Coach Vais begins his third season as the associate head coach for the NIACC men's and women's track and field programs beginning in 2020.

Vais previously was the head track and field coach at NIACC for 14 seasons from 2006-2019.

Since beginning the NIACC track and field program in 2006, the Trojans have won eight individual national champions under Vais. Claiming national titles were Marin Thorson 2008 outdoor discus, Anna Buenneke 2011 indoor 3000 and 5000, Tanesha Edmond 2012 outdoor pentathlon and high jump, Sharon Toako 2014 outdoor javelin and Wal Khat in the 2017 indoor and outdoor 800. The program also has had 24 U.S. Citizen All-Americans, 28 USTFCCCA All-Americans, 21 NJCAA All-Americans, and a number of all-region athletes.

Several of the athletes have moved on to compete at four-year Division I schools.

Before coaching at NIACC, coach Vais served as assistant track and field coach at the College of DuPage (a NJCAA Division III school in Illinois), where the women's team won the 2004 outdoor NJCAA Division III National Championship.  The men's team also finished second that year.

Vais is a graduate of Mount St. Clare College (now Ashford University) in Clinton, Iowa where he was an all-conference and a NAIA national qualifier in track and field.  He resides in Charles City with his two sons, Jacob and Miles.