huntley said. "For someone in my position who’s looking to coach in this league, there’s probably a handful of franchises that I’d want to be involved with. This is at the foremost of it. It’s the greatest fans in the league, always have been the greatest fans in the league, the greatest ownership in the league. These are the guys who started this league. Even Mike French, he’s one of the owners now. He was one of the guys who started this league, he bled on the floor with the rest of us in 1987. I know that it’s been frustrating for folks the last few years. There’s a lot of history here, I know the players are frustrated, the ownership’s frustrated. I think we have the makings here of something special. I’m hoping I’m in the right place at the right time and a year from now I can say I was pretty lucky to have this job."
And Wings fans are hoping that Huntley can bring the team back to its winning ways, a berth in the postseason, and just maybe, another championship to celebrate.
