Bandits star switches roles, takes coaching job
Kilgour continues to break new ground with NCCC program
SANBORN — Once upon a time, Rich Kilgour said he planned to continue playing lacrosse until he was kicked out of the game.
That was more than nine years ago, when Kilgour was a spry 31-year-old defenseman for the Buffalo Bandits and one of the remaining links to a championship past. It was a past that included a pair of league championships in the organization’s first two years of existence, along with a third title in 1996.
It turns out Kilgour wasn’t ever asked to leave, helping the Bandits win their fourth championship last year. However, his body delivered a series of not-so-subtle messages during an injury- filled 2009 campaign that the time had come for him to trade in his helmet and shoulder pads for a whistle.
Kilgour is no longer an active player on the Bandits, but he found a way to be an original at age 40.
On the same cold January day when Kilgour announced that 2009 would be his final season as a player, he accepted a different challenge. He took the reins as coach of the new men’s lacrosse program at Niagara County Community College.
He officially begins his new job today during NCCC’s five-day boys lacrosse summer camp.
“I’m just really excited,” Kilgour said. “Being head coach of the lacrosse team is a great opportunity for us to get our name out there in the lacrosse world. Hopefully we can put on a good camp this week and the kids will go back and tell their buddies and hopefully [this becomes] a really great thing for NCCC and the community.”
The lacrosse camp is the third in a series of summer camps being offered through the first week of August at NCCC. While registration closed Friday for this camp, the school still has spots available in its camps for cheerleading (July 19-23), girls basketball (July 26-30), girls volleyball (Aug. 2-6) and girls lacrosse (Aug. 2-6). NCCC Camps Director Amanda Pucci said the school will accept registrations for these four camps until the Friday before each session opens.
The Buffalo Jills will run the cheerleading camp while expert shooting coach Tim Sullivan will be on hand for basketball.
Camps are open to youngsters ages 8 to 18. Parents have the choice of selecting the overnight one ($425) or the commuter camp ($350). There are various discounts available for applicants that meet eligibility criteria. Camp sessions run from 8 a. m. to 9 p. m. for all participants and include breakfast, lunch and dinner to go along with about seven hours of instruction. For registration information, visit www.niagaracc.suny.edu/wfcd/camps.php or call 614-6259. Pucci said each of the first three camps — including Kilgour’s lacrosse — will have 40 students, with half being overnight campers.
“Our goal is to just advertise and get our name out there [this year],” Pucci said. “We know the numbers aren’t going to be there this year. . . . We’ll be happy if everyone that came through the door learned something, had a happy experience and wants to come back again next year.”
Kilgour will be assisted during the lacrosse camp by his brother and current Bandits Coach and General Manager Darris Kilgour, along with former Bandits teammate and current Canisius College coach Randy Mearns.
The new coach has the same goal as Pucci. He said fundamentals will be the focus of the camp as he hopes to cultivate the local lacrosse talent and help them improve to the point where they, perhaps, someday earn a college playing opportunity either at the Division I, III or club level. While working on techniques to scoop up ground balls, pass and catch may not seem all that fun — one can’t succeed at this sport if he doesn’t master those skills.
“John Tavares is the best because he does the basics the best, so we want to get across to the kids that with some hard work and learning the basics you can basically be as good as you want to be,” Rich Kilgour said. “That’s the point I’m going to try to get across. Everyone’s not going to be an all-pro, but you definitely need a lot of good solid lacrosse players for a good team. Hopefully, we can coach some of that into them. With their natural talent and a little coaching, hopefully they’ll fit into the system.”
Kilgour hopes he has enough players to fit into the system he wants to run during NCCC’s inaugural season. Kilgour knows his son, Josh, will be one of the first Trailblazers. The older Kilgour said he’s received e-mails from at least 40 potential recruits but won’t know how many of them will be on hand for the team’s first practice in September until the admissions process plays out.
Regardless, Kilgour remains optimistic about the future of the program. He said Western New York and southern Ontario both have talented players to make the program competitive. While the cream of the crop obviously will earn Division I playing opportunities, he hopes to be able to lure the tweeners and aid in their quests at earning a chance to play at a four-year school.
“Those kids that maybe need a little help with the grades or need another year or two to get some polish on them to be attractive for a Division I program or a D-III program or whatever they want to do, hopefully we’re going to be the one to fill that bill,” Kilgour said.
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