BOOTS RETIRES FROM SAINTS CROSS COUNTRY

WINDSOR, Ont. - The St. Clair College Athletics and Recreation Department is announcing that Paul Boots has stepped down from his position as the varsity cross country head coach, effective today.

Boots took over as the varsity cross country head coach for the Saints in 2015 and over 10 years built a very successful program provincially and nationally. In nine seasons he was able to lead St. Clair to a men's or women's team podium finish on seven occasions helping the Saints to a national championship appearance in each year. His women's team ran to provincial gold in 2023 in addition to three silver medals in 2016, 2021 and 2022. The men's team was wildly prosperous achieving a pair of OCAA titles in 2018 and 2022 but added silvers in 2017, 2019 and 2021. Including five other individual men's medals, Boots was able to guide St. Clair to 15 total at the provincial level.

At the CCAA level the men's team raced to another four team medals winning a national title in 2018 as part of their undefeated season to go with silver in 2019 and bronze in 2021 and 2022. An individual silver by Carter Free in 2019 means that Boots was part of five total national medals at the CCAAs.

Under Boots' leadership St. Clair was able to produce nine individual All-Canadian performances on the men's side after 20 runs at the provincial level that received OCAA Team All-Ontario inclusion. The women's program was recognized 13 times for Team All-Ontario status from their results at the OCAA provincial meet.

Boots was an instrumental Course Director as part of St. Clair hosting the 2019 OCAA provincial championships and the 2024 CCAA national championships which were tremendously celebrated events. In 2022 he was honoured as the OCAA Coach of the Year and five times his teams were recipients of the St. Clair College Varsity Team Academic Award.

He was flattered further as the John Albert Strasser Award winner in 2017-18 which is given to the St. Clair varsity coach whose team achieves success athletically while making significant contributions to the community.  Annually Coach Boots organized his team to assist with the Windsor Goodfellows holiday newspaper sales campaign which provides a major source of local community support for thousands of families in need every year in the form of Christmas meals, gifts to the weekly food bank, school breakfast programs in addition to supplying children with shoes and boots.

Boots was named the Gerald Serviss St. Clair Inter-Collegiate Coach of the Year for the 2018-19 season which is awarded to the Saints coach whose teams exemplify a high level of performance, sportsmanship, dedication and leadership. He was also the recipient of the 14th Annual WESPY Coach of the Year Award in 2019 and the Saints were tagged as the Team of the Year that same evening.

The search for a replacement cross country head coach begins immediately and interested applicants can direct themselves to www.stclaircollege.ca/careers or ca.indeed.com.

Source: St. Clair Saints