The Chicago Shamrox turned to a former NLL coach to be its first head coach and general manager, hiring one-time Colorado Mammoth skipper Jamie Batley to fill the positions.

Batley posted a 27-16 record in two and a half seasons with Colorado, leading the Mammoth to the playoffs all three seasons he coached the team.

"Jamie Batley is a skilled, respected and winning coach, and we're thrilled to have him bring this team to life," Shamrox managing partner Kevin Loughery, Jr. said.

"Jamie brings experience and success behind the bench in coaching indoor lacrosse in the NLL. He knows how to build a winning lacrosse team from the ground up and has a keen eye for evaluating talent in both the US and Canadian talent pools."

Batley took over as Mammoth head coach nine games into the 2003 season, turning an underachieving 4-5 club into the Eastern Division champion at 9-7.

He followed that up with a league-best 13-3 mark in 2004, but the Mammoth was upset by eventual champion Calgary in the Western Division Final.

A disappointing 8-8 record in 2005, coupled with the retirement of legendary forward Gary Gait, led to Batley being let go last summer. Gait subsequently took over as head coach, guiding the Mammoth to the Champion's Cup this season.

In addition to his NLL coaching experience, Batley is in his sixth season behind the bench with the Peterborough Lakers (two years at Junior A level, and four at Major).

Batley played for the Lakers' Junior A team in the mid-1980s, winning a pair of Minto Cups. He then went on to play for Peterborough, Six Nations and Akwesasne in OLA Major competition.

Batley's MILL/NLL playing experience is more limited, breaking in with Buffalo in 1994 and playing there again in 1999. He also had stints with the Syracuse Smash (1998) and Pittsburgh CrosseFire (2000).