Gary Gait is a lacrosse genius --- I have a tape of him playing for the Syracuse Orangemen when he, his brother Paul, and Tom Marechek made it into the greatest team in NCAA history. On top of all that, he is probably the greatest coach in that and in all other sports. He was able to convert indoor or box lax players into field players and that's how they were able to defeat my Yanks in the lax championship.
As for being both a great player and great coach, there probably has never been anyone like Gary Gait. Not just in lacrosse, but in all sports.