Derek Keenan Looks Back and Looks Ahead After Attaining An Unprecedented Milestone
Saskatchewan Rush General Manager/Co-Head Coach Derek Keenan has dedicated a large swath of his adult life to the National Lacrosse League. The 64-year-old Oshawa, Ontario native burst onto the scene in 1992, winning Rookie of the Year and an NLL title in his very first season with the Buffalo Bandits. Keenan followed up that effort, one season later, when he and his Bandit teammates celebrated their second consecutive league crown.
By the late 1990s, Keenan turned his attention to coaching, assuming the role of assistant coach for a Toronto Rock squad that would go on to capture four championships during a stretch of dominance between 1999 and 2003.
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After stints with defunct clubs in Anaheim and Portland, Keenan joined the Rush organization in 2009, establishing a level of excellence (both behind the bench and in the front office) that has led him to become both the winningest regular season coach in NLL history (180) and the first bench boss to reach the 300-game plateau, establishing that landmark amid a January 2 win over the Halifax Thunderbirds.
In the wake of realizing this previously unheard-of strata of coaching excellence, the man whose face would no doubt be chiseled on an NLL Mount Rushmore of coaches spoke to NLL.com regarding his thoughts on reaching the tricentennial mark, his coaching influences, the current state of the Rush, leading his son Ryan and what may lie ahead in the coming years.
Amazingly, the visionary behind three Rush championships (2015, 2016, 2018) only heard of his monumental accomplishment a mere couple of weeks before achieving it.
Photo by Josh Schaefer/Saskatchewan Rush/GetMyPhoto.ca
“To be really honest, I didn’t know anything about it until three or four games into the season, when our sideline reporter Heather Morrison mentioned it to me. I was like, ‘Oh, really?’ I wasn’t aware,” recalls Keenan.
The NLL lifer then added, “Obviously, I’ve been around a long time. I think that’s the thing that people should know most. I’m not a young man anymore. I still love it. I enjoy being at the rink every weekend and being around the guys. I’ve had a lot of fun over the years, and a lot of trials, tribulations, successes and lack thereof. You name it, I’ve experienced it all.”
Keenan had the distinct fortune of both playing for and coaching under the iconic Les Bartley, who was at the helm for every one of Keenan’s championship conquests in both Buffalo and Toronto. Bartley, for whom the league’s coach of the year award is named after, sadly passed away from cancer in 2005, at the age of 51.
Keenan particularly remembers one very unique aspect of Bartley’s approach to coaching.
“Les Bartley was an innovator in Buffalo. He used to cut film up on 8-tracks. We watched the film in the restaurant at our practice facility on Wednesday night. At the time, it seemed amazing. Les was an innovator in terms of preparation,” opines the three-time Bartley Award winner.
In case you didn’t know, Derek Keenan could sling it 🎯 pic.twitter.com/LQm2BBmqqO
— Saskatchewan Rush (@SaskRushLAX) October 2, 2024
Looking back on the transition from active player to assistant and later head coach, the nine-time championship trophy holder is quick to pinpoint the holistic nature involved with running a team, as opposed to the more narrow approach that accompanies being a component of a roster, and not its leader and driving force.
“As a player, even if you’re in a leadership role, you really concern yourself with yourself,” bestows Keenan. “You obviously try to be a really good teammate and support your guys. But the big thing is, you try to take care of your body during the week. Take care of your body in the offseason. In a coach and management role, I have 25 guys to concern myself with, along with a coaching staff, medical team, and things like that. You’re more involved in terms of building relationships with your players and staff. There are more things to think about, other than just preparing yourself for a game or season.”
Philadelphia Wings General Manager Paul Day has treaded a similar path to Keenan. The pair were members of the ’92 Bandits title team, with Day going on to find great success in the coaching and front office aspects of the box lacrosse business.
Day, a Peterborough, Ontario native, has nothing but the highest level of praise for his fellow Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Famer.
“Derek was a player I looked up to when I was playing,” reminisces Day. “I had the pleasure of playing with him for a couple of seasons, and he was the same as a player as he is as a coach. One of the best, prepared in every aspect of the game of lacrosse. With Derek, it starts with the team; have your group work together for one common goal. Working with Team Canada alongside Derek in 2011 and 2015 was a pleasure, as we had usually coached against each other. He was always prepared and a great teammate as both a player and coach. One of the best of all-time.”
