Blaine Manning
{{Short description|Canadian lacrosse player}}
{{Infobox lacrosse player
| position = Forward
| shoots = Right
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 1
| weight_lb = 210
| nll_team = Toronto Rock
| nll_draft = 2nd overall
| nll_draft_year = 2001
| nll_draft_team = Calgary Roughnecks
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1979|9|10|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| career_start = 2002
| career_end = 2013
}}
Blaine Manning (born September 10, 1979) is a Canadian former indoor lacrosse player for the Toronto Rock in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). During his tenure with the team, he won four NLL Championships (2002, 2003, 2005, 2011), most notably in 2011.
Early life
Manning was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, while his mother was on a weekend business trip.{{cite news |last1=Korobanik |first1=John |title=Rock's not a hard place for Manning |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50376892/blaine-manning/ |accessdate=May 6, 2020 |publisher=Edmonton Journal |date=February 21, 2010 |location=Edmonton}} Growing up as the youngest of four boys in Sherwood Park, he competed on Team Albera's Under-19 field lacrosse team with two of his brothers; Blake and Blair.{{cite news |last1=Petersen |first1=Scott |title=Rock forward savours playing role model to young lacrosse players |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50376780/blaine-manning/ |accessdate=May 6, 2020 |publisher=Edmonton Journal |date=February 10, 2006}} In 1999, he played Jr. An indoor lacrosse for the Victoria Shamrocks, where he was voted to 2nd All-Star team in B.C.L.A Jr. A Series{{cite web |title=Blaine Manning |url=https://torontorock.com/blaine-manning/ |website=torontorock.com |publisher=Toronto Rock |accessdate=May 6, 2020}} and received the team's Sportsman of the Year.{{cite web |title=Sportsman Of The Year |url=https://shamrocks.bcjall.com/awards-sportsman-of-the-year |website=shamrocks.bcjall.com |accessdate=May 6, 2020}} Manning eventually moved to a private school in Maryland in order to play lacrosse and graduated from Radford University.{{cite news |title=Rookie of the Year |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50377091/blaine-manning-roy/ |accessdate=May 6, 2020 |publisher=Edmonton Journal |date=April 20, 2002}}
Career in the National Lacrosse League
Coming out of Junior A lacrosse, Manning was drafted second overall by the Calgary Roughnecks in the 2001 National Lacrosse League (NLL) draft. However, neither Manning nor the first overall pick Gavin Prout wished to play for their respective teams. At the time, Manning stated he would have preferred a selection by the Washington Power because of his girlfriend's location.{{cite web |title=Canadians dominate at NLL Draft |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/canadians-dominate-at-nll-draft-1.277797 |website=cbc.ca |accessdate=May 6, 2020 |date=August 25, 2001}} He was eventually traded to the Toronto Rock in exchange for Kaleb Toth and a first round draft pick on October 2, 2001, before he ever suited up for the Roughnecks.{{cite web |title=Rock trade Toth to Roughnecks |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/rock-trade-toth-to-roughnecks-1.279433 |website=cbc.ca |accessdate=April 6, 2020 |date=October 2, 2001}} In his rookie season with the Rock, he won the NLL Rookie of the Year Award after recording 71 points in 16 games.
In his sophomore season, Manning scored five goals and had eight assists for 13 points in a game against Buffalo, tying a Toronto Rock single-game record. This earned him the NLL Offensive Player of the Week honours.{{cite web |title=NLL Hands out Player Awards |url=https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/nll-hands-out-player-awards/n-1984009 |website=oursportscentral.com |accessdate=May 6, 2020 |date=January 29, 2003}} In 2005, Manning recorded 105 points in 16 games to finish second overall in scoring league wide. He helped lead the team to their third NLL championship in four years, while also earning his third Second All-Pro Teams honours.{{cite web |title=Five Toronto Rock Players Earn Top Honours |url=https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/five-toronto-rock-players-earn-top-honours/n-3160314 |website=oursportscentral.com |accessdate=May 6, 2020 |date=May 11, 2005}} He signed a one-year contract extension with the team on October 21, 2006.{{cite news|title=Lacrosse|date=October 21, 2006|newspaper=Nashua Telegraph|location=New Hampshire|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-oct-21-2006-1722142/}}{{free access}}
In the following five years, Toronto failed to qualify for the NLL post-season. During the 2006 and 2007 NLL seasons, they failed to qualify for the season rounds, and from 2008 to 2009, they were eliminated during the regular season. Upon acquiring new owners, the Rock played their first playoff game at the Air Canada Centre in five years on April 17, 2010.{{cite web |title=Rock clinch first post-season berth since 2005 |url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/more/nll-rock-knighthawks/ |website=sportsnet.ca |publisher=Sportsnet |accessdate=May 6, 2020}} Although they failed to make the finals, the Rock bounced back and won the 2011 National Lacrosse League Championship, breaking their drought.{{cite web |last1=Nabenbauer |first1=Ron |title=Toronto Rock Win 2011 National Lacrosse League Championship |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/701650-toronto-rock-win-2011-national-lacrosse-league-championship |website=bleacherreport.com |accessdate=May 6, 2020 |date=May 15, 2011}} After winning his fourth championship with the team, he announced his retirement on July 31, 2013.(31 July 2013). [http://www.torontorock.com/article/rock-cornerstone-blaine-manning-retires Rock cornerstone Blaine Manning Retires] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130831194440/http://www.torontorock.com/article/rock-cornerstone-blaine-manning-retires |date=2013-08-31 }}, torontorock.com
