The Packers have announced that Jake Davis of Germantown High School in Germantown, Wis., has been named the Green Bay Packers High School Coach of the Week.
Davis, in his 10th year as head coach of the Warhawks, has his team out to a 1-2 start this season. They look to even their record when they take on conference rival Brookfield East on Friday, Oct. 16. Under Davis' leadership, the team makes an impact both on and off the field in Germantown. Upon his hire as head coach in 2011, Davis wanted to instill in his players that there is more to being a member of the Warhawks than just playing football. Not only are they members of the team and represent their school, but they also represent all the members of their community. In an effort to encourage his players to give back and learn life lessons that can't always be taught in a classroom or on the field, he partnered with senior living facility, The Gables of Germantown, and began the "Men's Lunches." Twice a year Davis' players make a trip to the facility to share a meal and talk about life with the male members of The Gables.
"It's fun for our players to get to see those guys and talk," Davis said. "Some of our guys might not have grandparents they get to interact with anymore, so they get to talk to the gentlemen there, and some of those men who live there might not get to talk with younger visitors that much either, so it kind of helps out both sides of it and it is kind of neat to see those interactions and hear the different stories. We talk some football, but the majority of it is about life and what they did when they were younger, what were their jobs, and they hear where our kids want to go and what they want to do with their life, so it's pretty cool."
In addition to the Men's Lunches, the Warhawks also assist in a casino night for the citizens at The Gables, as well as supporting the Ageless Aviation Dreams Foundation in Germantown. Through this foundation, players support the military veterans of The Gables as they take flight in the cockpit of a Boeing Stearman biplane, similar to those that military members trained in the late 30s and early 40s.
Davis grew up in Mequon, Wis., where he graduated from Homestead High School in 2002. Throughout high school, he participated in football and was a member of the powerlifting team for the Highlanders. He played center under WFCA Hall of Fame Coach, Dave Keel, and went on to play football at UW-La Crosse before transferring to UW-Whitewater, where he graduated in 2008. While his playing days were cut short due to injury, he joined Whitewater's staff as an assistant coach from 2005 to 2007. After a year of student teaching, Davis took a job at Germantown High School and became an assistant coach for the football team. In 2011, he was named head coach of the Warhawks.
For Davis, the Coach of the Week Award is more of a reflection on all the great things the team is doing in the community and the life lessons that are being learned off the field.
"One of the things I tell my guys all the time, when we look at what Germantown Football is, it's rooted in the people and the families of Germantown. I tell our guys that we're a family. That's what this really means to me. This is about all of the people and the family that we are as a team. I tell them this is bigger than us and that is what this award is all about. This isn't about any real results other than the things they're doing as people, and what they are doing for the community, and I really cherish those things more than any stats or wins you can get. These are the bigger moments in life, the things that we are doing at The Gables, the leadership things that we're doing with the guys, and the things they learn from that are above and beyond anything they're going to get on the football field."
Davis and his staff oversee a program of 105 players with 50 suiting up for varsity games. His assistant staff includes Dave Branske, Jon Davis, Scott Schubert, Ray Baran, Jim Davis, Bob Beeman, Mike Pfeiffer, Rob Fliss, Todd Krupicka, Andy Waller, Jack Stiever, and Cory McCabe. In addition to coaching, Davis is also a special education teacher at Germantown High School. Davis and his wife, Meghan, have one son, Jace, and one daughter, Jovie.
About the Green Bay Packers High School Coach of the Week Program:
The Green Bay Packers Coach of the Week program supports football outreach efforts by giving high school coaches the recognition they deserve. Nominations can be submitted by 10 a.m. every Monday to Ryan Fencl, Packers football outreach specialist, at coachoftheweek@packers.com. All nominations should include the nominee's name, address, school, phone number and reason he/she is deserving of the award. This year, because some schools have postponed their football seasons to the spring due to COVID-19, the Packers are seeking coaches to be nominated regardless of their teams' on-field performance or whether they are playing in the fall or spring. Rather, the nominee could be honored for how they have turned programs around, how the team has impacted the community, or how the coach impacts the players and their families.
