South Royalton
He “totally mismanaged that game,” he said. He should have substituted in better spots, he said. He should have used his bench. Davis still takes the loss personally, remembering a feeling of guilt before he addressing his team in the visitor’s locker room.
“I cost us that game that night,” he said.
Coaching varsity girls basketball was the job Davis, a junior varsity and recreation basketball coach for more than 20 years in Hartford, had always wanted. He was asked to step in for Troy Guerin on an interim basis for the 2015-16 season as Guerin tended to his ailing father, though the way the season ended left Davis yearning to make up for his perceived mistakes. The Hurricanes finished the year with a 9-12 record.
So when he saw a posting for a varsity girls basketball coach at South Royalton School, it represented more than just a way to stay in the game. It was a chance at redemption.
“I did the interview process and about a quarter of the way through, I think they did more talking than I did … the more I listened to them talk about what South Royalton was all about, the philosophies … the more I said, ‘I think I’d like to be the coach here,’ ” Davis said. “This is the kind of program that I want to be involved with.”
Davis has led the Royals to a 5-7 record this season, bringing his laid-back coaching style to a program in need of a jump start. Junior Grace Pease, South Royalton’s leading scorer, noticed the differences in coaching styles right away and said Davis’ soft-spoken approach was a welcome change.
“He focuses more on, ‘OK, we need to be making good passes and dribbling,’ ” Pease said. “It makes it easier, in a way. … People don’t get confused as much.”
South Royalton, which competes in D-IV, provides a challenge to Davis after a year of tough competition with Hartford in D-II. Davis said he is still getting used to the differences between divisions, although the comparisons may just be more obvious now that he knows what to look for with a year of coaching varsity under his belt.
If anything, he said, coaching at Hartford was a way to ease into the speed and strategy of varsity competition, setting up for his next challenge to be one at the helm for the long haul.
“I need to get involved with the younger kids,” Davis said. “I’ve kind of gotten to know them a little bit over the course of the season. … This summer, we’ll have a good summer program a couple of days a week. We’ll work really hard on fundamentals.”
Fundamental skills are something that Davis wants to address quickly. That starts at the youth level, a concept Davis recognizes being a former recreation coach. He plans to set up a meeting with every coach involved in the SoRo girls basketball system to make sure everyone is on the same page.
He’s seen it work at Hartford, despite the turnover its girls varsity team has undergone in the last half-decade. Part of the draw to South Royalton was a chance to rebuild the program in his image, bringing a D-II mentality to a D-IV school.
Davis admitted he still has plenty to learn, more off the court than on it. He’s still learning to manage different personalities in a locker room, how much leeway to give team captains and the logistical and extracurricular challenges that all teams face.
For those lessons, Davis looks around Vermont for inspiration. He’s not there yet, not even close. But Davis hopes his first year with the Royals is the start of something special.
“Last year as a varsity coach, I realized that I have a lot to learn as a coach,” Davis said. “Game management-wise, there were times I thought I did that really well, and there were times where I felt like I was completely outcoached on the other side of the floor. I really try to pay attention to that.”
The Royals visit Chelsea on Thursday.
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.