Knighthawks' Day Wins 'Les Bartley Trophy' as Head Coach of the Year
Published on April 29, 2004 under National Lacrosse League (NLL) News Release
Rochester Knighthawks head coach Paul Day is the first-ever winner of the Les Bartley Trophy, awarded to the Head Coach of the Year. Day received the highest total of votes for the award as voted on by the Governors, General Managers and Head Coaches of the league's ten member clubs. The voting for all annual awards took place after the conclusion of the 2003-04 regular season and ended before the start of the Champion's Cup Playoffs. The trophy is named in honor of Les Bartley, a seven-time league championship winning coach who is currently battling colon cancer.
Day coached the Knighthawks through injuries and adversity this season leading his team to an 8-8 regular season record and a first round home playoff game. After season ending injuries to team leaders John Grant Jr. and Marshall Abrams, Day was able to rally his team to salvage what many fans and media alike thought would be a losing season.
When it seemed the Knighthawks were counted out, Day rallied his team to win three of their last four regular season games in an extremely competitive East Division. The final three wins included a victory over Philadelphia in a win and make the playoffs or lose and be eliminated from playoff contention game against on April 3rd. The Knighthawks capped the winning streak with their first-ever win at Toronto on April 9th. Day kept a pair of impressive streaks intact. Rochester has now made the playoffs in all ten seasons of franchise history. The Thorold, Ontario resident has been the head coach for the past seven of those ten seasons, posting a 65-33 regular season record.
National Lacrosse League Stories from April 29, 2004
- NLL Unveils New Champion's Cup Trophy - NLL
- Knighthawks' Day Wins 'Les Bartley Trophy' as Head Coach of the Year - NLL
- Ravens to support MLL game - Vancouver Ravens
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
