Walt Christianson is Head coach of England’s men’s box lacrosse team.
And though current NLL fans might faintly only recall his 48 games coached in the National Lacrosse League over 3 seasons, he’s a hugely influential legend of the game that needs to be talked about.
We talk a lot about the Les Bartley coaching tree. But what about the Chris Hall coaching tree? Island style! There might be no stronger limb or branch than Walt Christianson.
Chris Hall, the NLL Hall of Fame head coach who won NLL championships with two different teams and helped West Coast Canadians like the Gait brothers head south to the NCAA for the first time, is one of the greatest minds the game has ever seen.
Walt played with and for Chris Hall. He coached with and against Chris Hall. They were neighbors, friends, and when Chris Hall passed away in 2014, it was Walt who announced the Chris Hall scholarship fund at his service.
A two-time Mann Cup winning player with the Victoria Shamrocks. And a two-time Mann Cup champion coach with the Victoria Shamrocks.
A student of the game who didn’t find lacrosse until he was 19 – to one of the greatest teachers of the game for countless players from Victoria and beyond.
A retired school teacher at Vic High, he now mentors and coaches coaches literally worldwide as the head coach of England’s national box team. A role he inherited from… Chris Hall.
A love of basketball connected them and influenced both their lacrosse coaching methods, and we’ll talk about that on this episode.
We’ll talk about where England lacrosse is at on the world stage, how players travel hours for 6-hour marathon practices on Sundays and only Sundays.
Walt’s 3 seasons in the NLL were short but wild. Those San Jose years had rookie Matt Vinc, goalie Paul Dawson, young Ryan Boyle, kinda still prime Colin Doyle, and a handful of players that paved the path for the 2010 championship team.
He’s coached Gaits, Dawsons, Crawfords, Jenners, and left an indelible mark wherever he’s been.
We’ll talk about his greatest moments, his biggest challenges, and his vision for the future of lacrosse.
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