The lacrosse world lost a legend yesterday. Ed Maloney passed away after a battle with cancer. Ed was a pioneer and will best be remembered as a program starter, mentor, and quiet leader. I first met Ed when he was coaching at Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard back in 2003. We had started the Canton program and Ed was willing to give the new program a game. Of course, I did not know that he had experience in breaking ground with lacrosse programs. He started teams at Harper Woods Notre Dame, Bishop Foley, Notre Dame Prep and at AAGR.
Ed also was the founder and first coach at Siena Heights. He took me on a tour of the lacrosse facilities at SHU when he first got there. He beamed with pride as he talked about where he wanted the program to go. It was that vision that led him to start those five programs. He was proud of the places he had coached – the lives he had impacted.
He had twinkle in his eye when he watched lacrosse. I ran into him on numerous occasions at high school games. He always had a smile and the time to come over and say “Hi”. Ed loved watching games and scouting, deciding who may be a good fit at Siena Heights.
Ed was a family man first and foremost. I saw his wife Joan and Ed on a Greenhills school bus one evening about five years ago as we all boarded to catch a Tigers’ game at Comerica Park.
He cared deeply about his family, his wife Joan and his four daughters, friends and of course, his current and former players.
Ed was inducted into the Michigan High School Lacrosse Coaches Hall of Fame in 2010 as part of an outstanding class that included, John Kenney, Bob Dowd, Rick Di Blasio, and Dave Morrow. He was a member of the Catholic league Hall of Fame and the Michigan High School Football Hall of Fame.
In 2015, Ed garnered Coach of the Year accolades in the CCLA, WHAC and was the MCLA Division II National Coach of the Year.
Thank you, Ed for all that you did for lacrosse. We will miss you.
