SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — The Schaumburg Boomers and Manager Jamie Bennett announced the addition of a pair of veteran coaches to his staff with the hiring of former Madison Mallards Manager and Gary SouthShore RailCats assistant C.J. Thieleke as Hitting Coach and Robert Morris University Head Coach and former Windy City Thunderbolts skipper Mike Kashirsky as Bench Coach.

"I am thrilled and very fortunate to have C.J. and Mike on our staff for the 2012 season,” said Boomers Manager Jamie Bennett. “Both guys have been around the game for a long time and have a true passion for coaching. They have both been winners everywhere they have been and will be an integral part in getting the Boomers headed in the right direction. I look forward to working with both of them and am truly humbled to have them as a part of my staff.”

Thieleke, 36, spent the 2011 season as the Third Base Coach for Boomers owners Pat and Lindy Salvi’s other minor league team, the Gary SouthShore RailCats, as a member of two-time champion Greg Tagert’s coaching staff.

Prior to his role with the RailCats, Thieleke served as Field Manager for the Madison Mallards of the Northwoods League, a summer collegiate wood bat league, for six seasons (2005-10) and has been a Madison College Assistant Baseball Coach since 2005. During his six seasons as Field Manager, Thieleke’s Mallards went 230-178 and never once posted a sub-.500 record. Thieleke became the fourth manager in Northwoods League history to win 200 games and his team made the playoffs three times during that stretch. In 2008, the Mallards reached the Northwoods League Championship Series under Thieleke’s tutelage and fell short of a championship by just one run in the deciding game of the series.

Originally selected in the 32nd round of the 1996 Major League Entry Draft by the Minnesota Twins, Thieleke spent two years in the Twins farm system posting very solid numbers as a rookie for the Elizabethton Twins of the Appalachian League. In 43 games, Thieleke displayed an impressive knack for getting on base posting a .406 on-base percentage while adding a .295 batting average and drawing 26 walks against 25 strikeouts.

Thieleke played his college ball at the University of Iowa where he was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 1994 and played second base for the Hawkeyes from 1994-96. Thieleke has served as Assistant Coach at Mount Mercy College, Volunteer Assistant with the University of Iowa, and was top Assistant Coach with the Madison Mallards for two summers before earning the Field Manager title in 2005.

Kashirsky, 34, is the Head Coach for the Robert Morris University Eagles in the spring and spent the previous eight seasons with the Windy City ThunderBolts organization, with two-plus seasons as the Frontier League Club’s Manager.

After being named Interim Field Manager of the ThunderBolts in July 2008, Kashirsky’s squad went 37-14 and claimed the franchise’s second-ever Frontier League Championship. The Providence Catholic High School alum was back as the Bench Coach for the ‘Bolts in 2009, the position he held from 2004 until the second half of the season in 2008, to allow him to focus on his job as Head Coach at Robert Morris. Kashirsky was named the Windy City Manager in 2010 and was at the helm for the last two-seasons posting a career record of 141-100, the winningest Manager in Thunderbolts history.

Kashirsky began his coaching career in 2000 at NCAA Division II St. Joseph’s College of Indiana, where he was also four-year letter winner as a player. After three seasons with his alma mater, Kashirsky was named Head Coach of the UpperDeck Cougars 18+ in 2002, and in 2003, held the same position with C.F. Swingtown, where he was named the Chicago Pitch & Hit Club Amateur Coach of the Year.

An assistant at Providence Catholic from 2002-05, Kashirsky took over the reigns at Moraine Valley Community College in 2006 and led a struggling program to consecutive 30-win seasons and a record of 69-37. In 2008, Kashirsky joined the NAIA’s Robert Morris University as an assistant and endured a 5-34 season with the Eagles before taking over as Head Coach the following year and leading RMU to one of the greatest turn-arounds in NAIA history with a 36-19 finish. The 2010 Robert Morris squad finished with a 42-19 record and claimed a conference tournament championship as well as the school’s first-ever appearance in the NAIA National Championship Tournament. Kashirsky led the 2011 Eagles back to the NAIA Tournament and finished with a 39-19 record before bowing out in the first round for the second straight year. After three seasons at the helm for RMU, Kashirsky has a career record of 117-57 and will manage the Eagles again in the spring of 2012.

After a solid four-year career at St. Joseph’s, Kashirsky joined the Chicago White Sox as an undrafted free agent and played 15 games with the White Sox of the Rookie Arizona League in 1999 before injuries cut short his season. The following year, injuries again spoiled his season and after recovering, Kashirsky had stints with the Mariana Braves of the Professional Italian Baseball League and the Montreal Royals of the Canadian Baseball League in 2002.

The Schaumburg Boomers open the 2011 Frontier League Season on the road against the Lake Erie Crushers in Avon, Ohio on Friday, May 18 before returning home a week later on Friday, May 25 at 6:30 p.m. for Opening Day against the Florence Freedom. Season Tickets, Boomer Bundles and Holiday Packs are on sale now by calling 847.461.3695 and be sure to check out www.boomersbaseball.com for all the latest Boomers news and information!