How Albany's Lyle Thompson Became the Face of College Lacrosse
WASHINGTON, D.C — As the lights dimmed in the Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian last month, five men stood on the stage. Four of them, donning well-pressed suits and colorful ties, patiently waited for the announcement.
The fifth, a tall man donning traditional Native American attire, may have looked out of place to most. But moments later, for the second straight year, he proved that his presence on the stage was more deserved than anyone else.
“The 2015 men’s winner of the Tewaaraton Award,” said the spokesperson, “is Lyle Thompson, of the University at Albany.”
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Thompson gave each of the other four men a handshake, then sauntered to the middle of the stage, where he posed with the trophy. For the first time ever, the Tewaaraton Award—the Heisman of lacrosse—was given to the same player in consecutive years.
It came as a surprise to few. The man in the buckskin pants is considered to be among the greatest lacrosse players of all time, and if anyone deserved to repeat as the award winner, it’s Thompson.
“I’ve been coaching for 24 years, and there’s no question that Lyle is the best player I’ve ever coached,” said Scott Marr, Thompson’s head coach at Albany. “If he’s not the best player in the history of lacrosse, he’s up in the top couple, with Gary Gait and those guys. He’s clearly the best player that’s ever come through Albany, that’s for sure.”
It hasn’t been an easy journey for Thompson. He fought through his fair share of struggles to reach college lacrosse’s summit. But with a professional career ahead, one thing is certain: Lyle’s journey has just begun.
On a chilly November day in 2009, Scott Marr awaited the start of a lacrosse tournament on the Onondaga Nation Reservation in upstate New York. Located 150 miles west of Albany, Marr wasn’t there to coach; he was just quietly observing, anticipating the arrival of one certain player.
But when Lyle Thompson pulled up in his family’s car, Marr found that he wasn’t the only one expecting his arrival. The 16-year-old high school sophomore had nearly reached a celebrity status around the reservation, and the veteran coach knew he had to act quickly in order to introduce himself to Lyle.
“I walked over to the car—he was sitting in the front seat—and I said hello to him and talked to him for a second or two,” said Marr. “That was that. We’re not allowed to talk a whole lot to recruits.”
The simple gesture led to something much bigger, as the relationship between Marr and Thompson grew and grew over the next few years. Lyle’s older brother, Miles, went on to play at Albany, and a year later, Lyle did the same, relying wholly on the bond he had with Coach Marr.
“Before I committed, I never visited campus or anything,” said Lyle. “That just goes to show that the school didn’t matter to us. All that mattered is that we had met Coach Marr and felt comfortable around him and his staff.
“…Coach Marr did a good job of showing us who he was during the recruiting process, just being himself and not being uptight or anything like that. He’s just a cool guy and I like that about him.”
There was more Lyle liked about Marr than just his laid-back personality, though. Lyle respected his honesty and openness—something that is tough to find in a lot of recruiters.
Lyle and Miles also enjoyed the style of lacrosse that Marr implemented at Albany, which led to lots of goals, and in turn, lots of points. The brothers were scorers in high school, and Marr’s system allowed them to continue that role at Albany.
“We grew up playing a fast-paced style of lacrosse, so once the recruiting process started, Miles and I wanted to go somewhere we could have fun playing the game,” recalled Lyle. “It didn’t matter how big or famous the program was. It was just about playing lacrosse and having fun. Growing up, that was what it was all about. We knew we didn’t want to get stuck in a system we didn’t like or under a coach we didn’t respect.”
But when Lyle finally arrived at Albany for his freshman season, it didn’t go as planned. The Great Danes finished the 2012 season with an abysmal 5-11 record and failed to garner a postseason bid.
On top of the sloppy on-the-field play, Lyle faced perhaps the biggest challenge of his career: he became a father. But it led to a stronger relationship with Marr and may have been the best thing that happened to Thompson while in college.
“Lyle was in a unique situation,” said Coach Marr. “His freshman year he had a baby, so I was there to support him through that, and during the entire process we started to grow a different relationship than just ‘player-coach’. We talked a lot about raising kids, and because his parents were a couple hours away while he was in college, I was certainly there for him.
“We built a unique friendship over the years; we really came to with each other. He’s going to be a friend for the rest of my life, that’s for sure.”
