After eleven seasons at the helm the Peterborough Lakers announced Thursday that they would not be renewing the contract of Head Coach/GM Jamie Batley. Batley led the team to five Mann Cup Championships and ten straight Major Series Lacrosse finals.
The position has been offered to Peterborough native Joe Sullivan who said he needed some time to mull over the decision. Sullivan has been an assistant coach with the Lakers since 2003 and is the current Coach/GM of the National Lacrosse League’s Minnesota Swarm.
Batley did a tremendous job turning this team around from a 20 year slump; in the last decade he built them into a world class organization and solidified them as one of the best lacrosse franchises on the planet.
The Lakers were defeated by the Brooklin Redmen in game seven of the first round of the playoffs this summer and after that hard fought series many fans felt it was time for a coaching change but the fact the Lakers pulled the trigger is still a bit of a shock. With Batley running the show the Lakers went from a losing franchise that got 200 fans per game to the most storied franchise of the decade with 3000 plus fans in attendance every single night. If Sullivan does not accept the position it will be very interesting to see what direction the Lakers will take.
