Idaho head soccer coach Derek Pittman has found a rare gem in Josh Davis.
Entering his third season with the Vandals, Davis has been promoted to Associate Head Coach of the women’s soccer team.
Davis is a graduate of Concordia University-Irvine and has jumped around the country, coaching and assisting at multiple schools and clubs. He arrived in Moscow after spending time as an assistant coach at Indiana University-Purdue University in Fort Wayne.
The promotion comes as no surprise to anyone familiar with Idaho’s rapid and dominant turnaround in recent years. Under Pittman, with assistance from Davis, the Vandals put together an impressive string of victories in 2015. The team finished 14-4-3 overall while going 9-0-1 against Big Sky competition.
Strong defense was a key factor in Idaho’s game plan. Davis played an instrumental role in this, coaching goalkeepers Torrell Stewart and Amanda Poertner. In 2014, Stewart set a school record with 113 saves in a season. A year later, Poertner was honored as the Big Sky Conference Goalkeeper of the Year.
“Josh is an experienced coach that will push our goalkeepers to be the hardest working players on the team and improve our team’s overall defensive organization,” Pittman said in a press release.
In his new position, Davis will look to extend his reach with the players he works with.
Coaching offensive players will be a new experience for Davis. However, Idaho is already performing at a high level on offense. The squad scored more goals than any other Big Sky team and set a school record for most goals scored in a season with 44.
Davis is excited to take on a new role with the team.
“We’ll still do the same tasks and everything else, but it really is exciting and I really do appreciate the fact that Derek was willing to give me that,” he said. “I’m super excited about it and at the same time I’m excited to continue to see how I’ll grow and what will come from it.”
Pittman said Davis is an asset to his program.
“I consider myself very fortunate to be surrounded by a top notch coaching staff and Josh is a big part of what we do here at Idaho, and is deserving of this title change,” Pittman said. “Both he and Laura are key ingredients to our program’s turnaround and growth over the last two years. They both help provide balance and guidance to our young student-athletes as they aim to achieve their college goals academically and athletically.”
Davis’ promotion is just another step towards building consistency within the program. Along with Jackson, Pittman and Davis will also see the return of 11 starters along with a handful of talented freshman and transfers.
“I always find it interesting being part of team where everyone is coming back,” Davis said. “A big part of winning is being together. It’s not just about how we can do the X’s and O’s, but how we can do something that can bring us together more as family.”
The Vandals won a scrimmage 2-0 against Eastern Oregon Monday. The season officially begins today at 5 p.m. against South Dakota in Vermillion, S.D.