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Good words coming out of South Walton for boys’ basketball
“Go hard, good finish. Good, good.”
If new South Walton High School boys basketball Coach John Davies said those words once, he repeated them a dozen times as the Seahawks ran through shooting drills Wednesday morning.
Davies, in his third day on the job, comes to South Walton from Taylor County High School where he served as head varsity basketball coach for six years, leading his Class 3A team to two district championships (1999-2000 and 2005-06 season) and then fi nishing up last year as district runner-up.
Davies is fi lling the position left by Mark Cozzie, who was terminated several weeks ago.
Davies began summer practice Monday with the Seahawks. About 18 or 20 players showed up the first day, ranging from freshman to seniors.
“Everybody seemed excited. The enthusiasm is great,” he said. “I’ve seen good effort, and they are real responsive to what I’ve said. They said, ‘yes sir,’ and got right after it.”
The team practiced a couple of hours each day this week, and will go to twice a day starting Monday.
“I’m treating the summer like any other beginning point,” the coach said. “We’re starting at square one.”
He said he is trying to learn what the kids can do as they learn about him.
“Terminology is big,” he said. “I’m trying to teach them what my cues are, and verbiage that I’ll use.”
Most of all, Davies stresses “fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals.”
If the players learn the fundamentals by repetition in practice, it will help them develop confi - dence, he said.
“Confidence is real important for a team that is trying to build something. And fundamentals will help with that.
“We don’t run the same drill every day, but we run drills that work on the same thing every day,” to help the player handle different game situations.
“This is all teamwork,” he said. “We’re all in this together.”
Davies said he tells his teams, “You’re playing for the guy standing next to you in the huddle, so don’t worry about stats.”
Davies is big on praise for a job well done.
“I think it’s really important if you give specific instructions and they do it right, that you stop and tell them right then, ‘Hey, that’s exactly what we’re looking for.’”
And that positive attitude is partly responsible for Davies landing the job as the new coach. South Walton Principal Mark Ewing said they were looking for two things in the application process.
One: Someone with a proven track record in coaching boys basketball.
Two: Someone who carries a positive coaching philosophy. “And John Davies brought both to the table,” Ewing said. “He also brings administrative skills.”
Ewing said they spent almost three weeks interviewing eight applicants.
Athletic Director David Barron and girls basketball Coach Kevin Craig were involved in the process, Ewing said, because he wanted a “harmonious relationship when the decision was made.”
“We were very impressed with what he brings,” Ewing said. “I think we are very fortunate and we’re pleased to have him on staff.”
Davies has 21 years in public education and 10 years in public school administration. He has a bachelor’s degree in physical education and a masters in education leadership.
What do all those qualifications mean to South Walton?
“That tells me he knows how to work with people. Kids and parents,” Ewing said.
THE GAME PLAN
A stamp that Davies tries to put on every team he coaches is for the team to play the last minute of the fourth quarter harder than the fi rst.
He compared that last minute in a game to the last part of the basketball season.
“You’ve got to be your strongest at the end of the year,” he said, when it comes district tournament time. “That’s where you’ve got to be at your best.”
As for offense and defense, Davies said he likes to watch what the players do and then develop what they do best into a game plan.
And he’s big on hustle.
“I try to stress being the first team up and down the court,” he said. “Getting up and down is huge. You can’t take a moment to be mad.”
He also said players should make the shots that are not hard, such as layups and free throws.
“I try to be the best on the floor in those kinds of things,” he said.
He also emphasizes limiting the other teams to one shot.
“Be aggressive on the boards and don’t let teams make three and four shots.”
FAMILY
Davies and his wife, Teddi, live in Santa Rosa Beach. He has two stepdaughters, one son and three grandchildren.
