Dwayne Dawson and Josh Zilles will plot their own course.

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Dwayne Dawson and Josh Zilles will plot their own course.

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The two will try to fill major coaching voids with the St. Clair College Saints following the retirement of softball manager Doug Wiseman and cross-country head coach Paul Boots.

Dawson, who has been an assistant under Wiseman since 2019, will take over the manager’s role with the Saints while Zilles, who has been an assistant coach for the University of Windsor Lancers for the past two seasons, steps in as the new cross country head coach.

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“You’re not filling (Wiseman’s) shoes,” the 55-year-old Dawson said. “You have to put on a new pair of shoes and grow your own. What he accomplished was huge.”

Before turning to coaching, the 28-year-old Zilles spent six seasons competing for the Lancers and represented Canada at the FISU Games.

“I’ve got big boots to fill,” Zilles said. “I want to to encourage the culture of fun and excellence that coach Boots has kind of provided.”

Dawson was an NCAA scholarship player at Cleveland State University and was drafted by the Houston Astros in 1992. A product of the Windsor Selects, Dawson also won two national senior titles with the Windsor Chiefs before turning to coaching.

“I’ve been coaching for almost 20 years now,” Dawson said. “I reached out to Doug when my (two) girls were done playing ball.”

Wiseman brought Dawson on as the two had managed against one another during the summer when Dawson coached with the Windsor Lady Expos and then the Windsor Wildcats. 

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“I’m just going to do what I know how to do best,” Dawson said of his approach to his new post. “Every coach has their own style. Doug ran his ship his own way and I’ll find mine.”

Dawson has been busy catching up with current players and expects to have 12-to-14 players return next season on a roster that holds 17 players.

“We worked under Doug and he always included us (assistant coaches) and now to have a chance to lead the organization is exciting for me,” Dawson said.

A Kitchener native, Zilles was recruited to the Lancers as a distance runner in 2016 by Gary Malloy a year after Dennis Fairall stepped away from the position. 

He was a second-team all-OUA performer in 2021 and was named team MVP while earning Academic All-Canadian status on three occasions.

After wrapping up his running career, Zilles served as an intern for one season for the Lancers before becoming an assistant coach for both the cross-country team and track and field program.

“I started coaching with the University of Windsor and I loved it,” Zilles said. “So, when the opportunity to coach with a powerhouse like St. Clair came along, I couldn’t turn it down.”

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Boots built a strong program with the Saints, but Zilles said the pressure to keep the bar high for the program is something he embraces.

“I want to win,” Zilles said. “I always have pressure from myself to win. I’m just a kind of naturally competitive guy and, going into any situation, I want to do the best that I can. I think the most pressure I feel is the pressure I put on myself.”

Boots has left Zilles with a solid roster that he hopes to build on it with a few additional recruits.

“I see the St. Clair culture and I want to continue that culture of fun, hard work and excellence on and off the cross-country course,” Zilles said. “I’m looking forward to the group we’re going to have.”

jpparker@postmedia.com

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