As Alaina Davis’ playing career drew to an end, she wanted to still keep soccer as a key part of her life. Just months after graduating from Malone University, Davis has landed her first coaching job by becoming the Ravenna Ravens girls’ soccer coach.
“It is really exciting,” Davis said. “I have played soccer since I was 8-years-old and I have a lot of experience that way but this will be my first time getting to coach a team on my own.”
Hailing from Akron, Davis is no stranger to the Metro Athletic Conference, having competed in league play herself in all four years as a varsity starter at Norton High School. According to Davis, although her playing career ended at Malone University, she was far from finished with the game. When she saw that the Ravenna position was open, she did not hesitate to throw her name into the ring.
“I just really want to put a focus on making sure the girls that I am coaching understand the “why” behind the drills that we are doing and focusing on bringing it back to the formations that we are playing and what that should look like,” the first-year coach added.
Davis takes over a program that has struggled in MAC play, only recording two league victories in five years since joining the conference. She acknowledged that while she may be shy of coaching experience, she still wants to set high goals for her new team.
“I think that would be great and I think a lot of that comes from changing the team culture, making sure that these girls have respect in themselves and taking pride in what they are doing,” she noted. “Not being so successful in the past few years does not mean there is not talent on this team.”
Davis said that her love for soccer started in her childhood when her younger brother Jackson started playing the sport. She followed in his footsteps and became fascinated by the team collaboration phase of the game which was pivotal for any team success.
She was a four-year varsity starter at Norton and served as the defensive center midfielder, which required a focus on the defensive side of the ball while also being an offensive contributor. Davis’ scoring talents earned her the honor of being named to the MAC first team in her senior year.
In Davis’ final two years at Norton, she played on the 2019 team that finished as the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II district runner-up and the 2020 squad which earned a share of the MAC banner.
While playing at Norton, Davis was coached by her father, Matt, for three years who was the girls’ assistant coach before he took over the boys’ team in her senior year.
She attributed her love for the game and also her eagerness to begin her coaching career to her father.
“I think I wanted to coach soccer just because my father had been doing it for so long and it has always been like something I figured I would end up doing in the long run,” she added.
Davis extended her playing career when she attended Malone University and started all four years on the women’s soccer team. According to her, the Pioneers experienced a rebuild during her four years as the program had a new leader at the helm in Coach Bailey Shattell but the team reached new heights by recording its first winning season since the 2009 campaign.
Davis may be starting from square one as a soccer coach, but she is returning to a very familiar conference where she experienced a lot of success in her own playing days as a Panther.
“I think it is fun because I have played these schools but obviously, they are completely different teams than when I was there, so I obviously don’t know too much about any of them,” she said. “I guess I understand the level that we are playing at.”
Davis may be a newcomer to Ravenna, but she is familiar with the gritty style of Portage County soccer thanks to her own experiences playing in the MAC with Norton in her high school days.
“I don’t know another conference to play in, but it is hard to compare it to other things. It was definitely a great time when I was playing,” Davis said “I think it was a good mix of some really hard games and some games you felt really confident going into. I am excited to be a part of that in this new role this year.”
