Zeeland West High School football coach John Shillito receives the 2024 Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 3 state championship trophy from Bangor High School athletic director and MHSAA Representative Council member Fred Smith on Nov. 29, 2024, after the Dux defeated Detroit Martin Luther King 42-22 in the championship game at Ford Field in Detroit. Shillito announced his retirement from coaching on Jan. 7 after 41 seasons as a high school football coach, including 20 years at West, where he led the Dux to five state championships.
Zeeland West football coach John Shillito (wearing a cap in the center) is swarmed on by his players after receiving the trophy for winning the Michigan Division 3 high school football state championship Nov. 29, 2024 at Ford Field in Detroit with a 42-22 win over Detroit Martin Luther King. It was the fifth state championship for the Dux under Shillito’s leadership. Shillito announced his retirement from coaching on Jan. 7.
John Shillito had finished his fourth season as football coach at East Kentwood High School in 2003 when he had a conversation one day with his defensive coordinator, Zeeland native Gregg Hoogland.
Shillito had led the Falcons to a Division 1 state final appearance in 2002, but he was looking to possibly move on to a smaller school with strong community support.
“Gregg says, ‘you know, those Zeeland schools are going to split, and that might be an interesting job (to look at),” Shillito said.
Not long after, Shillito met with Zeeland school officials to inquire about the fledgling varsity football program at the new West High School. In the fall of 2004, he joined the school faculty as a history teacher and began laying the groundwork for what would become one of the state’s most successful high school football programs.
In the program’s first year in 2005, West posted a 9-2 record and went to the state playoffs. One year later, the Dux went 13-1 and won the state Division 4 championship with a 22-0 victory over Coopersville – the Zeeland community’s first state football championship since the current playoff format was introduced in the mid-1970s.
“That ’06 team, athletically, was just tremendous – big, fast. We had kids who were hungry to be successful,” Shillito said.
It would be the first of five state championships for the Dux under Shillito’s leadership, the most recent of which came last November, when West defeated Detroit Martin Luther King 42-22 at Ford Field in Detroit behind a state finals-record six touchdowns by senior running back Keaton Hendricks.
Shillito announced his retirement Jan. 7, ending a 41-year career as a high school football coach in Michigan, including the last 20 years in Zeeland. During his tenure at West, the Dux posted a record of 185-46, a winning percentage of .801. Only Lumen Christi High School in Jackson has had a better winning percentage among Michigan high school football programs since 1950, according to the website michigan-football.com.
“It’s something we’ve been thinking about for a little while. It felt like for me personally, and for the program, that the time was right (to retire). I’ve been doing this a long time,” Shillito said.
Shillito previously coached at Comstock Park (1982-84), Muskegon Orchard View (1986-99) and East Kentwood (2000-03) before coming to Zeeland. His 340 overall wins as a head coach rank him seventh on the list of winningest high school football coaches in state history.
Shillito said that the final decision to retire came after the state championship win over Detroit King, but added that there were some mixed emotions involved with the decision.
“In some ways, it made it harder, because our kids did such a tremendous job, and staff (did as well),” he said. “The work that goes into that type of a run, it’s taxing but it’s super-rewarding. In some ways, what we did (last) year made it a little tougher to make that decision. On the other hand, it makes it a little easier because some of our younger kids who experienced that and as they move forward, will always have that experience, so you don’t feel like you’re leaving them in the lurch.”
West Athletic Director Jordan Bandstra said that Shillito’s impact on the school goes far beyond the wins and losses on the football field.
“The culture he brought here and established in 2005 has left a lasting mark on our athletic department and school as a whole,” Bandstra said. “He played a pivotal role in laying the foundation and upholding the standard at ZW. Coach Shillito is a true champion of educational athletics."
“It is overwhelming when you think about all the young people he was able to impact with his unique ability to create connections and earn trust. He is known as a coach who does it the ‘right way,’ and that starts with how he treats and cares for his players,” Bandstra added.
Shillito was well-known in Michigan football coaching circles for the “Power-T” offense that he ran – an offense that heavily emphasized running the football and disciplined blocking schemes. He adopted the offense in the early 1990s from longtime Belding High School coach Irv Sigler after Sigler’s team beat Shillito’s Orchard View team in a state playoff game. He called the decision “transformational,” and he would later go on and teach the same offense to other high school coaches around the state.
“I think the biggest thing about our offense and what makes it successful is that it always goes forward, that we just don’t go backwards,” Shillito said. “I think that makes it tough for a defense because … when we’re running it well, there’s kind of a relentlessness to it.”
West qualified for the state playoffs in 18 of Shillito’s 20 seasons as coach. The Dux posted a 43-13 record in state playoff games, reaching at least the regional round 10 times and the semifinals eight times. West won the Division 4 state championship in 2011 with a 45-7 win over Marine City, the Division 3 title in 2013 with a 34-27 victory over DeWitt and the Division 4 crown in 2015 by defeating Flint Powers 40-14. Only once were the Dux ever shut out in a game – a 20-0 state semifinal loss to Muskegon in 2014.
Shillito points to the work ethic and coachability of the players he has had as a big reason for the Dux consistent success over the past two decades.
