Scott Marr named Head Coach of 2027 Men's National Team

Tiffany, Longboat and Johnson return as assistants, Powell and Bucktooth make Haudenosaunee Coaching Debut

When the Haudenosaunee Nationals take the field for the 2027 World Lacrosse Men’s World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, they will have a familiar face at the helm, leading the team in their latest bid for a Gold Medal.

The team has announced that Scott Marr has been named the Head Coach of the Haudenosaunee Nationals Men’s Field Team. The longtime leader of the University at Albany, Marr joined the Great Danes back in 2001 and has helped grow them into a team that has consistently pushed for NCAA Division I Championships. 

Scott Marr pictured at 2023 World Lacrosse Men's Championship

Marr is also a seasoned coach when it comes to the Haudenosaunee program. He has been part of the staff for the previous two World Lacrosse Championships, serving under Head Coach Mark Burnam in 2018 and again with Coach Lars Tiffany on the 2023 Haudenosaunee team – both squads captured Bronze Medal victories. 

“It’s just humbling and an absolute honor to be a part of this organization in any capacity. I’ve been involved for over 10 years now, but just to be named the Head Coach of the Haudenosaunee Nationals, it’s the ultimate honor you can receive in this sport,” Marr said. “Just to lead this group at the next World Championship, it’s very humbling, and I couldn’t be more excited. I’m just glad the organization had the faith and trust in me to lead this team.”

Along with being named the Head Coach of the 2027 Men's team, Marr was also able to assemble his own staff. 

He will be bringing back a few familiar faces as assistants, as Lars Tiffany and Vince Longboat will return to the sideline after being a part of the 2023 Haudenosaunee team. 

Tiffany is a two-time National Champion as the Head Coach at the University of Virginia, while Longboat is the Head Coach at Brock University, having helped the Badgers capture a Baggataway Cup in Canadian University Lacrosse. 

Additionally, Brett Bucktooth, Casey Powell, and Jason Johnson will also be a part of Marr’s staff in 2027. Bucktooth is a longtime member of the Haudenosaunee program, first as a player and now as a coach. 

Johnson has helped coach the Haudeonsauee, both on the Men’s and Women’s sides. He helped the Women’s Box team capture its first-ever medal at the 2024 World Lacrosse Box Championships. He’s also been on the staff for Sixes at various events. 

Casey Powell is in just about every Hall of Fame you can think of, and simply put is one of the best players to ever pick up a stick.

“I think just the previous relationships I’ve had with these coaches at past World Championships really helped. But I really wanted to attack the staff differently and look at it positionally and get guys that would be engaged in working on a couple of different areas,” Marr said. “We’ve got Brett and Casey on the offensive side of things. With Casey, he played midfield in college and the pros and some wings, so he can help with that and some face-off area. I really enjoyed working with Brett as a coach back in 2018. Vince and Jason are going to help out on the defensive side, along with Lars.

“I’m excited for this staff. Everybody is on board and committed to everything that’s coming up. It’s a quality group of guys who are going to share the responsibility. When I started to work with this program back in 2016, I would’ve done anything to be a part of the staff, and that goes for today as well. I think that’s the mindset of our staff. We’re going to share our ideas and contribute to the betterment of our improvement as an organization going forward.”

The team will be working diligently to find the best mix of players to represent the Haudenosaunee Nationals in 2027. With the first tryout for the Men’s team being held in January, Marr and his staff will get the first chance to get an initial look at what their roster could round into in a year and a half. 

Marr has been able to watch the core of the Haudenosaunee come up and assert themselves on the world stage. He’s also had the chance to coach a number of the current and up-and-coming players looking to crack the roster in 202. Whether it’s staples like Lyle Thompson, Tehoka Nanticoke, Jake Piseno, Jack VanValkenburgh, Ron John or his current Great Danes squad, which features the likes of Koleton Marquis, Teharonhiorens McComber, Mason Sanden and Dalton Kane, who all just competed for the program at the PALA Sixes Cup. 

While the team will likely be comprised of the names fans have come to know and love, there are players on the cusp who are hungry and looking to push to make this roster. 

“I think the younger guys have been getting college experience across the country. And you look at some of these guys who just turned 22 or 23, and you’re looking at a two-year period where they’ll have even more experience. I think there’s a really good core group of young players, and that development really needs to happen over the next two-year period,” Marr said. “That commitment to the team and the development of our younger guys to mix in with the veterans like Lyle and Zed (Williams), Ron John and Jake Piseno. 

“We’ve got a great mix of players, but I’m excited to see the next generation and figure out with this team is going to look like.”

In the lead-up to the 2023 tournament, the team demonstrated its commitment to winning, with several players who usually played as attack or offensive midfielders taking reps on the defensive side of the ball. Zed Williams picked up a long pole, as did Ron John and Nanticoke. 

“Guys are willing to do anything just to help keep moving the program forward and continuing to compete. When you have guys who are buying into what you’re doing, whether it’s picking up a pole, playing man up, or playing a wing on a face-off. It speaks volumes,” Marr said. “That willingness to do whatever it takes to compete for a Gold Medal, that’s really important, and it just seems to be increasing here with every team. It’s inspiring times, and we’re just going to continue to grow.”

With this tournament being one of the next major senior competitions that the Haudenosaunee Nationals will compete in, the 2027 World Championships also present one of the final steps before the program gets its chance to play on the biggest stage in sports, at the Summer Olympics in 2028. 

Marr and his staff have been through the ups and downs of tournaments on this stage, and they’ll look to implement their knowledge to have this team as prepared as possible. Marr mentioned that the team aims to get together over Zooms and calls to go over their philosophies and what the team is looking to accomplish. 

Marr in a postgame interview with Decolonize Sports in 2023

When the team makes the journey to Japan in 2027, they’ll be taking the field as the most prepared and hungry version of themselves. 

“The process of all of this. The meetings, the tryouts, the training camps, and spending all this time together, that’s the excitement of coming together as a new team. Building that trust and confidence along the way and continuing that positive momentum, that’s the fun part of it. And then, when we get to the games, hopefully, you see the end result,” Marr said. “We’ve been very close in the last two World Championships. It’s just a matter of finding ways to close things out. 

“I think that’s really the goal right now; to get to that Gold Medal Game, but I’m going to enjoy the whole process of getting to know everyone and being involved with this team on a daily basis.”

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*Players with interest in adding their names to the Haudenosaunee Player Pool must do so prior to the Jan 2-3 Tryout at the UB Fieldhouse in Buffalo, NY to be considered for the 2027 Field Team

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