There’s no time for vacations when preparing for a season of firsts.
Mark Davis, the new head coach for Salt Lake Community College men’s and women’s soccer, has been working hard throughout the summer to develop the newest teams in the Bruin athletic program.
Once a club sport at SLCC, soccer is now sanctioned by the school, which gives the teams legitimacy and institutional support. And since soccer has become an official school sport, the Bruins have a lot to strive for.
“Our goal is to win the Scenic West Athletic Conference,” Coach Davis says. “We want to get into the national tournament in our first year. We made it very clear from the beginning that that is what we want to accomplish.”
Davis has a mindset for winning, and desires nothing less than that. He understands 2016 is the first year for both teams in a conference, but won’t use that as an excuse for not performing at a high level.
“I wasn’t brought [in] just to get a winning record,” he says. “I made it very clear from the beginning that we wanted to establish a culture of excellence and success on and off the field. We’re putting [ourselves] in a situation to be successful every year, and the players we bring on understand that that is our goal.”
Davis has high expectations for the Bruin soccer teams. Given his previous coaching experience, his goals are not unrealistic.
Before joining SLCC, Davis was the head coach at BYU-Hawaii for three seasons where he led the men’s soccer team to a .609 (15-8-9) overall winning percentage. He helped lead the Seasiders to three consecutive winning seasons for the first time in school history.
Davis recognizes the unique opportunity that comes with building a team from scratch.
“I’m excited to start a brand new program from scratch and establish a culture of excellence on and off the field,” he says. “It’s fun and exciting! All these guys and all these girls and myself that come into the program are pioneers. And we’re setting history every day.
“We’re going to make the college proud and do everything we can to establish a successful culture.”
Davis and his players have all the confidence in the world to be successful, and they know they can be. Now all they need is the community’s support.
“If you can come out and watch a game, or even 30 minutes of a game, do it. You won’t regret it,” he says.
