ALEX DAVIS: MAKING A SPLASH
June 5, 2009
SEASIDE, Calif. – In her third-year as an assistant coach at Cal State Monterey Bay, #Alex Davis# is not your typical water polo coach. Growing up in Albuquerque, NM, Davis’s family were all swimmers but she was drawn to the competitive game of water polo.
Living in New Mexico did not give Davis a lot of opportunities to play water polo since it is a sport that is mostly popular in California and Florida. During her freshman year, Davis and her friends started an intramural high school league that featured seven other high schools. She also played on Albuquerque Water Polo Club that was started by one of her swim coaches.
On top of her coaching duties at CSUMB, Davis is also employed by California State Parks and Recreation as a Seasonal Lifeguard II. She works occasionally in the winter but her main season is during the summer months working with the Junior Guard program. She just received her EMT certification and is also SCUBA and rescue diver certified.
The All-American sat down recently to talk about her experiences as a player and as a coach.
Why did you decide to attend CSUMB? Where else were you looking?
I spent my first two years in college at Cuesta Junior College in San Luis Obispo. When I looked at schools to continue my collegiate career, I narrowed down my choices to Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara. Cal Poly only has a club polo team which was a downer for me. I was all set to attend UCSB until I found out that according to the UC system, I was still an out-of-state student. It would cost me over 40,000 dollars a year to go there. My good friend Kelli Lyons knew Gary Figueroa through her dad (they both went to UC Irvine). She informed me she was going make a trip to look at CSUMB where Coach Figueroa was thinking about starting a water polo team. So Kelli and I, along with our friend Kristi Lopez, came up to look at the school. We fell in love with the area and liked Coach Figueroa, so we all decided to come to CSUMB.
What did you get your degree in at CSUMB?
I have a bachelor’s degree in Humanities and Communication (HCOM), with an emphasis in teaching high school English. I am currently working on a bachelor’s degree in biology.
What drew you into coaching?
I started coaching when I was 16 years old with the summer league swim and water polo teams at the pool I worked at in high school. I also coached water polo at Morro Bay High School while at Cuesta Junior College. I am getting ready to start my fourth year as the Notre Dame High School head coach in Salinas. The first two years at CSUMB, I was a volunteer coach but this year, I was added as a part-time coach.
Coaching both high school and college, what do you find to be the biggest differences?
Age. Intensity. Dedication. Most high school girls are there to have fun and learn something new which can be fun. Whereas, a lot of the college players are on scholarships and treat water polo as their job. At least that is how I thought of it when I played at CSUMB.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Honestly? Hmmm. If I knew the answer to that one, I don’t think I would still be in college. Haha but I would like to still be coaching and working with the beach programs, whether as a seasonal guard or a permanent lifeguard ranger. I am not sure. Maybe I will work towards a master’s degree in a biological or oceanographic field?
