DETROIT (10/13/2017) -- University of Detroit Mercy head men's lacrosse coach
Chris Kolon '09 (MBA) rounded out his coaching staff with the addition of
Dwayne Hicks as an assistant coach.
"Dwayne is one of the most respected coaches in the Midwest," said coach Kolon. "He was my first lacrosse coach and he brings not only great knowledge of the game, but an outstanding pedigree and reputation to our program."
Hicks has close to 45 years of lacrosse in his background as a player and coach and has been one of the most instrumental individuals in helping spread the game in the state of Michigan. He has spent the last 13 years as the Director of Lacrosse for Total Sports Complex. He is also the head coach and director of the Total Lacrosse Train and Play program and Team Total Lacrosse travel team.
"I would like to thank coach Kolon and Detroit Mercy for this incredible opportunity," said Hicks. "I am very excited to be back at this level and look forward to working with the talented young men in this program."
Hicks has coached at both the high school and college level with teams at Freeport High School (NY), St. Joseph's High School (IN) and Seaholm (MI) as well as his alma mater Notre Dame, Oakland (men's and women's teams), Eastern Michigan and Michigan State University.
During his five years with the Oakland men's team, Hicks was able to develop an unknown program into a nationally ranked, highly touted lacrosse team, which included two national championship appearances and one Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association (CCLA) title. In 2006, Hicks moved from Oakland to Eastern Michigan to help build their program. After three seasons with the Eagles and helping them become a CCLA playoff contender, he moved to Michigan State, where he guided the Spartans to four CCLA playoff appearances, one championship and two runner-up efforts.
In 2012, Hicks took on the challenge of coaching women's lacrosse as an assistant at Oakland. In his four years with the Grizzlies, the team qualified for four national championships, placing as high as third and winning three regional championships. Oakland also had 12 All-Americans, two offensive and one defensive player of the year, and in 2016, he helped coach the National Player of the Year, Lindsay Barrett.
"I couldn't be more thrilled to work with coach Hicks and to have him be a part of this program, where he will only strengthen our core values in leadership and development," added Coach Kolon
Through the course of his coaching tenure, Hicks has been named CCLA Coach of the Year on three occasions and was the National MCLA Division 1 Coach of the Year in 2011. He has the unique distinction of being the only coach in the history of lacrosse to be recognized as National Coach of the Year (head coach and assistant) for a men's and women's team (MSU and Oakland). He is also a Senior Coaches Trainer in the Coaches Education Program (CEP) of US Lacrosse, the governing body of all lacrosse in the United States. As a senior trainer, he is recognized as one of the top fundamentals coaches in the country and works with US Lacrosse to help improve the quality of youth coaching around the country.
Hicks also played and coached professionally in the England Lacrosse Union after his collegiate days. In each of his two seasons with the Timperley Rebels, he led his team to the national championship. He was also given the opportunity to coach several members of Team England in preparation for the 1986 World Lacrosse Games. During his club playing days, he spent two seasons in Chicago, was a pick-up player in Indianapolis and Cleveland before finishing his final four seasons in Detroit with the Motor City LC.
Originally from Long Island, New York, Hicks was a standout lacrosse player and wrestler at Freeport High School. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame in 1985 with a degree in industrial design with a concentration in automotive and product design.
