New Parkrose High School head football coach Brian Davis has taught and coached—social studies and volleyball, respectively—at the school for more than twenty years. Unlike the school’s previous “lily pad” football coaches (out-of-building coaches who come to a school and use it to jump to the next job, and then the next), Davis has a stake in the building. “This is the first time in many years we’ve had primarily all teachers [as coaches] … I already know I’m going to be here for a long period of time and thought I need to put my investment here and help these boys and girls out,” Davis said. “I knew football was going to be my next step in being an athletic director down the road, when I feel like I’m done teaching and coaching the day-to-day of the kids.”
He said that although it’s been a long time since he coached football, it is his passion and he is confident in his coaching abilities. With 50 players turning out this year, Davis said, “We’re looking solid, we’re looking good; our strength is primarily our defense.” He said on offense, they have experience and depth on the line and in the receiving corps, but little in the backfield. “Our backfield … we’ll see what they got,” he said.
Davis recognizes that while they may not have a lot of on-field victories, he understands that effective coaches at this level can and should do more than just teach how to block and tackle or spike a volleyball. “We want to teach character and hard work,” Davis said. “We can’t dictate our wins and losses, but we can dictate the type of people that we are. Challenging the kids, having them set goals—I think a lot of these kids don’t get taught those things; that’s what’s important.”
