Springfield MO Soccer

I’ll be back with Nick Schmitt’s article by dinner time. Game pictures have been posted.

Tom Davidson – A Family Man and a Man of Passion

Tom Davidson grew up in Colorado, Springs, CO. He played soccer in high school and his Dad was his coach. Tom played sweeper a little bit in high school. “I always preferred playing in the back. I liked watching the game. But he also played center midfield and forward. “It gave me a different perspective just being able to play all over the field.”

Tom played soccer at Missouri Southern from 1984-1988. In College the coach ended up playing a 4-3-3 and Tom ended up playing Left Forward. “I played with a guy that was the Center Forward that was at the time, our all-time leading scorer at Southern. His name was Mike Bryson and he taught me a lot about just how to play forward. What to do and where to go and that kind of stuff. We had pretty good Chemistry. That’s where I ended up playing, basically my whole career.” The next two seasons Davidson helped coach the team under the direction of Jack Spurlin and Scott Poertner. The spring of 1991 proved to be a very eventful one for Tom. He got engaged to his wife Missy and also graduated from Missouri Southern.

Although it was time for Tom to move on, Missy had another year left in college. But things worked out. The Head Soccer Coaching position came open at Kickapoo High School in Springfield. Tom was hired in June to become the second Head Soccer Coach at Kickapoo, taking over for Jose Florez who started the program in 1984. Things worked out great as Tom and Missy would be just an hour away.

I asked Tom, “What do you remember from your first year as a coach?”

“I think you come out and you really think that you kind of know quite a bit about the game and about kids and stuff and I don’t think you do. That first year, I had a real talented team. I had a couple of kids that went to Drury that year. Brett Ulrich who is now my assistant coach at Ozark, he played forward for us that year. He was a Senior. He went to Missouri Southern. We were very talented. We had a good goalkeeper. But my biggest challenge was the parents. I felt, ‘hey, I could run the show pretty well’ and they had been use to running the show. The challenge of breaking that cycle was probably my biggest challenge.”

“I just remember that first couple of games kind of having this preconceived notion in your head, how it was suppose to be. And it really wasn’t like that. Those are some of the things I remember. The District tournament that year was held at Lake Country and it was brutally cold. There were only 8 teams in the area (in Class 4A) so we had an 8-team District. And you seeded 1-8 and it was 5 Springfield Schools, Joplin, Carthage, and I think Neosho. We got seeded second and then made it to the Final and then lost to Glendale in the Final that very first year. They had a good team. That was Chris Hendricks and Ty Keisker. That was a good team, too (Glendale went to the Final 4 that year).

That rivalry, it was so great to be involved with all those years. It started right after that. I had a lot of good times. Mike Hines was with me that 1st year.

The success would continue for Davidson as he continued to build on the Kickapoo tradition. In 1995, his team captured the first of six District Titles under his leadership and advanced to the State Quarterfinal, losing just three games in the process. In 1996, however a very talented Chiefs team made history by reaching the Final Four and finishing in a tie for 3rd Place. Tom’s top memory from coaching came in 1996 in the State Quarterfinal against Columbia Hickman. “They had beat us 3 weeks earlier in the regular season. They had beaten us 5-0. So just overcoming all those odds, It’s still one of those classic moments. Us being up 2-0, and then them coming back and tying it. It went to 12 Penalty Kicks. I’ll never forget any of that. Kickapoo won the Penalty Kick Shootout 10-9.

Kiley Cirillo, Missouri Southern Lions Head Coach, was a Senior on the 1996 Kickapoo team. Kiley (pictured below at an MSSU game last Fall) shared these thoughts on Coach Davidson:

“I think that the best way to describe Coach D is Integrity and the courage to keep that integrity in the face of adversity. I can remember Coach D was always willing to choose truth over popularity. Coach D was always willing to teach mistakes and never discouraged making them as long as we could learn to take the lessons from them. He pushed us out of our comfort zones only to help us feel comfort there.

Coach has and continues to have a huge influence on my life. He is still there if I need him and I know that he will always be willing to listen and give advice, but he also is never afraid to tell me that he does not have the answer and that is one of the things I admire most. He is okay with not knowing it all.

I think he coaches to be a better man, person, friend, mentor, leader and failure and these are the choices that he has taught me to measure my life by. Thank you Coach Davidson and congratulations on your 500th win.

Although 1996 provided the best finish for his boys teams, that wasn’t the end all. In addition to making it to the Final Four in 1996, Davidson’s Chiefs won 8 Ozark Conference Championships, 6 District Championships, made 4 State Quarterfinal appearances and compiled a 265-105-41 record in 16 seasons.

As successful as the boys program was at Kickapoo under Davidson’s leadership, the girls program was even more successful. Tom began coaching the girls in 1995, when the Springfield schools began playing games against each other. In 1996, the teams started play under MSHSAA guidelines and began competing in District play. In 12 seasons of MSHSAA sanctioned play, Kickapoo reached the District Final every season and won 9 District Championships. Former Lady Chief, Kaysie Griffin, had this to say about her former leader:

“I played for Coach at Kickapoo High School from 1998 to 2001. I started Varsity for him all 4 years. I have had a ton of coaches in my day, by far Davidson is the best Coach I have ever had! He helped shape me not only as a player but as a person also. Its an honor to be his assistant coach at Ozark. I’m learning how to be a good Coach by the best coach in Missouri.”

