The California Redwoods head-coaching position was the third in the league Anthony Kelly had interviewed for. He felt good about the process, but it wasn’t until he was in his office and got the actual phone call from the PLL’s Seth Tierney that he got the job that Kelly experienced what he called a “freeing feeling.” 

The husband, father of two, and former MLL All-Star and champion was named the new head coach of the Redwoods last Thursday. 

While he is best known for his 12-year career in the MLL – during which he won the second-most faceoffs in pro lacrosse history – Kelly has previous coaching experience as an assistant coach at Denison University, Harvard University and Ohio State University.

In this Q&A, Kelly shares his thoughts on why he is a good fit for the Redwoods, what his coaching style is like and what it will be like to work with new Redwoods general manager Joe Spallina.

Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

This was the third PLL job you were up for. How did you get involved in being in the PLL coaching carousel?

“I don’t know if there was an exact moment. For me, since I retired from being a player, I’ve always had the goal to end up here, coaching. I knew it was going to be a tough road to break down, coming in as the new guy, especially when it seemed like they were targeting, what seemed like, former college guys … I fully understand that. Being a guy that played in the league for a long time, I’m a full-time coach with what I do for my work. I’ve been a college coach as an assistant. I’ve been around the game and coaching the game since I was 20 when I took my first coaching gig helping out with a high school. Since that time, I’ve pretty much been a full-time coach. I’ve been around the game at a bunch of different levels. With what I do for Resolute, we have the biggest box program in the country, so I have a pretty extensive background with the box game. I helped out with Team USA this past go-around. I just love coaching.

“I just kept knocking on the door and kept trying to put my name out there and talk to people and let people know this was something I wanted to get involved in. I had a bunch of calls in Year 1 and Year 2 and pretty much every year from guys to be an assistant. I would’ve loved to have been able to do that, but it was really hard for me to put everything I have going with my business and my family on the back burner to come in as an assistant. I know that’s a stepping stone to getting the reins as the head coach. Fortunately, I was able to get an opportunity with the Redwoods. I couldn’t be more excited.”

While people may remember you as an excellent player at the college, professional and international level, you mentioned you’ve been coaching various levels for quite some time now. What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned as a coach over the years? What’s something you learned about coaching that you didn’t really think of when getting into it?

“I’m a guy from Ohio. My club is here. I didn’t start playing lacrosse until I was in high school. I didn’t even know what lacrosse was. I picked it up late and fell in love with it. My drive is to give kids and players opportunities either I didn’t have or present opportunities to allow these players to have some of the success I had and more. Nothing makes me happier to see my players having success, having a smile on their face, competing and playing the game we all know and love. 

“It’s been a while now since I hung it up as a player, and there was a gap where it was hard to be a coach because I still had that itch and fire to play. Now, at 44 and being far removed from being a player, it allowed me to pivot my mindset into my coaching role and coaching mindset. It’s the same, but it’s completely different, if that makes any sense. I love being around the guys. Something I’m really excited about is just being back around guys at that level and being around the best players in the world. I’ve missed that. I’ve missed that from being in the locker room with the guys but also now to be able to be out there in a leadership role trying to teach them some things I learned as a player and what it takes to be successful at the professional level.”

What was the process like for you to be the Redwoods coach?

“This one moved a little quicker. I went through the process twice. Last year, with the Waterdogs position, I think it makes perfect sense when Bill Tierney is up for a job, Bill Tierney is probably getting the job. That didn’t work out, but I think I learned a lot about the process. I think I learned a lot about the league. I still wanted to pursue that. Sometimes, you don’t get the answer you want on the first try. I’ve never been a guy to just give up on something, especially something that is a dream of mine. 

“This year, when the Chaos position opened up, I rose my hand again and let people know I’d still like to be considered for this and got myself back in the mix. That didn’t work out.

“This one, having been through the process twice already, I talked with everybody in the league once, twice, and this seemed like a good fit for me and for the league. That helped them come to their conclusion faster than they had in the past.”

What was it about the Redwoods you felt was intriguing and a good fit for you?

“Looking at it, it’s kind of ironic, but I got drafted when I first came into the league in 2005 by the LA Riptide, in California. It’s kind of cool for me to make that full-circle progression to rotate back here now in my first team as a coach with a team out of California. That was pretty cool to go back to my original roots.

“Weirdly, as well, when I look at the roster and this group, it’s a really young group. It’s a really hungry group. There’s a lot of guys with a lot to prove. I look back, and I look back at that LA roster in Year 1 and Year 2, and we didn’t have a ton of big-name firepower. It was just a bunch of guys who came together. We had a great culture. It started at the top with our GM and coaches and worked its way down. That was a phenomenal group. It was a heartbreaker when that team disbanded. We made it to a championship there against Philly. We had every intention of getting back there.

“When I look at this roster, Wes Berg is 31. He’s the old guy on the team. From there, it’s a bunch of young guys in their 20s. That excites me to have a group that wants to succeed, and they want to be great. … Nat [St. Laurent] did an incredible job leading up to this point. My goal is to come in, pick up the pieces that worked and run with those, and finesse some of those other pieces and try to get the most out of it.”

You mentioned the team being a good fit for you, but you were a good fit for the team. What do you bring to this team that made you the right fit for the Redwoods?

“Obviously, with [Roy] Colsey coming on [as head coach in Carolina], you have another alumni coming on to the league. The way I look at it, having guys that have been there and done that, I think you get a different level of respect from the guys on Day 1. From my side, I understand what it takes. 

“Having that understanding of what the guys are going through week in and week out, I think that puts me in a different position than some of these other guys that are phenomenal coaches, but some of these guys have never lived it as a player. I think that allows me to have a different perspective than some of these guys that have been around the league.”

