University of Massachusets Athletics
Greg Cannella Learned From a Legend, Carved Own Path
July 30, 2016 | Men's Lacrosse
Part two of a seven-week summer series.
By Ed Owens
Greg Cannella has always understood the value and importance of good coaching. He made two pit stops during his collegiate playing career, at Maryland and Nassau Community College, before finding a home at the University of Massachusetts. And it was then-head lacrosse coach Dick Garber who convinced Cannella that the Minutemen would be the right fit, and began laying the foundation that has helped Cannella become one of the most successful coaches in UMass history.
"I wanted to find a coach who was a great person and who was going to care about the people involved in his program. Obviously, that was Coach Garber," said Cannella, who has coached the UMass lacrosse team since 1995. "He never guaranteed me anything other than that opportunity, which I really appreciated. He was very fair, he was honest and, as a coach now, I always try to treat our guys the way that Coach Garber treated me."
One year after leading Nassau to the 1985 junior college national title, Cannella earned a starting job with the Minutemen and helped UMass reach the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time in program history. It marked the start of the most dominant stretch in program history, as the team reached the NCAA Tournament again during Cannella's senior season and followed up with seven more appearances in the next 10 years.
"Back in 1985, UMass had a losing record and, in 1986, we went to the NCAA Tournament; that was really cool for us," Cannella said. "It was sort of a rebirth for Coach Garber and that helped boost the program at the time."
According to Cannella, the 1986 season marked the first that UMass lacrosse offered scholarships to its student-athletes. The financial aid was intended to allow Garber to attract new talent to Amherst but the coach also wanted to reward the current players he had on his roster, which included Cannella.
"Coach Garber didn't want scholarships, he didn't believe in them," Cannella said. "He didn't believe in dividing your team in terms of how much money each guy gets. So when UMass came to him and told him he was going to get scholarships, Coach Garber said that he was going to split them up amongst the team he already had, too. That's just the kind of person he was."
Cannella learned from Garber as a student-athlete with the Minutemen, and has tried to follow that example – while developing his own style – since he took over the program more than two decades ago.
Since then Cannella has tallied 14 winnings seasons (with a .592 winning percentage), eight NCAA Tournament berths, six conference Coach of the Year awards, five New England Coach of the Year honors and was named National Coach of the Year in 2006, when he guided the Minutemen to the program's first NCAA Championship appearance. In 2012, Cannella oversaw the first undefeated (13-0) regular-season campaign since 1969.
"It all comes down to the fact that Greg is a great coach, he's gotten really good players and he's had some good assistants there, too," said former UMass assistant Jason Miller, who has been the head coach at St. John's since 2007. "We had some really good players, but the biggest thing I took out of it was the great chemistry. It was a great group of guys who loved being at the university and who really bought into everything that (Cannella) was trying to do."
"I've tried to bottle that up, we've all tried," Miller added. "(Former UMass assistants) Terry Mangan, Andy Shay, Chris Gabrielli and Jake Coon. We've all tried to take that from our time at UMass and incorporate it into the programs that we've moved on to, but it isn't that easy. As I look at (Cannella) and what he's done, it is really special."
That good fortune isn't lost on Cannella, whose Minutemen finished 4-9 this past season and are working to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since their charmed 2012 campaign. Rather than press, however, Cannella said consistency is the key to reestablishing UMass' position as a perennial power.
"I conduct myself the same way whether we're 15-0 or 0-15," Cannella said. "I coach the same, I approach it the same. I'm no different. But we're trying to build on our success. If you're not building on it then you're taking steps backwards."
By Ed Owens
Greg Cannella has always understood the value and importance of good coaching. He made two pit stops during his collegiate playing career, at Maryland and Nassau Community College, before finding a home at the University of Massachusetts. And it was then-head lacrosse coach Dick Garber who convinced Cannella that the Minutemen would be the right fit, and began laying the foundation that has helped Cannella become one of the most successful coaches in UMass history.
"I wanted to find a coach who was a great person and who was going to care about the people involved in his program. Obviously, that was Coach Garber," said Cannella, who has coached the UMass lacrosse team since 1995. "He never guaranteed me anything other than that opportunity, which I really appreciated. He was very fair, he was honest and, as a coach now, I always try to treat our guys the way that Coach Garber treated me."
One year after leading Nassau to the 1985 junior college national title, Cannella earned a starting job with the Minutemen and helped UMass reach the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time in program history. It marked the start of the most dominant stretch in program history, as the team reached the NCAA Tournament again during Cannella's senior season and followed up with seven more appearances in the next 10 years.
"Back in 1985, UMass had a losing record and, in 1986, we went to the NCAA Tournament; that was really cool for us," Cannella said. "It was sort of a rebirth for Coach Garber and that helped boost the program at the time."
According to Cannella, the 1986 season marked the first that UMass lacrosse offered scholarships to its student-athletes. The financial aid was intended to allow Garber to attract new talent to Amherst but the coach also wanted to reward the current players he had on his roster, which included Cannella.
"Coach Garber didn't want scholarships, he didn't believe in them," Cannella said. "He didn't believe in dividing your team in terms of how much money each guy gets. So when UMass came to him and told him he was going to get scholarships, Coach Garber said that he was going to split them up amongst the team he already had, too. That's just the kind of person he was."
Cannella learned from Garber as a student-athlete with the Minutemen, and has tried to follow that example – while developing his own style – since he took over the program more than two decades ago.
Since then Cannella has tallied 14 winnings seasons (with a .592 winning percentage), eight NCAA Tournament berths, six conference Coach of the Year awards, five New England Coach of the Year honors and was named National Coach of the Year in 2006, when he guided the Minutemen to the program's first NCAA Championship appearance. In 2012, Cannella oversaw the first undefeated (13-0) regular-season campaign since 1969.
"It all comes down to the fact that Greg is a great coach, he's gotten really good players and he's had some good assistants there, too," said former UMass assistant Jason Miller, who has been the head coach at St. John's since 2007. "We had some really good players, but the biggest thing I took out of it was the great chemistry. It was a great group of guys who loved being at the university and who really bought into everything that (Cannella) was trying to do."
"I've tried to bottle that up, we've all tried," Miller added. "(Former UMass assistants) Terry Mangan, Andy Shay, Chris Gabrielli and Jake Coon. We've all tried to take that from our time at UMass and incorporate it into the programs that we've moved on to, but it isn't that easy. As I look at (Cannella) and what he's done, it is really special."
That good fortune isn't lost on Cannella, whose Minutemen finished 4-9 this past season and are working to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since their charmed 2012 campaign. Rather than press, however, Cannella said consistency is the key to reestablishing UMass' position as a perennial power.
"I conduct myself the same way whether we're 15-0 or 0-15," Cannella said. "I coach the same, I approach it the same. I'm no different. But we're trying to build on our success. If you're not building on it then you're taking steps backwards."
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