Fast-forwarding to the present day, Keenan and co-head coach Jimmy Quinlan have the Rush playing perhaps the best lacrosse in the NLL. Coming off a Finals loss to the three-time defending champion Bandits, Saskatchewan owns a league-best 6-1 record, including a recent home-and-home series triumph over the Halifax Thunderbirds, a 21-goal showing during Week 7’s visit to Sin City, and a 15-goal effort against Oshawa in Week 8.
While Keenan is no doubt thrilled with how his collection of talent is operating on the field, he knows full well that success in the world’s foremost box lacrosse league is earned, not simply handed out. An early season loss to the Ottawa Black Bears served as a shining example of this long-standing scenario.
“We’re in a good spot, we’ve played quite well,” notes Keenan. “We did not play very well in Ottawa. To me, it was a little bit of a wakeup call for the group. I really believe that. The Black Bears are a really good team that can put up big numbers. Their offense is dynamic, and they’ve improved a lot throughout their lineup. I think we weren’t prepared, and they jumped all over us.”
The lacrosse maven further elaborated on how daunting life on board the NLL gauntlet can truly be if a team elects not to put their entire mind, heart and soul into a 60-minute effort.
“I firmly believe in this league every team is good, every team has talent,” proclaims Keenan. “Some teams have exceptional talent. It doesn’t matter what week it is, who you’re playing, or what the record is, if you don’t come prepared, thinking this will be an easy one, you’ll lose every time. Because they’re just not that easy. There are too many good players in the league. Every team has really good players that on any given night can destroy your dreams, if you’re not ready to go.”
A key ingredient to the Rush’s fast start revolves around the stellar play of Derek’s son, Ryan. Through seven games, the 31-year-old forward possesses 19 goals and 23 assists, including a six-goal, six-assist outing in Saskatchewan’s offensive explosion at Las Vegas.
The patriarch of the Keenan family is over the moon regarding the exploits of his son, both on the field and in the locker room.
“Ryan just works really hard at it. I’m glad to see him rewarded,” says Keenan. “I think obviously our team has benefited from it. I’ve coached him for so long, since he was three years old, at every level. He’s just one of the guys. He’s turned into a really good leader because he’s a good teammate, and he takes care of the guys. He’s always been a pretty consistent player, but I think this year, he’s taken it to another level.”
For his part, the younger Keenan is filled with endless pride when the subject of his dad’s many accomplishments (notably reaching number 300) enters the conversation.
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“It was pretty special to be a part of my dad’s 300th game and to get a good win out of it,” beams Ryan Keenan. “The acknowledgments he’s gotten from within the organization and around the league are a testament to the respect he’s earned throughout all his years of playing and coaching. I’ve been able to see first-hand the sacrifices he’s made and the deep commitment to our game that’s allowed him to get to 300. I’m very proud that we’re able to still do this together, after so many years, and have such a great relationship both on and off the floor.”
Though not related to him by blood, Rush stalwart Robert Church represents a whole host of players (past and present) who are both humbled and honored to have shared their respective careers with a man of Keenan’s distinction.
“It’s truly remarkable that Derek has coached in 300 games! Derek is such an amazing coach and person, and his long-term success is a testament to that. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been coached by him throughout my entire career,” states the 34-year-old Rush cornerstone.
Three decades into his NLL journey, Keenan has a wait-and-see approach to the next few years, with birthday number 65 making an appearance on the calendar later this year. While his future working in the dual functions of coach and general manager may eventually involve some thought and introspection, the man captaining the Rush ship knows with certainty that working strictly in a front office setting will not be a consideration of the decision-making process.
“I have another year left on my deal. After that, it’ll probably be a year at a time. In terms of the front office, I tried that, and it didn’t go very well. I wasn’t particularly good at it. I was too critical, too edgy up in the press box. We determined that I’m just better off being involved on a day-to-day basis with the players and my staff. And I have a great staff in Jimmy Quinlan and Jeremy Tallevi,” expresses Keenan.
Game 303 for Keegan takes place on Saturday night at 7:00 Central, when the Calgary Roughnecks take on the Rush at Scotiabank Saddledome.