=Coaching career=
On August 6, 2013, Manning was announced as an assistant coach for the Toronto Rock alongside Dan Ladouceur.{{cite web |title=Rock Head Coach John Lovell Names Assistant Coaches |url=http://www.torontorock.com/article/rock-head-coach-john-lovell-names-assistant-coaches |website=torontorock.com |publisher=Toronto Rock |accessdate=May 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130831144701/http://www.torontorock.com/article/rock-head-coach-john-lovell-names-assistant-coaches |archive-date=August 31, 2013 |date=2013}} He was renamed an assistant coach for the Toronto Rock on July 26, 2016, under head coach Matt Sawyer.{{cite web |title=Matt Sawyer Named Toronto Rock Head Coach |url=https://torontorock.com/2016/07/26/matt-sawyer-named-toronto-rock-head-coach/ |website=torontorock.com |publisher=Toronto Rock |accessdate=May 6, 2020 |date=July 26, 2016}} His contract was once again extended in 2019.{{cite web |title=Rock Coaching Staff Contracts Extended |url=https://torontorock.com/2019/09/26/rock-coaching-staff-contracts-extended/ |website=torontorock.com |publisher=Toronto Rock |accessdate=May 6, 2020 |date=September 26, 2019}}
Statistics
=NLL=
{{NLLCareerStats
|player_name_link=Blaine Manning
|season1_year=2002
|season1_team_link=Toronto Rock
|season1_games_played=16
|season1_goals=21
|season1_assists=50
|season1_loose_balls=109
|season1_penalty_minutes=13
|season1_playoff_games_played=2
|season1_playoff_goals=4
|season1_playoff_assists=8
|season1_playoff_loose_balls=20
|season2_year=2003
|season2_team_link=Toronto Rock
|season2_games_played=16
|season2_goals=40
|season2_assists=38
|season2_loose_balls=78
|season2_penalty_minutes=13
|season2_playoff_games_played=2
|season2_playoff_goals=4
|season2_playoff_assists=2
|season2_playoff_loose_balls=4
|season3_year=2004
|season3_team_link=Toronto Rock
|season3_games_played=16
|season3_goals=36
|season3_assists=54
|season3_loose_balls=81
|season3_penalty_minutes=17
|season3_playoff_games_played=1
|season3_playoff_goals=2
|season3_playoff_assists=5
|season3_playoff_loose_balls=5
|season4_year=2005
|season4_team_link=Toronto Rock
|season4_games_played=16
|season4_goals=39
|season4_assists=66
|season4_loose_balls=83
|season4_penalty_minutes=18
|season4_playoff_games_played=2
|season4_playoff_goals=4
|season4_playoff_assists=6
|season4_playoff_loose_balls=10
|season5_year=2006
|season5_team_link=Toronto Rock
|season5_games_played=16
|season5_goals=28
|season5_assists=52
|season5_loose_balls=79
|season5_penalty_minutes=19
|season5_playoff_games_played=1
|season5_playoff_assists=1
|season5_playoff_loose_balls=6
|season6_year=2007
|season6_team_link=Toronto Rock
|season6_games_played=16
|season6_goals=21
|season6_assists=56
|season6_loose_balls=56
|season6_penalty_minutes=2
|season6_playoff_games_played=1
|season6_playoff_goals=1
|season6_playoff_loose_balls=6
|season7_year=2008
|season7_team_link=Toronto Rock
|season7_games_played=16
|season7_goals=30
|season7_assists=44
|season7_loose_balls=90
|season7_penalty_minutes=4
|season8_year=2009
|season8_team_link=Toronto Rock
|season8_games_played=16
|season8_goals=20
|season8_assists=42
|season8_loose_balls=68
|season8_penalty_minutes=22
|season9_year=2010
|season9_team_link=Toronto Rock
|season9_games_played=16
|season9_goals=35
|season9_assists=47
|season9_loose_balls=82
|season9_penalty_minutes=21
|season9_playoff_games_played=3
|season9_playoff_goals=5
|season9_playoff_assists=7
|season9_playoff_loose_balls=18
|season10_year=2011
|season10_team_link=Toronto Rock
|season10_games_played=16
|season10_goals=23
|season10_assists=52
|season10_loose_balls=62
|season10_penalty_minutes=14
|season10_playoff_games_played=3
|season10_playoff_goals=2
|season10_playoff_assists=6
|season10_playoff_loose_balls=14
|season11_year=2012
|season11_team_link=Toronto Rock
|season11_games_played=6
|season11_goals=3
|season11_assists=6
|season11_loose_balls=19
|season11_penalty_minutes=7
|season11_playoff_games_played=2
|season11_playoff_assists=5
|season11_playoff_loose_balls=11
|season12_year=2013
|season12_team_link=Toronto Rock
|season12_games_played=15
|season12_goals=11
|season12_assists=19
|season12_loose_balls=40
|season12_penalty_minutes=6
|season12_playoff_games_played=1
|season12_playoff_goals=1
|season12_playoff_assists=1
|season12_playoff_loose_balls=3
}}
Personal life
Manning married his fiance Christine in 2010{{cite web |title=blaine manning rock player gets married |url=https://juliesaggersphotography.com/tag/blaine-manning-rock-player-gets-married/ |website=juliesaggersphotography.com |accessdate=May 6, 2020}} and they have one son together.{{cite tweet|user=ManningBlaine|number=888177464102486020|date=July 20, 2017|title=Happy 5th birthday to this loving, sensitive, unselfish little guy!}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{succession box | before = Tracy Kelusky | title = NLL Rookie of the Year | years = 2002 | after = Brian Langtry}}
{{s-end}}{{NLL Rookie of the Year Award}}{{DEFAULTSORT:Manning, Blaine}}
Category:Canadian lacrosse players
Category:National Lacrosse League All-Stars
Category:National Lacrosse League major award winners