After blowing out his knee in his final collegiate game at Duke in 2021, the last thing JT Giles-Harris wanted to think about was lacrosse.
In his five years with the Blue Devils, Giles-Harris had built quite the resumé. He was a two-year captain, started in 80 of his 81 games played, a three-time All-American, a two-time All-ACC selection and the 2019 ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
With his college career in the rearview mirror, major surgery on his torn meniscus and MCL on deck and a pro career on the horizon, Giles-Harris received a call from Hampton lacrosse coach Chazz Woodson to gauge his interest in entering the coaching world.
“I told him, ‘Nah, I really don’t’,” Giles-Harris said. “I was kind of down because I was missing my first (pro) season and recovering. … I never saw myself as a coach before that. I was like, ‘I don’t really want to think about lacrosse anyways right now until I can get back to me playing.’ “
Giles-Harris was the third overall selection in the 2021 Premier Lacrosse League Draft by Chrome LC, just over a month before he ultimately got hurt in the semifinals of the 2021 NCAA Lacrosse Tournament.
He was set to miss his first year in the PLL because of his rehab and eventually came around to Woodson’s idea of coaching.
“In the moment, I didn’t want lacrosse, but I still loved lacrosse,” Giles-Harris said. “(I thought) if I can’t play this first season, this is kind of the next best thing. I was like, you never know, maybe it kind of will take me into something I kind of fall into or whatever. So I just called (Woodson) back and I was like, ‘Hey if it’s still open, I’d love to come down and try it out.”
Giles-Harris joined Woodson and the Hampton lacrosse team in February, right on time for the 2022 season.
“I honestly didn’t know Hampton had a lacrosse team,” Giles-Harris said. “I didn’t know the backstory of it, I just knew it was an HBCU. I obviously thought about it, like this would be really cool, kind of getting in from the ground up and getting it going and seeing if HBCUs can kind of take off in lacrosse.”
The Pirates went 0-12 during Giles-Harris’ first year on staff and showed a slight improvement in 2023 when they went 2-12.
Although the results weren’t ideal, Giles-Harris enjoyed being able to make an impact at Hampton on players who were only a few years younger than him.
“Growing up my whole life, I was for the most part, especially in summer ball, the only Black kid on the team,” Giles-Harris said. “So it was cool, my first time being in an environment where everyone looked like me. Getting to coach and just kind of be around that, it felt — it was really nice … almost a feeling of giving back I guess, for lack of a better term.”
After two years with the Pirates, Giles-Harris said he does not plan to return to Hampton and is hitting an indefinite pause on his coaching career to put his playing career first.
“It really was tough leaving, but I think they also understood kind of just selfishly what I wanted to do,” Giles-Harris said. “I really don’t regret going down to Hampton whatsoever. I really enjoyed it, it helped me learn a bunch of lessons about just people in general and understanding and trying to be the right type of guy for that job.”
Giles-Harris is currently preparing for his second season in the PLL with the Chrome as well as the 2023 World Lacrosse Championships.
Last year with the Chrome, he was named the PLL’s Defensive Player of the Year and an all-star.
The last thing Giles-Harris expected to do in his first professional season was earn either of those two accolades, especially when he was focused on just making the team.
“I just was trying to do my job and be a good player and do what the coaches told me and listen to the older guys,” Giles-Harris said. “It was kind of cool, you know, and after the season ended, honestly reflecting back on it a little bit just that I was able to win the award and be an all-star and all that all those types of things that kind of came with it. But going in, I was pretty nervous.”
The PLL’s 2023 season begins June 3, but will take a brief break in late June so players like Giles-Harris can compete in the World Lacrosse Championships in San Diego.
Giles-Harris recently graced the cover of US Lacrosse Magazine’s May and June editions ahead of the world championships. He said he is looking forward to representing the United States on the world stage, and hopes that even small things like being on the cover of the magazine can help bring lacrosse to new demographics.
“Obviously, when you think of lacrosse, everyone thinks of white, rich and wealthy and all that type of stuff and I’m just clearly not any of those things,” Giles-Harris said. “So it’s cool to bring in a different version of what lacrosse is to a mass audience throughout the country, whoever subscribes to the magazine, to let them know that anyone really can play this sport and anyone can be good at the sport.”
Michael Sauls, michael.sauls@virginiamedia.com, (757) 803-5775
