New Warriors Coaching Staff Has The Midas Touch

Ask for coaches who can build a winning team and they’ll give you Hall of Famer Curt Malawsky and NLL champion Rob Williams.  

“We want to put a good product on the floor for the hardworking families that are going to come out and spend their hard-earned money,” Malawsky said. 

It’s a new era for the Vancouver Warriors, adding a head coach and defensive coach with extensive track records of success. General Manager and Head Coach, Curt Malawsky, and Defensive Coach Rob Williams have created winning teams wherever they go. The dynamic duo served as head coach and defensive coach of the Calgary Roughnecks from 2016 to 2020 and won the NLL Cup together in 2019. Malawsky and Williams are both Lower Mainland born and bred and have an incredible passion for lacrosse from grassroots to the professional level.  

Malawsky took this position to give back to a sport and the community that has given him so much. 

“Lacrosse is important to me in British Columbia. Now that I have this role and title, I have an obligation to the people of the province. I’ve always been a guy that wants to pay it forward and I’ve learned from so many great people that taught me some great life lessons and I want to be able to give back.” 

The numbers speak for themselves.  

Malawsky 

• 2023 NLL Coach of the Year. 
• Last season led the Calgary Roughnecks to a franchise record 13 regular season wins. (13-5 overall) and an appearance in the NLL Western Conference finals. 
• 90-80 regular season record through his 11-year tenure with the Roughnecks. 
• Made playoffs eight out of a possible nine times and logging a 14-11 playoff record.  

• Three-time Minto Cup Champion (Burnaby Lakers 2004 and 2005, Coquitlam 2010). 

Williams 

• 2019 NLL Champion as defensive coach with the Calgary Roughnecks. 
• Led the Maple Ridge Burrards to two WLA Championships in 2016 and 2018. 
• 2019 World Indoor Lacrosse Championships silver medalist as an Assistant Coach of Iroquois Nationals. 

• Played 106 NLL games over nine seasons. 

Malawksy’s addition to the Warriors is a draw for some of the top talent the NLL has to offer, helping bring in massive recent signings of forward Kevin Crowley and defenders Ryan Dilks, Matt Beers, John Lintz, and Owen Grant. Roughly 20 percent of the NLL’s players hail from the Lower Mainland; as Malawsky and Williams are household names in the lacrosse community, it’s also motivation for local talent and fan-favourites, Keegan Bal and Reid Bowering, to stay and play in Vancouver. 

“We’ve got some captains from some previous teams we’ve brought in. Experience is something you can’t buy, you just have to go through the battles and learn from the guy next to you. We want to make sure we have very good lacrosse players, but also good role models and teachers,” he said. 

The coaching staff’s credentials, proven partnership, and ability to attract and keep top talent makes for a highly anticipated upcoming season. We look forward to seeing you in our house this December. 

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