What’s it like for you to be working with Joe Spallina as your GM?

“Joe and I have had some great chats. We were talking for a while today. Joe is a guy I can learn a ton from. He’s a guy I have a ton of respect for, from what he did in his days in the MLL. I know he’s excited to be joining the PLL here, and I think for him, it’s a new role going just on the GM side, but I think being a new coach here in the league, I’m definitely going to lean on him in different scenarios. Having a guy that’s had that type of success, I think it’s going to be a great working relationship and partnership. That’s really going to carry over for the guys as players.”

What was the connection like with Joe Spallina while interviewing, and what was your connection previously?

“I wouldn’t say we were close, but we had a ton of interaction over the years. I got to play for him in a couple All-Star Games, and obviously, we played against each other. I got to battle his squad when he was in Long Island. For both of us, there was a level of respect for one another. He seemed really excited for me to come on. We offer a unique outlook with him, even with his experience as a college coach. Even on the girls’ side, he’s around the college game. He’s got kids that are playing college. He’s watching a ton of games, a ton of film, and that gets me really excited. We had some interaction when I was helping out with the USA indoor team, and [Spallina’s son] Joey was a member of that team. I got to talk to Joe at some events and practices along the way. It was turning the page. Joe and I have gotten to know each other a bit more since I’ve been done being a player.

“The conversations have been great. Joe is a competitor. He wants to win. It excites me to see him be so fired up to move the pieces of the chess board around to offer us the best group we can put together and try to set me up for success on the field. I think that’s an awesome guy to have on your side.”

Have you had a chance to connect with any of the Redwoods players yet?

“When I was going through the process, I actually got on a call with four of the players. It was [Ryder] Garnsey, TD [Ierlan] and Charlie Bertrand and Brian Tevlin. I talked with the four of those guys. They fired off a bunch of questions. We talked shop. I felt really good about it, just the nature of the players. These guys want to succeed. They’re hungry to win. They feel like they underperformed last year. Based on this team, they feel they should achieve more. They’re ready to get moving and get to work here.”

What were some of the things you felt like they needed from you as the coach?

“It was them getting an understanding of who I am and what I’m about. The things I expressed to them was building a level of trust with one another. It starts in the locker room and carries over into the field, playing for the guy next to you and really building a strong locker room out of commitment and trust with one another. I’ve always been a guy that, when I was a player, I’ve always been a captain. Especially as an older guy, I played deep into my 30s. A lot of times, coaches would talk to me about draft picks and roster moves and things like that. It’s valuable to communicate with your players and value their opinions on things. They’re seeing things through a different lens. 

“For them, it’s new ground now having a coach and a GM separation that they’ve never had before. They’re trying to navigate that and figure out what that looks like. I’m pumped to have Joe. I have a lot of things I have to learn on the fly coming in, one, late, but two, being the new guy, I think for me to be able to focus on the coaching side and team dynamic in the locker room, that allows me to streamline my focus and not have to deal with the management side of things.”

What is your coaching style? What’s your game plan and how do you like to play?

“I love to let guys play. I love to let guys get aggressive and push transition every day. I love to get the D guys up in the mix. I’ve always been under the mindset, especially at this level, the most fun I had as a player was when you’re with a group of guys that it doesn't matter who you are, when you cross over the midfield, you’re in the mix on the offensive end of the field. I think that every guy on this roster is capable of being those guys. 

“When you look at the breakdown of this group, they were at the bottom, seventh or eighth in just about every category. We want to change that. We have to increase our goal production and find a way to get creative and score some additional goals on that front end and build on that momentum we had on the back end there.

“TD is a big piece of that. I think he’s done an incredible job in the league today. We hope he can do that again leading forward here, as well.

“We’re going to put our best foot forward with the things we think are going to make this thing successful. I think a big part of that will be playing a fun style of lacrosse, playing fast and playing hard. I’ve always been a guy that took pride in the little things. We want to win the ground ball battles. And you want to be known as a team that plays hard and is a hard-nosed guy.”

You mentioned TD. Being an iconic faceoff specialist yourself, what is it like having TD, and what are your thoughts about getting to coach him?

“I’m excited to have the chance to work with him. He’s a competitor. He’s a great player. It’s exciting for me to see him battle and have a good sense of the box game. You know he’s going to be primed up and ready to have a good summer. He’s had a ton of success in this league. He’s going to be the guy that’s going to continue on that path. I’m excited to work with him and teach him some things I learned as a player, and I have a couple ideas to be creative with him and mix things up a little bit and mix in some new strategy for our group. I’m excited about that.”

With the player movement period, a lot of guys have signed, but there are still guys out there. You have picks two and 10 in the draft. You have Joe Spallina as your GM, so trades are always a possibility. What are your thoughts on additional moves and reshaping this team?

“At this point for me, it’s putting my seatbelt on and taking it in. It’s only been a day or two. At this point, I’ve talked to a couple players on the side. I’ve had a few guys reach out that want to connect. For me, my goal is connecting with these guys, getting to know the team a little bit, letting them get to know me. 

“As far as any movement, that’s going to be Joe’s category. For me, it’s head down, focus on what I have in front of me. Right now, it’s drinking from a firehose trying to figure everything out from league procedures and learning that side of things.”

What would you say to the Redwoods fans?

“I couldn’t be more excited to take the reins with this group. My hope is that we can get out here and win as many games as possible. I’m looking at the bigger picture here and have those playoff dates and beyond marked on the calendar. Our goal is to go out there. We want to be a team that goes out there and plays hard, makes the fans proud to be wearing green and gold. I can promise you we’re going to give everything we have from the top down.”