“I think their trust in coaches and each other and in the system has been very high, and I think that trust is one of the keys to our success,” he said. “The other thing is that they get a lot of continuity. We’ve pretty much had the same staff for most of that time. We’ve basically run the same system on both sides of the football throughout those years … They trust that there’s a great chance if they work at it, it’s going to be successful.”
Shillito was inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2005. He also coached track and field at West from 1986 to 2024.
Plans are underway to commemorate Shillito’s service to Zeeland West over the last two decades, and details will be shared with the community at a later date, Bandstra said.
Shillito had led the Falcons to a Division 1 state final appearance in 2002, but he was looking to possibly move on to a smaller school with strong community support.
“Gregg says, ‘you know, those Zeeland schools are going to split, and that might be an interesting job (to look at),” Shillito said.
Not long after, Shillito met with Zeeland school officials to inquire about the fledgling varsity football program at the new West High School. In the fall of 2004, he joined the school faculty as a history teacher and began laying the groundwork for what would become one of the state’s most successful high school football programs.
In the program’s first year in 2005, West posted a 9-2 record and went to the state playoffs. One year later, the Dux went 13-1 and won the state Division 4 championship with a 22-0 victory over Coopersville – the Zeeland community’s first state football championship since the current playoff format was introduced in the mid-1970s.
“That ’06 team, athletically, was just tremendous – big, fast. We had kids who were hungry to be successful,” Shillito said.
It would be the first of five state championships for the Dux under Shillito’s leadership, the most recent of which came last November, when West defeated Detroit Martin Luther King 42-22 at Ford Field in Detroit behind a state finals-record six touchdowns by senior running back Keaton Hendricks.
Shillito announced his retirement Jan. 7, ending a 41-year career as a high school football coach in Michigan, including the last 20 years in Zeeland. During his tenure at West, the Dux posted a record of 185-46, a winning percentage of .801. Only Lumen Christi High School in Jackson has had a better winning percentage among Michigan high school football programs since 1950, according to the website michigan-football.com.
“It’s something we’ve been thinking about for a little while. It felt like for me personally, and for the program, that the time was right (to retire). I’ve been doing this a long time,” Shillito said.
Shillito previously coached at Comstock Park (1982-84), Muskegon Orchard View (1986-99) and East Kentwood (2000-03) before coming to Zeeland. His 340 overall wins as a head coach rank him seventh on the list of winningest high school football coaches in state history.
Shillito said that the final decision to retire came after the state championship win over Detroit King, but added that there were some mixed emotions involved with the decision.
“In some ways, it made it harder, because our kids did such a tremendous job, and staff (did as well),” he said. “The work that goes into that type of a run, it’s taxing but it’s super-rewarding. In some ways, what we did (last) year made it a little tougher to make that decision. On the other hand, it makes it a little easier because some of our younger kids who experienced that and as they move forward, will always have that experience, so you don’t feel like you’re leaving them in the lurch.”
West Athletic Director Jordan Bandstra said that Shillito’s impact on the school goes far beyond the wins and losses on the football field.
“The culture he brought here and established in 2005 has left a lasting mark on our athletic department and school as a whole,” Bandstra said. “He played a pivotal role in laying the foundation and upholding the standard at ZW. Coach Shillito is a true champion of educational athletics."
“It is overwhelming when you think about all the young people he was able to impact with his unique ability to create connections and earn trust. He is known as a coach who does it the ‘right way,’ and that starts with how he treats and cares for his players,” Bandstra added.
Shillito was well-known in Michigan football coaching circles for the “Power-T” offense that he ran – an offense that heavily emphasized running the football and disciplined blocking schemes. He adopted the offense in the early 1990s from longtime Belding High School coach Irv Sigler after Sigler’s team beat Shillito’s Orchard View team in a state playoff game. He called the decision “transformational,” and he would later go on and teach the same offense to other high school coaches around the state.
“I think the biggest thing about our offense and what makes it successful is that it always goes forward, that we just don’t go backwards,” Shillito said. “I think that makes it tough for a defense because … when we’re running it well, there’s kind of a relentlessness to it.”
West qualified for the state playoffs in 18 of Shillito’s 20 seasons as coach. The Dux posted a 43-13 record in state playoff games, reaching at least the regional round 10 times and the semifinals eight times. West won the Division 4 state championship in 2011 with a 45-7 win over Marine City, the Division 3 title in 2013 with a 34-27 victory over DeWitt and the Division 4 crown in 2015 by defeating Flint Powers 40-14. Only once were the Dux ever shut out in a game – a 20-0 state semifinal loss to Muskegon in 2014.
Shillito points to the work ethic and coachability of the players he has had as a big reason for the Dux consistent success over the past two decades.
“I think their trust in coaches and each other and in the system has been very high, and I think that trust is one of the keys to our success,” he said. “The other thing is that they get a lot of continuity. We’ve pretty much had the same staff for most of that time. We’ve basically run the same system on both sides of the football throughout those years … They trust that there’s a great chance if they work at it, it’s going to be successful.”
Shillito was inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2005. He also coached track and field at West from 1986 to 2024.
Plans are underway to commemorate Shillito’s service to Zeeland West over the last two decades, and details will be shared with the community at a later date, Bandstra said.
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