Davis Reflects On Trip To Ivory Coast
July 18, 2017 at 3:42 p.m.
Davis Reflects On Trip To Ivory Coast
By Dale [email protected]
Over a 10-day stint that bridged June and July, Davis was the head coach of an Athletes In Action squad that played in Africa.
Davis, who has been the varsity girls head coach at Argos and Whitko high schools, was an assistant on the Warsaw Lady Tigers team that went to state in 2004, and who is currently an assistant on Scott Blum’s Grace College Lady Lancers squad, led a women’s team that featured current and former NCAA Division I players as they played in the Ivory Coast city of Abidjan.
While there, the group conducted basketball camps and coaching clinics, shared the Gospel, and played three games against the Ivory Coast’s national team.
The national team was preparing for the Francophone Games, which are held every four years like the Olympics. There were 54 nations represented in the 2013 Francophone Games.
Division I schools represented on Davis’ roster included Iowa State, Rutgers, Northwestern, Elon and Appalachian State, amongst others.
“I had been to Kenya 13 years ago with (Grace College men’s) Coach (Jim) Kessler, (Warsaw boys) Coach (Doug) Ogle, Scott Long, Matt Moore and the guys that were with Coach (Kessler) at the time,” Davis said when asked about his initial interest in the trip.
“I just wanted to get back to Africa. Kenya is on the east side of Africa, and the Ivory Coast is on the west side of Africa. I wanted to see what the differences were. From when I went over there the last time, I’ve always wanted to go back. When this opportunity came up, I wanted to get back over there and see what I could help with there, with the Gospel, and with basketball.”
Davis said representatives from Athletes In Action were present at the NCCAA national tournament at Grace College in March looking for players.
Davis asked if they were looking for coaches, and then applied.
The rest, as the saying goes, is history.
Davis said on top of the basketball games and practices, he and the team members went on sightseeing adventures and also visited an orphanage, taking children food and other supplies.
“What I took from it ... I never saw any of the people over there unhappy,” said Davis. “Despite the circumstances some of them are living in, they were just always happy. I learned that when I went to Kenya ... we take things for granted here in the U.S. They were very family-oriented. I saw a lot of fathers very involved with their kids, that really spoke out to me, and also just how open they were for us to share our faith and testimonies with them.
“As far as what I took from the basketball over there, it’s a very physical game with the international rules. We had an open gym when I got back, and I talked to our girls at Grace about that. I hope our girls can see the difference in the game, it’s a lot quicker. They’re not as good of outside shooters as we are in the U.S., but they can shoot if you leave them open. If you play heavy defense on them they struggle shooting, but getting to the basket and playing physical defense like they do, that’s what I really took from it.”
Over a 10-day stint that bridged June and July, Davis was the head coach of an Athletes In Action squad that played in Africa.
Davis, who has been the varsity girls head coach at Argos and Whitko high schools, was an assistant on the Warsaw Lady Tigers team that went to state in 2004, and who is currently an assistant on Scott Blum’s Grace College Lady Lancers squad, led a women’s team that featured current and former NCAA Division I players as they played in the Ivory Coast city of Abidjan.
While there, the group conducted basketball camps and coaching clinics, shared the Gospel, and played three games against the Ivory Coast’s national team.
The national team was preparing for the Francophone Games, which are held every four years like the Olympics. There were 54 nations represented in the 2013 Francophone Games.
Division I schools represented on Davis’ roster included Iowa State, Rutgers, Northwestern, Elon and Appalachian State, amongst others.
“I had been to Kenya 13 years ago with (Grace College men’s) Coach (Jim) Kessler, (Warsaw boys) Coach (Doug) Ogle, Scott Long, Matt Moore and the guys that were with Coach (Kessler) at the time,” Davis said when asked about his initial interest in the trip.
“I just wanted to get back to Africa. Kenya is on the east side of Africa, and the Ivory Coast is on the west side of Africa. I wanted to see what the differences were. From when I went over there the last time, I’ve always wanted to go back. When this opportunity came up, I wanted to get back over there and see what I could help with there, with the Gospel, and with basketball.”
Davis said representatives from Athletes In Action were present at the NCCAA national tournament at Grace College in March looking for players.
Davis asked if they were looking for coaches, and then applied.
The rest, as the saying goes, is history.
Davis said on top of the basketball games and practices, he and the team members went on sightseeing adventures and also visited an orphanage, taking children food and other supplies.
“What I took from it ... I never saw any of the people over there unhappy,” said Davis. “Despite the circumstances some of them are living in, they were just always happy. I learned that when I went to Kenya ... we take things for granted here in the U.S. They were very family-oriented. I saw a lot of fathers very involved with their kids, that really spoke out to me, and also just how open they were for us to share our faith and testimonies with them.
“As far as what I took from the basketball over there, it’s a very physical game with the international rules. We had an open gym when I got back, and I talked to our girls at Grace about that. I hope our girls can see the difference in the game, it’s a lot quicker. They’re not as good of outside shooters as we are in the U.S., but they can shoot if you leave them open. If you play heavy defense on them they struggle shooting, but getting to the basket and playing physical defense like they do, that’s what I really took from it.”
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