Any way you slice it, there was no need for change around the Niagara River Lions after winning their second straight championship last season. This was an organization firing on all cylinders behind a star player in Khalil Ahmad and the league’s winningest head coach and general manager in Victor Raso. If the River Lions had simply run it back for this season, no one would have blamed them. Instead, in February, they announced a massive change, Raso would be moving into an advisory role, and team captain Kimbal Mackenzie would take over as coach and GM. “I want Kimbal to get this done as a head coach and I want Khalil and [Nathan] Cayo to be, inarguable and undebatable. This is who they are. They are the greatest players to ever play in this league. They built the greatest dynasty in this league from scratch,” Raso said. “And to prove that organizationally, how cool would this be if we won our third championship in a row and we did it with one of our most important players taking the helm for the third year?” Raso, who also coaches at Ridley College, first brought the idea of transitioning River Lions leadership to Mackenzie in January. Balancing the two jobs had become increasingly challenging, so the two-time champion coach approached president Michelle Biskup about the possibility of moving on. They discussed different potential pathways, but ultimately determined that Mackenzie made the most sense. “I don't think it could have gone better from an organizational perspective where we have somebody in-house, someone who has all the relationships, someone who the guys want to come back and play for,” Raso said. The idea caught Mackenzie by surprise. He had just played an important role on the championship-winning squad, and figured he had a few more years left in him as a player. At the same time, he had also begun planning for his post-playing career, taking over the Niagara College women’s team as coach for the 2024-25 season and serving as the River Lions’ brand and community ambassador last year. The 29-year-old from Oakville, Ont., took some time to think it over with his family, considering the increased commitment the new positions would require. “Ultimately, this is a career that I want to do for many, many years. So it was an opportunity that I jumped at and glad I did,” he said. Now comes the hard part: a full CEBL season on the sidelines, juggling players, rotations, practices and GM duties all at once. Mackenzie will make his home coaching debut when the River Lions host the Vancouver Bandits on Friday. Mackenzie and Raso speak daily. “Sometimes with bigger questions, sometimes with the simplest questions like, ‘Hey, when I'm emailing a roster declaration, what does it have to look like?’ So Vic has been amazing in terms of always being there when I need him, helping me along the way,” Mackenzie said. Perhaps true to his coaching nature, Raso said he’s enjoyed the role. “It was the right decision to step away. It definitely was. I don't have feelings of regret about it at all. And I'm really enjoying it. Kimbal is exactly who I thought he was. I mean, he was worth his weight in gold as a player. And I was never able to compensate him with the gold as a player because there was the Khalils of the world. But his role was absolutely invaluable. He's just such an excellent communicator. He has such a great energy about him,” Raso said. Raso’s greatest fear was that Mackenzie would try to emulate his own style too closely and stray from being true to himself in the process. After all, Raso’s method is proven and effective. But that hasn’t played out. “He believes in the way we did it and therefore he's been himself with his own tweaks and his own things that he had a different perspective on things as a player,” Raso said. Mackenzie said the greatest changes have come in his offensive style, where he’s tried to allow his players more creativity and freedom. The core principles have remained. “The things that we did with Vic worked. I've seen that firsthand as a player. He tended to keep things fairly simple, but the expectations were there in terms of executing it. So I think I've definitely taken that, and then I've just been trying to put my own spin on things,” he said. Mackenzie will also be helped by heaps of familiarity in the form of Ahmad, Cayo, Elijah Lufile, Curtis Hollis and more returning to the River Lions. “They all love Kimbal,” Raso said. “I mean, he's a hard guy not to love. They respect him. To keep the continuity is incredibly important and it just seemed to make sense.” Of course, the return of the championship core could put a target on the River Lions’ backs. But that pressure is no longer there internally. Not like it was last season. “I think if we were in the exact same rinse-and-repeat situation, the vibe would be very different. The vibe around this team is very much new and energized,” Raso said. “We have something to prove because it almost feels like while the rest of the world knows that we're going for a three-peat, we've made such a significant internal change that there's new energy.” Still, just like the previous two seasons, Mackenzie intends to be lifting a trophy at the end of it. What does winning mean to the new River Lions coach? “I mean, everything,” he said. “As a player, as a coach, the ultimate reason that I do it is to win.” After opening the season at 2–2, the River Lions return home Friday night to tip off their home slate against Vancouver, a familiar opponent in a rematch of the 2024 Championship Final. Tickets are available at riverlions.ca/tickets .