Doug Shanahan is a lacrosse coach and player. He has been inducted into four Halls of Fame and has won a number of other trophies and accolades. He was twice a member of Team USA, and also won MVP of the world games. He attended Hofstra University, playing both football and lacrosse in college.
Hofstra University
From 1997 to 2001 Shanahan played both lacrosse and football. As a defensive back for the Pride, Shanahan was recognized as a 3 time All American in football. In 2000, he was also a Buck Buchanan Award finalist which is given to the top defensive player in Division 1AA. Following his senior year, he was signed as a free agent with the New York Jets. The Jets allowed Shanahan to go with Team USA and compete in the World Lacrosse Championships in Perth, Australia. Shanahan turned down several football offers from the Canadian Football League to pursue his career in the MLL. At Hofstra, Shanahan also was a 3 time All American in lacrosse, was named the NCAA National Player of the Year and won the McLaughlin Award as the nation's top midfielder. In 1997, he was named the America Eastrookie of the year. In 2001, he was the inaugural winner of the Tewaaraton Trophy, which is presented yearly to the nation's top college player.
In 2002, Shanahan signed a contract with the New York Jets for training camp.
Coaching experience
Shanahan was head coach of the Glenbrook South Titans of Glenview, Illinois from 2006 to 2008. In his inaugural year as head coach, Shanahan led the Titans to a 4th-place finish in the IHSLA Lacrosse state championship tournament. In his two years at Glenbrook South, Shanahan lead the Titans to the playoffs and finished with an overall record of 26-10. In 2008, Shanahan also coached lacrosse at the University of Illinois, where he led the team to an 11-7 record his first year. That year, the Illini finished in MCLADivision 1 with a ranking of 21st in the nation. In 2009, Doug Shanahan signed on as the new head coach for the Fort Lauderdale, FloridaPine Crest Panthers, leading them to a 12-6 record. Similar to his high school and college days, Doug also was a part of the football squad as the Quarterback coach. In 2013, Shanahan left Pine Crest to coach at St. Thomas Aquinas as Asst Head Coach. Shanahan took the Raiders to the Final Four in 2014. Shanahan coached at St Brendan as Asst. Athletic Director and Head Lacrosse Coach in the fall of 2014 & 2015. In 2017, Shanahan moved back to Broward County, Florida to coach the Western Wildcats. In his first season of coaching at Western, the school won its first ever Lacrosse District Championship. In 2019, he was named as the coach of Team England.
After Lacrosse
Shanahan taught at Pine Crest Preparatory School in Ft. Lauderdale for five years. He is a teacher and boys lacrosse coach. In 2014 he was the lacrosse coach at St Brendan High School Miami, Florida and the assistant Athletic Director. In June 2015, it was announced that Shanahan would be joining Legacy Travel Intl. as a lacrosse consultant. He is now the P.E coach at Imagine Charter School at Weston in Weston, Fl. He is also running a lacrosse camp.
