Playing professional lacrosse was never much of a thought for Andrew McBride.
But after his brother died suddenly when he was 18, he used the sport as a way to get through the tragic event.
After playing in the National Lacrosse League, McBride stayed in the game as a coach and manager.
An early love for the game
Growing up in Lander, B.C., McBride knew only sports. He played volleyball, soccer, and basketball, among other sports. His parents were very involved in the athletic community.
McBride was around 12 when he first picked up lacrosse.
It didn’t take long for him and his friends to fall in love with the game.
They didn’t win much initially, but found a way to fall in love with the sport despite losing all 22 games their first year.
“We loved the hard-hitting,” McBride said.
McBride and his friends continued playing lacrosse and started winning some games around 15.
From tragedy to lacrosse
When he was 18, McBride’s brother and four friends passed away following a car crash in Vancouver. It was a major headline for the community in Lander and a devastating loss for McBride and his family.
“It was really hard for our small community,” McBride said. “Lacrosse was kind of the thing that got me through it.”
Looking to distract himself from the tragedy, McBride went all in on the sport. He put together a handful of strong seasons and eventually got his name called in the NLL.
The draft, he says, was exactly what he needed.
“Getting drafted and being able to come out to Calgary was a saving grace. It got me out of my small town and let me focus on lacrosse,” McBride said.
McBride went to his first NLL camp with the mindset to dive right in.
He made the team, and playing his first season in a Calgary Roughnecks uniform had things moving quickly.
He made his mark right away. In his sophomore season, the Roughnecks were NLL champions.
Much more success would come his way. McBride had the honour of being named the captain of the Roughnecks, perhaps one of his most prideful accomplishments.
“I really tried to do things the right way with my effort … with practicing when you don’t want to practice, with going about doing things the right way in life,” said McBride.
Roughnecks teammate Geoff Snider, a friend of McBride, says he thinks the adversity McBride faced in his personal life gave him perspective and a unique outlook on being a team leader.
“That lends itself really well to being respected in the locker room,” Snider said.
His leadership and character were evident. The longevity of his pro career, 13 seasons, clearly reflects this.
From playing to coaching
After retirement in 2015, McBride took a coaching position with the Calgary Raiders Jr., a lacrosse club. Coaching came naturally for McBride.
“I always enjoyed working with kids. So I knew it was gonna be the path,” said McBride.
Rhys Ursell, a player on the Raiders, said McBride has elevated his play.
“I feel lucky to have a coach of that calibre,” said Ursell.
After a handful of seasons with the Raiders, McBride had a new goal in mind. He wanted to coach in the NLL and put his name in the ring for a few jobs.
He landed a job with the Colorado Mammoth as a defensive coordinator.
“My job, I felt, as a coach was to prepare the guys for every scenario,” McBride said.
At the same time, McBride took over as general manager of the Calgary Raiders, where he is using his strategic skills well.
“I love putting a plan together, a three-year, five-year plan,” said McBride.
After all the successes in his career on and off the field, McBride is now Assistant General Manager for the Colorado Mammoth.
While McBride never imagined his life the way it is now, he now steps into the office to keep working on the sport that changed his life.