REGY THORPE: A LACROSSE LEGACY INSURED IN ROCHESTER

For the first time in the history of the Rochester Knighthawks franchise of the National Lacrosse League, Regy Thorpe is not representing the team. One of the greatest defensive players in the history of the National Lacrosse League has just started a position under Gary Gait as the assistant woman’s lacrosse coach at Syracuse University. Thorpe, however, left quite a legacy in Rochester lacrosse while blending in as an ordinary citizen in northern New York. The following is Thorpe’s profile as seen in the book WEEKEND WARRIORS: THE MEN OF PROFESSIONAL LACROSSE ($9.95, New Chapter Press, www.NewChapterMedia.com), the first book written about professional lacrosse.

A typical day for Regy Thorpe is like any other insurance executive— he arrives in the office, consults with his assistant, reads his e-mails, checks the paperwork submitted by insurance agents he supervises, and heads out for appointments. A regional vice-president for Mass Mutual Financial Group, Thorpe begins his day in Elbridge, N.Y., but often stops by the district office in Rochester or the regional office in Syracuse, or visits agents in Binghamton.

By the end of the day, he’s once again at his desk in Elbridge going over e-mails and reading insurance applications. A typical day, but Regy Thorpe is far from a typical insurance executive—he’s a thirteen-year veteran of professional lacrosse who plays year-round for Rochester, N.Y., both in the NLL, as a member of the Knighthawks, and in Major League Lacrosse (MLL), as a player for the Rattlers.

So, when not reviewing claims and setting up sales meetings, the 6′1″, 240-pound Thorpe is smashing opponents against the
boards and showcasing his lacrosse skills in front of thousands of paying fans in some of the biggest arenas in the country and in front of hundreds of thousands of television viewers across North America.

“He’s just a regular guy,” says Karen Palmer, his assistant at Mass Mutual. “Outgoing and funny, with a serious side.”“He was a tough kid,” says long-time friend and fellow insurance executive, Wayne Lafleur. “I was two years older, so I never played with him, but I saw him play in high school. He was a good, solid, tough player, but it still amazes me that he blossomed into such a defensive icon as a professional. I don’t know how he does it. He’s thirty-five years old and not only does he go down and hammer it out with twenty-one-yearolds— you can see that they want to stay away from him.”

Growing up in Elbridge, Thorpe was an outstanding high school player who was recruited by nearby lacrosse powerhouse Syracuse. There was one small problem. In high school, Thorpe had been a bit too involved in lacrosse and a bit uninvolved in homework. His high school grades weren’t good enough for Syracuse. Thorpe solved that hurdle by enrolling in New York’s Herkimer County Community College, a two-year school with an outstanding lacrosse program.

At Herkimer, under the guidance of Coach Paul Wehrum, Thorpe had two successful years on and off the lacrosse pitch, and was named an All-American and Defensive Player of the Year. “I have coached lacrosse, football, and wrestling—for twenty-four years and I’ve never seen a leader like Regy Thorpe,”says Coach Wehrum, who remembers well when he recruited Thorpe in the late 1980s. “He was a tough kid, a brute, huge shoulders, and once he got running his arms and legs were like pistons. Nobody can stop him. But what sticks in my mind is the recruiting trip when he came to Herkimer.

After we were done talking, he turned toward the door, put his arm around his mother, and told her this is where he wanted to go to school. After seeing that, I stopped him before he reached the door and I told him I would do everything I could to get him to attend our college. I knew he was a great player, but a big, tough kid who’s gentle like that with his mother—that’s a kid I’d love to coach.”

After Thorpe’s play at Herkimer, Syracuse came calling again, and this time Thorpe’s academic performance met the standard. At Syracuse, Thorpe made an immediate impression: he was named co-captain of the 1993 NCAA Championship team, for which he garnered an Honorable Mention All-American. And even though he had spent his first two college years elsewhere, the Orangemen elected Thorpe captain his senior year.

“I was invited to the locker room prior to Syracuse playin Johns Hopkins in the NCAA semi finals,” says coach Wehrum,“Everyone was tense. The coaches were sharing their scouting report on Johns Hopkins. It was a daunting, intimidating list of point scorers, All-Americans, tournament MVPs. Then someone from the Syracuse team spoke up from the back and said,‘So what? We’ve got Regy.’ That’s the type of kid he was.”

At Syracuse, Thorpe selected one of the stranger majors of choice for a lacrosse player: Non-Violent Conflict and Change.“I know it sounds odd,” says Thorpe, “but the major is part social work, part mediator, part political science. That’s what I enjoyed. I considered becoming a social worker or a parole office. I like helping people. The problem is, the money wasn’t there and I had a family to support.” (At Syracuse, he had met and married his wife, Amy.)

A career came along when Thorpe saw an advertisement recruiting insurance salesmen for Mutual of Omaha. He applied for the job, was accepted, and began a career in insurance sales. With his extroverted personality, he was successful, and in just over a year, was promoted to management. Shortly thereafter, his daughter, Ella, was born.