In 2002, the Lady Chiefs matched the success of the boys with their own memorable State Quarterfinal on their own magical run to the Final Four. “The Girls Quarterfinal game in 2002 when we beat Rockwood Summit was just….. I remember turning to my assistant coach, Jena Knopf, and when the last whistle blew and I turned and I said ‘We’re going to the Final Four. I mean we’re going.’ It was just one of those surreal moments when just….even driving up there I remember thinking, ‘Keep the game close’. But our girls just played out of their minds that day. And then, we didn’t have a great experience when we got to the Final Four, but……”

As Head Coach of the Kickapoo girls program, Davidson lead the Lady Chiefs to a 217-67-22 record in 12 seasons including 6 Ozark Conference Championships, 9 District Championships, 3 State Quarterfinal appearances, and 1 trip to the Final Four..

Nick Schmitt: “What are some of your other top memories?”
Tom Davidson: “I remember several of the Glendale games. I’ll never forget Jack Jewsbury’s sophomore year which was that ’96 team. Glendale had beaten us 2 years previous (1994) in the
District Final and we ended up winning that game 2-0. Just played an outstanding game.”

Jack Jewsbury (pictured), who now plays for the Kansas City Wizards, offered these words about Coach Davidson and what he has meant to him:

“To me, Coach Davidson has not only been good coach on the field, but has also been a great friend off it. He is someone that has taken his passion for soccer and spread that love for the game to myself and all the kids that have passed through his programs. He continues to be successful no matter what challenges he faces and I want to congratulate him for reaching this amazing accomplishment.”

The spring of 2007 brought some news that came as a surprise to some people. Tom Davidson left Kickapoo High School to become the Head Soccer Coach at Ozark. “One of the reasons I moved to Ozark, my big reason was family. If anybody knows, I’m a big family man. That was the big reason was my family. I want to be able to say ‘ Hey. This guy was a well rounded guy. He didn’t neglect his family as he was doing all these things and helping so many people out.’

Although Tom has changed his colors and location, little else has changed. His first Tigers team finished 16-8-0. Entering his 30th season this spring, Tom has never had a losing season.

NS: “What do you think has made you successful as a coach?”
TD: “To me, I think I’m good to the kids. And I think I kind of figure out what makes them tick. I’m not a great motivator, I don’t think, but they trust me. I think that, especially with girls, that’s a big part of it. If they trust you, they’re gonna play hard for you. I’ve always felt like that’s what we’ve
done. We’ve always tried to treat kids fairly too. And I think kids really understand that. Parents don’t understand that sometimes. But kids understand that ‘Hey, he’s just trying to help me. He’s trying to treat me fairly.

NS: “When you first started, did you ever think you would win 500 games?”
TD: “No. I remember saying to somebody several years ago, ‘I’ll never be that guy that has coached for 20-25 years. At some point in time I’ll of just had enough.’ And now, I don’t see an end in sight. My son is in kindergarten and my goal is to at least get him to graduate high school 11-12 years
from now. But if I continue to enjoy what I’m doing, then I don’t see a reason to stop doing it unless I’m just completely neglecting my family.”

NS: “What does 500 victories mean to you?”
TD: “I obviously have been thinking about it a lot. I started really thinking about it this fall. Because when it became kind of a reality this fall, I really started thinking about it. I think it’s more than anything, it’s about all those kids that took what we had to offer and were successful with it. And all those great moments that I had with kids that we were able to achieve something together. And when I look back on it now, it’s all those battles we had with other coaches and other programs and some of those nights that you think that you got out-coached, but you still won the game. Or you out-coached the other guy and that was satisfying too. But I think more than anything, as I started reflecting on it this fall, I started reflecting on all the faces and all the people that had gone through my program for all those years, boys and girls.

NS: “Anything you want to say to the soccer community?”
TD: “Especially here in the Springfield area, we need to continue to grow the sport and continue to have more kids playing and more clubs come about. And include more of the area. Those things, we should be able to, our community, I’m talking about our whole…all the way down to where you guys are (West Plains) and everything, our whole community here in Southwest Missouri, should be able, there’s enough people living here now, that our sport should be able to have a few club teams. And have a
league, when the kids get to high school and not have to funnel everybody into one competitive league. Because in high school that waters down the high school programs if there’s less kids playing club ball. We’re to that point right now, where we should have lots of kids playing. I should here at Ozark. You should at West Plains and Mike (Howard) at Rolla and Mike (Gow) at Lebanon. Everybody should have 8 or 10 club players that are playing for them that are good players. We’re getting to the point where we’re growing where that’s a possibility. I would like to see that grow, because it only helps all of us.

NS: “Any thing we have missed?”
TD: ”To my wife Missy. All the success I have in my career is because you have always stood by me. It’s your unconditional love that has made me the man I am today. Your unwavering support has let me pursue one of my passions in life. Coaching has taught me many things about how to treat people and motivate them. I could not have done this without you helping along the way. You are my rock and I’m so thankful the Lord has put you on my TEAM. You and our family are my dreams come true.”

Tom. In writing this article, it has become quite obvious to me that you have meant as much to the people whose lives you have touched as they have meant to you. You have meant so much to this community and we are the better for you being here. Congratulations on 500 victories!
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The story above is an abridged version of an in-depth interview that West Plains Coach, and History teacher, Nick Schmitt conducted with Tom Davidson earlier this month in anticipation of reaching 500 wins. The complete interview will be available as part of Schmitt’s book, tentatively titled “Pursuit of a Championship: The History of High School Soccer in Southwest Missouri” which he hopes to have available in the Spring of 2009. Thanks to Coach Schmitt for sharing it with my readers.