Scott Davenport: A world championship winning coach
LAUSANNE, Switzerland, March 23, 2020 - In a second part to our
series on world champions Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes,
we talk with their coach Scott Davenport about a remarkable
journey.
If you take a right at Hermosa Beach Pier and walk towards the
iconic Manhattan Beach, you will usually see Scott Davenport
coaching beach volleyball. He is the head coach of current world
champions Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes and the
Canadians both suggest that Scott has a special talent of seeing
things that other coaches just don’t.
Davenport says the team's 2019 season was ‘historic’ as they
swept the world's best away, winning the FIVB Beach Volleyball
World Championships in Hamburg, the Vienna Major, the 3-star
event in Edmonton and the AVP stop at Manhattan Beach.
“Winning the World Championships was definitely one of our goals
and that was an amazing experience for the team. We didn’t start
the tourney off very strong, but continued to improve every
match. That event was a huge growth experience for our team. The
girls were tested in many different ways on the court and
learned a lot about who they are and what they need to do
together to overcome adversity.
“Following up the World Championships with wins in Edmonton,
Vienna and Manhattan Beach, and ending the year with a final
win at the AVP event in Hawai'i made it a very special year for
us. We had some ups and downs along the way, but we took away a
lot of positive learning experiences.”
The American, who values their process, mindfulness, work ethic,
willingness to learn and attention to detail, says the team are
still looking to improve in every aspect of the game, but wants
to see the team improve on their serving and grounding the ball
earlier in the rally.
“We are always looking to
improve in everything but specifically we’re focusing on being
more of a threat from the service line. I’d also like to see
our first ball kill percentage improve on both sideout and in
transition.”
Davenport, 48, started coaching
in 1998 as a way to pay his bills whilst playing on the
prestigious AVP Tour. In 2010, whilst coaching indoor, a former
beach partner asked for his help and that's when his journey to
a World Championship winning coach begun. His journey to the
very top of the coaching ranks hasn’t been plane sailing and is
a path that included the tragic loss of his wife Wendi and
mother to their two children Luke, 10, and Devin, 5, to cancer
in 2017. An unimaginable circumstance for most people.
Thankfully Scott has found some peace in coaching the sport that
he loves.
“That was a very difficult time
and transition for our whole family. There’s no way to prepare
for something like that. The hardest part for me is seeing my
kids go through losing their mother and the effect it has on
them every day.”
“Volleyball has always been a sanctuary for me away from any
negative aspects in my life. So, diving back into it after
Wendi passed was kind of therapeutic - in a way I never would
have thought with the World Championships.”
When asked to sum up what
juggling his family life with coaching the world champions is
like, Scott explains the reality of being away from home for
periods of time and how he balances it with coaching.
“It’s probably the most
difficult thing for me to do. Especially now that my kids are
participating in many different activities. I’d like to be able
to share those experiences and be there to support them, more
often. My family and friends help out with taking care of the
kids while I’m away. Luckily Sarah and Melissa are very
understanding with life priorities. So we find a happy medium
when it comes to scheduling my travel during competition season.
And we have an amazing team around us that fill in the gaps,
where needed. But it’s definitely not easy.”
Sarah Pavan on Scott Davenport:
“Scott has been the only beach coach I’ve ever had, and I credit
him entirely in my transformation into a beach volleyball
player. Scott and I are very similar in how we analyse the game,
and in how we communicate, so we hit it off immediately. I
soaked up everything he had to teach me technically and
tactically, fully understanding that I was coming into the
relationship with absolutely zero beach volleyball knowledge. We
respect each other very much, but challenge each other to be
better, both professionally and as people, and I think that is
why this has lasted for so long. We love each other like family,
but we aren’t afraid to call the other person out if we have to.
That trust and understanding helps us get through the tough
moments.”
Melissa Humana-Paredes on Scott Davenport:
“Scott is committed and knowledgable. He is a very technical
coach who sees things not many others do. He's got a good eye
for technical errors and is very good at creating a strategy on
tendencies. I've learned so much about how to play the game like
chess from him. I think I've also seen significant improvement
in my technique from him (but I know there's still a way to
go!). He also has a family, as a single-dad of two young kids,
and he still shows up to practices day in and day out and gives
us his attention and time. It's easy to forget about the team
behind the team and all those that work hard for your goal, but
they deserve to be on the court with us getting the same credit
we do.” |