Lacrosse was on hold. “I did want to play,” he says. “I was invited to try out for the Buffalo Bandits, but due to my classes I could not make the physical—my work and my family responsibilities had to come first.”

Then, fate intervened and provided another opportunity. The city of Rochester obtained an NLL franchise, and the new coach, Barry Powless (a former Syracuse University lacrosse stand-out, and a part-time actor who has appeared in, among other movies, The Last of the Mohicans), called Thorpe and asked him to try out.

Once again, Thorpe had to make a choice between his family and lacrosse. This time, for one important night, he chose lacrosse. Amy was pregnant with the couple’s second child, and nearing her delivery time. “That was the era before we all had cell phones,” says Thorpe. “We knew the baby could come any day, but we didn’t know when for sure.” The couple talked it over, and agreed Thorpe could play in a scrimmage against the Buffalo Bandits.

“I had to go if I wanted to make the team,” he recalls. During what Thorpe described as a very rough scrimmage, he was in the penalty box when he saw an assistant for the Rochester team waving, trying to get his attention. Amy had gone in to labor and was headed toward the hospital. Thorpe finished the game, dressed quickly, and raced to the hospital, but he arrived too late. Amy had already given birth to their son, Gale.

“Yeah, I still get crap about that sometimes,” he chuckles. The sacrifice was worth it—at least according to Regy. He made the team and played in for the Rochester Knighthawks in its inaugural year in 1995. At the beginning of the 2007 season, Thorpe is the only original member of the team remaining. He has played in every Knighthawks postseason game and is on almost every franchise all-time team record including penalty minutes, loose balls, and most games played.

Yet, after he made the team, and his second child was born, he was promoted by Mutual of Omaha into management— you would think it would be smooth sailing, but not exactly. “It was tough in the early years,” he explains. “You have to remember we only got paid $100 a game, sometimes $150 a game and not all the expenses were reimbursed. Actually it probably cost money to play professional lacrosse.”

“We all like to say we’ll play the game for free, but the truthis, I probably wouldn’t have played as long as I have if I did not make some money,” he says. With his full-time job, Thorpe sees his lacrosse salary as supplemental income often going into his children’s college fund, he and his wife’s retirement fund, or when changes are needed around the house.

Says Thorpe, “I hope one day, maybe by the time my son Gale is old enough to play, I’ll see lacrosse become the fifth major team sport in America with salaries over $100,000 so pro players can make a comfortable living.”While racking up many Knighthawk team records through the years, Thorpe has also gained the respect of his competitors and is considered a trailblazer in the National Lacrosse League.

Says former New York Saint Armando Polanco, “Some coaches used to take the quick outdoor lacrosse defensemen— the scoop and run defensemen, and convert them to indoor lacrosse players. Regy Thorpe is a guy who opened the door for big physical guys like me by proving you could be a big physical defensemen who gets a body on people every time they come down the floor, and make it in the league by playing that style. He changed the way they play defense in the NLL. What can I say? He’s a legend who has gained a lot of respect from the other players.”

Nevertheless, Thorpe competes in the smallest media market and one of the NLL’s smallest arenas—Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena has only 13,500 seats—and his recognition does not carry him very far. “We’re like the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League,” says Thorpe. “But I love playing for Rochester and I love the small arena.”What does the future hold for Thorpe? “Every year I ask my kids if I should keep playing, and every year they say yes.”

During the 2005 campaign, Thorpe suffered a potentially career-ending ACL injury in his knee. During 2006, not only did he return for a successful season, he was named the NLL Comeback Player of the Year.

For now, Thorpe is focusing on his job at Mass Mutual Financial Group, including hiring and training agents, and working diligently on his company’s compliance to the New York State’s insurance laws. “Fortunately, our company is rated very high in compliance,” he says. “If we ever do have disciplinary actions, I have to be involved with that too.” However, when he is not on the road, and in the Elbridge offices, Thorpe heads to the gym during lunch hour to lift weights. “When I can’t do that, I work-out right after work. Often I work out with my kids who are now old enough to lift weights.”

That does not include all of Thorpe’s extracurricular activities. He is an assistant coach at Jordan-Elbridge High School and is also the player-assistant coach for the MLL outdoor lacrosse franchise in Rochester.

“Right now, my focus is playing,” he says. “One day, though, I’d love to coach in the NLL.” He’ll be a good coach, predicts Thorpe’s teammate Marshall Abrams, who was coached by Thorpe in high school. “Regy is a players’ coach,” says Abrams. “He is intense, but he is also cool under pressure. When he was my coach, he made sure we were prepared for everything, and he helped us minimize the errors.”

And what if it didn’t go as planned, as often it does in high school lacrosse? “He wasn’t the kind of guy to throw his clipboard or yell at the players. If you screwed up, he would talk to you like a fellow player, tell you how to do things differently the next time.” However, before he undertakes coaching, Thorpe has a few more insurance emails to shuffle through.