By Dan McCaffery
Mark
Davis has been named the new
head coach of the Sarnia
Legionnaires.
Team president Tom Knight
made the announcement this
morning (Friday, April 17),
saying Mark brings an
unmatched wealth of
experience and a winning
attitude that our players
and fans are going to
enjoy.
Davis, who has won seven
championships during his
34-year coaching career,
takes over for Dan Rose, who
resigned last month after
five years behind the bench.
Knight also announced Davis
will be helped by assistant
coaches Tom Norris, Justin
Day and Tyler Lewis.
Lewis, the only newcomer
among the assistants, was
the captain of the
Legionnaires team that won
the 2009 Weir Cup as Western
Jr. 'B' champions.
Bob Farlow, who was an
assistant under Rose, will
assume the role of special
adviser to Knight, who in
addition to being president,
is also the director of
hockey operations .
In another move, Todd
Gilhuly of Wallceburg has
joined the team as a scout.
Davis, 54, is about as
'local' as you can get.
A resident of Corunna, he
was raised in Port Lambton
and attended Riverside
elementary school as well as
Sarnia Collegiate and
Alexander Mackenzie
Secondary School.
As a player, he made it to
Jr. 'C', playing for both
the Mooretown Flags and
Wallaceburg Lakers.
But at age 20 he turned to
coaching, where he soon made
his mark.
Championships collected
Here's what he's done behind
the bench:
1988 Won the OHA Clarence
Schmatz Cup as the head
coach of the Mooretown
Flags. (Team was later
inducted into the Sarnia
Lambton Sports Hall of Fame
in 2006.)
1989 Won a Western Jr. 'B'
championship as an assistant
coach with the old Sarnia
Bees.
1993 Won another Jr. 'B'
crown as an assistant with
the Bees.
1998 Won a Great Lakes Jr.
'C' title as head coach of
the Wallaceburg Lakers.
2003 Won a Western Jr. 'B'
championship as head coach
of the Petrolia Jets.
2006 Won a Western Jr. 'B'
crown as head coach of the
Chatham Maroons.
2007 Won OMHA and Silver
Stick championships as head
coach of a Wallaceburg
midget team.
2014 Guided the Chatham
Maroons to the Western Jr.
'B' finals.
"It's an honour to be a
coach, Davis said when
asked why he has been behind
the bench for so long.
"I love the game, he
continued. The thing I get
out of it is just helping
players move on to the OHL
or to school, or just seeing
them later in the working
world and having respect for
their professions.
He added, I get a thrill
out of the players coming
around to see me, or coming
up to me in a rink and
shaking my hand.
As for the Legionnaires,
Davis said the club will
face some challenges next
season because so many of
its players are graduating.
Still, he's confident he can
ice a competitive squad.
As for his style, he said,
I can motivate, that's what
people tell me. I'm not big
on fancy plays. I don't try
to reinvent the wheel. The
game is pretty simple.
Legionnaires general manager
Bob Williamson said, "Mark's
a motivator. He'll get the
kids to work hard for him.
Players seem to enjoy
playing for him."