Stepping away: West Anchorage football coach Tim Davis is putting a pause on his passion to focus on what matters most

As he stood in the middle of the Arizona desert last spring, Tim Davis had a moment to himself.

Davis, the West High football coach, was waiting for a bus to a bachelor party for Conor Feckley, one of his former players. In a career that spanned 16 years, Davis had made a major impact — mentoring dozens of young student-athletes like Feckley and becoming the winningest coach in Cook Inlet Conference history.

But the commitment required to make that impact had taken a personal toll and had Davis contemplating the future and reevaluating his priorities.

“I got dropped off in this weird bus station in the middle of nowhere and a little tumbleweed rolled by and I don’t know, maybe because I’m like artistic and weird like that, but it kind of came to my brain that ‘Dude at the rate that I don’t see my family for three-plus months out of the years, this is all that is going to be left. A tumbleweed rolling through.’ ”

Later that month, he decided the 2024 season would be his last — for the time being. He would step down to focus on the team that matters most, the home team that consists of his wife Malia and their two children, daughter Rowan and son Arlo.

“I missed half of Arlo’s T-ball games, I missed a ton of his Pop Warner stuff, I missed a bunch of (Rowan)’s ballet stuff,” Davis said. “At the end of the day, I have an incredible passion for this game, but the passion of this game can’t get in the way of the most important realities we have as men.”

After nearly two decades on the job, he realized it was time to “reflect and retool my thoughts on priorities and how I spend my time and how I give my time.”

“Right now my time needs to be with three Eagles, not a whole flock,” Davis said.

The 41-year-old teacher never viewed coaching as a job even though he put in far more hours over the years in weight rooms, practices, meetings, locker rooms and study halls.

“The hardest part is pressing pause on this aspect of my life that I have such a passion for,” Davis said. “With that said, as hard as it has been, there hasn’t been a single moment where there’s been a second guess or a second doubt.”

The Eagles reached the Division I championship game in October and came up just short of successfully defending their state title. It would’ve been the program’s fifth championship during his tenure, but Davis said his mind remained made up and his conviction to walk away resolute.

“There hasn’t been a single moment where I was like ‘Wow, I wish I could do this differently,’ not yet at least,” he said. “It’s been very clear and it’s been consistent since I made the decision that this is the right thing to do and it’s so hard.”

Walter Harmon is former foe, longtime friend and a mentor to Davis. The former South High football coach can sympathize with the difficult decision to step away from the game and admires him for making it.

He stopped coaching to enjoy his oldest son’s high school career after coaching him up to that point. Harmon stepped away again after his youngest son graduated from high school to support him during his college career.

“I counsel coaches who have children of their own, either participate within their program or other outside interests (and) to never forget the primary role of parent,” Harmon said.

‘Meaningful, educational, and fun for everyone involved’

During his time at the helm, West enjoyed great success on the field. They were perennial title contenders and this past season, he surpassed Cook Inlet Conference legend Bruce Shearer for the most conference wins in its history.

However, all the victories and titles he amassed weren’t the parts of the experience he enjoyed or cherished the most.

“It’d be hard to pin one thing,” Davis said. “The relationships you build (throughout the year) are pretty special and the relationships that you build with the men that come back year after year.”

Feckley, who is an assistant coach with the Eagles, has seen first-hand the impact Davis has made on class after class of West student-athletes.

“Coach Davis has done tremendous things for the West Anchorage football program and under his leadership, a lot more young men will grow up to be great husbands and fathers someday,” Feckley said. “While the Eagle football family will miss his presence as head coach, we all admire his decision as a husband and father to take a step back and devote more time with his own family.”

While the vast majority of coaches at every level preach about being a family on and off the field, Davis has made togetherness a core part of his program.

“He has elevated the game throughout the state and has laid the foundation for how to successfully operate a football program in Alaska while making the experience meaningful, educational, and fun for everyone involved,” Feckley said.

To close the Eagles’ end-of-season banquet and award ceremony on Monday, the team surprised Davis and long-time defensive coordinator Joshua Garcia with a compilation of well-wishes and congratulations from former players and coaches.

Davis couldn’t hold back his tears while it was playing and got choked up while making his closing statements after hearing all the testimonials about how he helped multiple generations of Eagles grow and spread their wings.

“Football doesn’t feel good more times than not,” he said. “It’s a beautiful and wonderful passion of mine and everybody in this room but it’s painful. You have these relationships that don’t exist in education outside of the sport of football.”

To watch and coach his players through challenges on and off the field has been a deeply rewarding experience, he said.

“I wish that I could remember my world history class from 30 years ago but I do remember my team and my coaches,” Davis said. “The biggest memory that I take away is forging relationships through challenges. It’s not an easy thing and it’s not a comfortable thing.”

After devoting nearly half of his life to taking the kids of others under his wings, Harmon believes Davis is well-deserving of a respite to devote more time to his own.

”The impact that Tim has had on all of his adopted children over the past 20 years, along with the personal sacrifices that come with the title ‘Coach’ has undoubtedly earned him the right to be selfish as he pivots to support his children, albeit I’m sure for him, with mixed emotions,” Harmon said. “The burden of servitude is fraught with opportunities to second guess any decision to step away from the duty.”

Building the program and passing the torch

Over the years, Davis put the same, if not an even greater, emphasis on players having good grades in the classroom as he does helping them make plays on the field.

“The grades and stuff matter in a similar way as the on-the-field play matters,” he said. “They’re performative acts. I really care about the heart of the guys. Are they understanding that the performative act of football or even the test you’re going to take on U.S. government, that stuff all stems from your heart — making a decision that I’m going to be the best man I can be?”

Davis started his coaching career as an assistant at Service and he’s handing over the keys to the first quarterback he helped coach to a state championship, Brown Faaaliga. The two met when Faaaliga was a freshman in 2005 and they won a title together his senior season.

“This is a dude that cares about people and to see that and his really high-level knowledge of the game and know how to run a team, I couldn’t be happier,” Davis said.

Davis is excited to see where the program goes, and even though he won’t be calling the shots on the sideline anymore, he vows to be the Eagles’ “No. 1 fan.”

“To have Brown doing this thing and carry on many of the things that we’ve done and be himself at the same time … I expect him to be a far better coach than I ever was in short time,” Davis said. “He’ll be killing it.”

Faaaliga coached at his alma mater until 2016, at Dimond in 2017, then at South for a couple of years. He’s been at West as an assistant since 2020.

He considers himself fortunate to have been on the sidelines for Davis’ “first gig as a head coach and his last as a head coach” and is fully aware of the huge shoes he has to fill.

“Obviously, (Davis) has created a legacy for himself here at West and my job is not to come in here and change things,” Faaaliga said. “We want to keep it consistent. We want to keep the tradition going and just make sure that by the time we hit that field, we’re clicking on all cylinders.”

Even though he is stepping away from the game and his job as a coach for now, he doesn’t know if it will be the end of his coaching career. He’s leaving the door open for a potential return down the road.

“I think this is an extended sabbatical for some time,” Davis said. “The good Lord has a plan that I’m still learning to follow right now.”