Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Darry Thornton

Office Number: (315) 792-5575

Darry Thornton returns for the 2012-2013 season as the head coach of the Mohawk Valley Community College men's lacrosse program. This will be Thornton’s second season on the sidelines for the Hawks.
During his first year at the helm of the program, Thornton implemented a new defensive system which lowered the teams goals against average per game by 4.5 goals.  Mohawk Valley also ended a 23 game losing streak.  The 2012 season also saw 3 players selected to the all conference team as well as 1 player being nominated Honorable Mention All-Region.  The Hawks also sent 6 players to participate in the Region 3 all-star game.
Thornton, a native of Schenectady, New York, brings several years of coaching experience to MVCC.  Most recently, Thornton served two years as the head coach at Division III Mount Saint Mary College, having helped start the program in 2010. While Thornton was at Mount Saint Mary College four players earned rookie of the week and the men’s lacrosse roster went from 15 players to 34 players heading into the fall of 2011.
Prior to Mount Saint Mary’s, in 2008, Thornton was an assistant coach and co-defensive coordinator for Division II Queens University of Charlotte. He was in charge of the man-down defensive unit which held its opponents to a 23% conversion rate. Towards the end of the season, he was promoted to head defensive coordinator and under his tutelage, the Royals defense earned a pair of all-conference recognitions, allowed only nine goals per game and reached the semi-finals of the Conference Carolinas Tournament.
During the 2007 season, Thornton was an assistant coach and the defensive coordinator at Hartwick College, which competes in one of the toughest conferences in Division III, the Empire 8. Hartwick’s defense finished the season by surrendering just 8.8 goals per game. Thornton was also the head of the man-down defensive unit and opponents were only able to convert at a rate of 19 %. While at Hartwick, Thornton mentored four all-conference players. 
A 2003 graduate of Oneonta State, Thornton played two years of varsity lacrosse for the Red Dragons, competing as a goalie and helping the Red Dragons achieve a 22-10 overall record along with a berth in the ECAC Upstate Championship game and a national ranking of #15. He also played for two years at Hudson Valley Community College before transferring to Oneonta. Thornton holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from Oneonta State College and an associate’s degree in Liberal Arts with a focus on Physical Education from Hudson Valley Community College.  A graduate of Schenectady High School, Thornton was selected as a Section 2, Big 10/CDHSLL, All-Conference lacrosse player.
 

 Assistant Coach: Andy Weir