Edell was inducted into the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2004, at which time he held the second-most NCAA tournament appearances of any head coach.
[1] Born in Maryland in 1944,[2] Edell attended Towson University, where he played lacrosse and was named an honorable mention All-American as a midfielder in 1967.
He then held the head coaching position at Calvert Hall High School for three years, and led his team to the 1971 and 1972 Maryland Scholastic Association (MSA) championships.
The University of Baltimore provided him his first collegiate head coaching opportunity, and, in four years, he led the team to three NCAA Division II tournaments.
During that time, he also coached UB's soccer team, which he led to the 1975 NCAA Division II national championship.
[4] In 2001, he retired from coaching due to a non-life-threatening health issue, inclusion body myositis.
Edell, whose teams lost their three championship game appearances, told The Washington Times"I said 'John, I tried practicing on Sunday.
[4] The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) twice named Edell the National Coach of the Year: in 1978 with Army and in 1995 with Maryland.