BYU–Hawaii’s soccer coach is set to split his time with a semi-professonal women’s team in Utah.
Mark Davis, who coaches both men’s and women’s teams at BYUH, was named the head coach for the Real Salt Lake women’s team for the 2016 season on Jan. 23. The RSL Women, an affiliate of Major League Soccer team Real Salt Lake, is part of in the newly formed United Women’s Soccer League that is preparing for its inaugural season this summer.
The new position as head coach for the RSL Women will fortunately not interfere with Davis’s coaching here at BYU–Hawaii. Since the RSL Women play during the summer, Coach Davis will be back for the men’s and women’s last season. “I am glad I will be able to be with both teams for the last year,” said Davis.
In 2015 Davis was an assistant coach for the RSL Women’s team under Jeff Ginn. The RSL women won the 2015 WPSL Elite division title last year and hope to continue that success in their new league this year. “I want to establish a culture of success and where the team is the star here,” said Davis. “Coaches in the past did a phenomenal job and I hope to continue that. I am really excited about this opportunity.”
Davis has been a part of BYUH Athletics for the last five years. From 2010 to 2012, he was a member of the Seasiders’ soccer team before he took over as head coach.
Over his three-year tenure as head coach, Davis has made a remarkable impact on the program. In his first year, Davis led the Seasiders to a 9-3-4 record, the best season in program history at the university, according to BYUH Sports Information.
Davis was named the 2013 PacWest Coach of the Year. “I am so grateful for my time here at BYU–Hawaii. It has been great to see the program improve as much as it has,” said Davis.
Since that time, Davis has maintained the BYUH men’s team at the top of the PacWest table, winning 74 percent of the games over those three years.
One of the players, Abraham Garcia, said, “Coach Davis has done a great job completely turning the program around at BYU–Hawaii. It is sad that the team is getting phased out.” Garcia graduated in February 2016 in psychology.
In 2014, Davis was named as the head coach for the BYU–Hawaii women’s team as well and has been able to duplicate his success with the women’s team.
Player Rebekah McCarthy, an exercise and sports science major from Brentwood, Calif., said, “Playing for Coach Davis has been great, and it is awesome to see him getting the opportunity to move forward.”