SEFFNER, Fla. - Armwood coach Evan Davis pays attention to the details.
That includes monitoring his two-year-old daughter eat her lunch.
“She’s with me every single step of the way,” Davis said.
Campbell Davis has never played a down of football for the Armwood Hawks, but she’s a big part of the perennial powerhouse program.
“She doesn’t know any different,” Davis said. “She’ll have no idea what the real world looks like without football in it.
That includes Armwood’s new football world. With school and sports shutdown, Coach Davis had to get creative to stay in touch with his team.
“You’re just always trying to stay ahead,” Davis said. “You don’t really want to be idle.”
Welcome to Zoom football. With one click of the mouse, Coach Davis is up close and personal with his players. As up close and personal as you can get on a computer screen.
“It probably makes me miss it even more, to be honest with you.,” he said. “Cause you see them and you wish you could just get with them and stuff. So, it’s been hard.”
Adjusting to the virus life has been a challenge, especially since the Hawks were so active.
“We had the best off-season we’ve ever had,” Davis said. “And to not be able to come back to it was really hard.”
So Davis had to get creative. And work with the benefits of Zoom, a video conferencing system that allows the coach to be with his team.
“You get to teach them and you almost get to teach them through your perspective,” he said. “Cause they’re seeing it, how I would watch it, what we’re looking for, all the diagrams and everything, so it’s kind of cool with that.”
The goal is keep his Armwood team sharp, and in shape, for their return to the football field.
“Whether we get back in May 1, or we get back July 1 or August 1, you just have to make sure you’re not falling behind,” Davis said.
It’s yet another teaching moment for Coach Davis. A life lesson, literally. How they handle the adversity of this situation can be used later this season when they face adversity in a game.
“No one could have saw this happening, but how can we make the best out of this scenario,” he said. “Just make the best of situation that’s given to you and I think were trying to do the best of that.”