Edmonton , AB - Paul Day, General Manager/Head Coach of the Edmonton Rush Lacrosse Club announced today his coaching staff team is complete.

Daren Fridge of Port Coquitlam B.C., Jim Milligan of Peterborough, ON, and Ahmed (A.J.) Jomha of Edmonton, AB (also Director of Lacrosse Operations for the Rush) will serve as the assistant coaches on the bench with Paul Day.

“The addition of Daren and Jim to our team provides us with playing experience, technical soundness and winning tradition.” said Day. “A.J. and I have already been working putting a great team together and with adding these two guys we are setting a tone of excellence for the Rush.”

Fridge, currently the Head Coach of the Maple Ridge Burrards in the Western Lacrosse Association has passion for the game of lacrosse. An 11-year veteran of the WLA, Fridge was a two-time second team All-Star and was runner-up in the league scoring race in 1997. A middle school teacher who is active in BC lacrosse coaching activities, he won the Maitland Award twice for his contributions to minor lacrosse and showed his leadership abilities as assistant captain of the Burrards for more than a decade. Fridge has tallied more than 500 career points in the WLA. He has exceptional experience as a Head Coach. He served as the Head Coach of the Simon Fraser University Clan varsity lacrosse team and claimed the PNCLL Championship in 1999-2001 and Head Coach of the Port Coquitlam Saints, the Midget “A” provincial champions in 1996. He was also offensive coordinator for the Canadian Junior National Team in 1999.

Milligan is familiar with Paul Day’s coaching style. Jim Milligan served as Assistant Coach behind the bench for four games in 2004-2005 with the Rochester Knighthawks. When not behind the bench, he was assisting with on-going practices, pre-scouting of upcoming teams/players and advanced scouting reports. Milligan is a 12-year veteran, playing senior lacrosse in Ontario with three teams: Peterborough Lakers, Brooklyn Redmen and Six Nations Chiefs. He played five years of Junior Lacrosse from 1985-1989 and won the prestigious Minto Cup – Canadian Championships in 1986, 1987 and 1989. Currently, he is the Associate Head Coach/Offense Coordinator of the Peterborough Lakers Major Senior Lacrosse Team. He was awarded Coach of the Year in 1999 in the Ontario Lacrosse Association Major Senior League. He has also won the 2004 Mann Cup Canadian Champions in Major Senior Lacrosse.

Ahmed (A.J.) Jomha has been involved in lacrosse for 38 of his 45 years, as a player, coach and administrator. He grew up playing lacrosse in the Edmonton area, winning a number of provisional championships and the Junior B National Championship in 1980. Shortly thereafter he began his coaching career while continuing to play and was successful in leading a number of teams to national championships, including, 1998 First Nations Field Lacrosse, Under 19’s; 1999 Founders Cup, Junior B Champions; 2002 Presidents Cup, Senior Men’s Champions. A.J. was also instrumental in the creation and development of the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League, which was formed in 1990 and has grown from 4 teams to 38 teams. He was on the Board of Executives for a number of years including the last five years. Recently he has resigned from the RMLL Board to accept the position of Chairperson of the Box Section with the Canadian Lacrosse Association. In 2003 and 2004 A.J joined the Toronto Rock as a scout and was a part of their championship team in 2003. Currently A.J. is the head coach of the Edmonton Miners Junior A team which has been the provincial champions for the past two years and the host of the Minto Cup in 2005. A lawyer by profession, A.J. is a partner with the law firm of Jomha Skrobot LLP, which has an office in downtown Edmonton. He practices in the areas of business law and wills and estates.

Day continues “I look forward to working with this knowledgeable coaching staff and putting together a strong and dynamic team on the floor. Hopefully, the current excitement of the new team coming to town continues as a result of fans having a lot to cheer about.”

In addition to the announcement of the assistant coaches, Paul Day welcomed Andrew Turner to the Edmonton Rush. Andrew Turner was acquired through a trade earlier this month with NLL team Rochester Knighthawks. The Edmonton Rush traded their first round draft pick in the 2005 Entry Draft and Sandy Champman to the Rochester Knighthawks for 2005 Defenseman of the Year, Andrew Turner, Cam Bergman and Buck Stobart.

Turner, currently playing box lacrosse in the WLA league for the Victoria Shamrocks flew in especially this morning following a game last night for the NLL 2005 Entry Draft. He returns to Victoria early Tuesday to prepare for a game later in the day.

The Edmonton Rush will host the NLL 2005 Entry Draft tonight at Rexall Place. Fans are welcomed to come to Rexall Place and watch the selection process. The doors open at 5:00 p.m. with the first selection due to be picked at 6:00 p.m. Fan entry to the NLL 2005 Entry Draft is FREE.