Milligan looks forward to head coach/ GM role in Burnaby
Jim Milligan is stepping out of a supporting role to take his shot at being a head coach and general manager.
The Peterborough native is moving to British Columbia to start a new chapter in his life after being hired as head coach/GM of the Western Lacrosse Association’s Burnaby Lakers. He was already commuting to B.C. in his role as assistant coach to long-time coaching partner Jamie Batley with the National Lacrosse League’s Vancouver Stealth.
Milligan, 48, has been an assistant coach in the NLL over 12 seasons with six teams. Associate coach and assistant GM with the Peterborough Lakers for a decade.
The Burnaby team is trying to help Milligan find full-time employment as his job with the City of Peterborough ended last year after 25 years.
“I’m at a time in my life that I have the ability work-wise and familywise to take this opportunity,” said Milligan. “If the right opportunity came for work it could be (a permanent move).”
With NLL expansion expected next season, Milligan says it’s time to take a shot at being a head coach and GM. He says he’s grateful to Batley for treating him as a co-coach and giving him many responsibilities to learn all sides of both jobs.
“If I ever want to become a head coach in the pro league you have to go out there and prove yourself,” Milligan said. “This is an opportunity to prove myself. If I do well and an expansion team came up, maybe, I’d get consideration. There is a bit of risk because I could always stay as an assistant or cocoach with Jamie for the next 10 years. I’ve always been lucky in the pro league that when Jamie wasn’t working I was able to get hired by other guys and have done a good job. It’s time for me to step out and see if I can do it on my own.”
Burnaby reached the WLA semifinals last year losing in seven games to the Victoria Shamrocks. With the Mann Cup to be hosted out west this year, Milligan said Burnaby ownership made a coaching change hoping to put their team over the top.
“They’re not far off,” Milligan said. “They remind me of the 2004 Peterborough Laker team we took to the Mann Cup. They were ready to turn a corner and just needed a couple of pieces. I think this team is very similar. With some discipline and commitment to the team to get done what they need to get done, I think they can do it.”
The opportunity arose a bit by chance.
Burnaby drafted Milligan’s son Cam in the WLA midget draft and contacted Jim to get his son’s contact information. Milligan told the owner Cam’s rights were owned by the Peterborough Lakers and they’d need to go through GM Paul Day to seek permission to talk to him. That permission was granted.
A couple of days later the owner called Jim again to say they were looking for a coach/GM and was he interested. He did a couple of phone interviews with their ownership group and within 10 days of the first conversation they announced Milligan’s hiring on Monday.
“Everything fell into place very quickly,” said Jim Milligan.
He said Cam, who is finishing his NCAA career at the University of Vermont, hasn’t decided if he’ll join his father in Burnaby. Jim said there may be more playing time for him out west on a team with less established stars but, at the same time, he says, “It’s always been Cam’s dream to play for the Peterborough Lakers.”