With a stronger bond with his coach in tow, Thompson began to have more and more success on the field—even at a new position. Marr moved Lyle from the midfield to attack, keeping him on the field for longer and providing more opportunities to score.
Things started to click during Lyle’s sophomore season, and in turn, it led to a new phase of his career. Lyle led the Great Danes to three consecutive America East championships and shattered school and national records along the way.
The duo of Miles and Lyle quickly became one of the nation’s top scoring units, capped off with the prestige of co-winning the Tewaaraton Award in 2014.
“My brother helped me more than I helped him,” lauded Lyle. “He’s someone that motivates me and is always pushing me…He always believed that I was the most important part of the team and that how hard I went determined how good our team could be.
“…Just growing up with him, playing with him, made playing in college so easy and enjoyable.”
As the wind blew through Denver last month, Lyle Thompson walked toward the tunnel in Mile High Stadium. His Great Danes—despite being a popular favorite to upend top-seeded Notre Dame—had just fallen victim in the quarterfinals to the Fighting Irish for the second consecutive year.
“I didn’t necessarily think about it being my last game at Albany,” recalled Lyle. “I guess I was just thinking about the game and how I played. I was thinking about how thankful I am for lacrosse and for all that it’s given me, all the opportunities that it’s given me. I wasn’t really focused on the negatives after the game; I wanted to stay positive and think of all the positive things.”
There were surely a lot of positives to think about. Lyle walked off that field as the career Division I leader in points, and his four assists against UND edged him past Syracuse’s Tim Nelson, the former career assists leader.
But for a great player, a winner, like Lyle Thompson, personal records aren’t what the game is all about. Oddly enough, for Lyle, lacrosse isn't about winning, either—it’s something that goes beyond numbers on a scoreboard or stat sheet.
To Native Americans, lacrosse isn’t just a game; it’s a culture, a religion, a denominator that brings together the communities. For Lyle and his family, personal awards or the spotlight don’t mean much. He plays lacrosse because he has a love for it, and he wants to influence others to experience the same.
“Lacrosse, to us, is a lot more important; it carries a lot more meaning,” said Lyle. “Within the Nations, within the Iroquois, lacrosse…is part of our religion. We are born with a wooden stick; when we’re named we are asked to hopefully be a good lacrosse player. I think that, right there, shows how much lacrosse means to us.
“It isn’t just a game. It isn’t just about going out and winning. You hear me talk about that all the time. It’s not about winning; it’s about having fun and playing with the right mindset and using the game as medicine. What we do at Albany, the way we play, is medicine.”
Undoubtedly, Lyle is disappointed that he never attained his ultimate goal—winning a national championship. He came close, falling to great teams in the quarterfinals twice, but isn’t bitter or regretful about his collegiate experience.
His relationship with Coach Marr is something he cherishes and hopes to continue throughout his life. As a father of two children, Lyle matured from a boy to a man during his time at Albany, and Marr played a notable role in helping Lyle grow and develop on and off of the field.
“We definitely have a great friendship,” said Thompson. “We do stuff together that most coaches wouldn’t do with players. We go golfing together, we hang out, he’s always asking me if I need a babysitter, stuff like that…He treats me as a friend, on the field and off of it.
“That’s one of the reasons that I’m so happy with my college career at Albany. I give so much credit to Coach Marr because he’s a huge fan of me, and just the way he treated me meant a lot to me.”
Lyle knows that he still has a long road ahead, but he’s well on his way. He is playing Major League Lacrosse for the Florida Launch with Miles and plans to continue to compete for the Iroquois national team.
“I want to be successful, and I’m going to try my best to do that. I want to build on what I’ve done in college in the pros. But obviously, I’ll be playing against better athletes and better players, the best of the best. So it’ll take some hard work for me, but I’m going to stay around the game as long as I can.”
Regardless of how Lyle’s professional career pans out, he’ll forever be regarded among the greatest college lacrosse players of all time. He’s an incredible athlete, a great person and has forever changed the game of lacrosse.
“I want everyone to know how thankful I am,” he said. “The support I’ve been given is outstanding…With that comes a lot of pressure, but I’ve used that pressure to drive myself to be better.
“I’m just thankful for the game itself and all that it has given me and where it’s taken me. I’m going to try my best to return the favor.”
Samuel Benson is a Featured Columnist for college lacrosse. All quotes obtained firsthand, unless otherwise noted. Contact Samuel at bensonsamb@gmail.com.
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