John Davis once feared Columbus High School.
When Davis went to Starkville High School in the early 2000s, the Falcons were “neck and neck” with the Yellow Jackets in track and field and a fearsome rival in basketball. In football, Columbus was Starkville’s chief competitor — surpassing even the well-known South Panola juggernaut in Batesville.
“As big a powerhouse as South Panola was, we weren’t worried about South Panola,” Davis said. “We were worried about Columbus.”
It was a heyday for Columbus High sports that Davis remembers well. Now, as the school’s new athletic director, he wants to make the Falcons feared again across Mississippi.
“It’s always been to where some of the best athletes in the state are from Columbus,” Davis said. “It’s just we’ve got to get back to teaching the fundamentals and getting them out for every sport.”
In some sports, Columbus is at that elite point. The school’s girls basketball team won its first state championship in 2020, and the boys team won titles in 2016 and 2018. But the Falcons’ baseball and softball teams have long struggled, and a football team that appears to be on the upswing still has won just eight games in four years.
So achieving the success Davis hopes — annually competing for district championships and often making bids for state titles as well — in every single sport the Falcons offer won’t happen right away.
“It’s going to take some time,” Davis said. “It’s a long process, and we’re chipping away at it right now.”
Plans to turn things around
In some cases, he said, that could mean several seasons before the Falcons are consistently competitive. With new head coaches in softball and baseball, Davis estimated it could take four years to lift the programs from the bottom of MHSAA Class 5A, Region 1 to the top.
“Everybody wants a quick turnaround, but you’ve got to look at it in high school (terms): It can take a little while until you’ve had those athletes for at least three years,” Davis said.
Davis said part of his plan for improvement involves community outreach. This summer, all of Columbus’ sports will be running minicamps for students in the district’s SMART Academy summer enrichment program.
Davis also plans to start some elementary school baseball and softball leagues, which has become more important ever since a split between the city of Columbus and Lowndes County worsened recreational leagues in the area.
“We’ve got to get back into being involved with the youth with our coaches and our athletes getting out in the community and being involved with the youth,” he said.
He’s also tried to engage the community through social media, something the Falcons athletics program previously lacked. Davis started a Twitter account to update students, family and media on game times and locations, and Superintendent Cherie Labat took notice and asked him to start a Facebook page as well. Two teachers help out making the graphics with scores and game information, Davis said.
Davis said his No. 1 goal as AD is to have as many students as possible become involved with athletics and the activities he oversees — including band, art, theater and JROTC.
“We’re trying to get as many kids involved as we possibly can so that they can have a positive experience while they’re here at Columbus,” Davis said. “Our biggest goal for all of our sports is to help them grow into better adults more than anything else.”
‘Their biggest supporter’
Davis served as the athletic director and offensive coordinator at Philadelphia High School for a year before he came to Columbus in 2019 as the Falcons’ offensive coordinator under first-year football coach Joshua Pulphus.
He held that position through the 2020 season, and once the Falcons finished up, principal Craig Chapman told Davis the athletic director position was coming available as incumbent Joe Garrett was leaving. Davis stepped into the role full time, though he wasn’t officially confirmed by the district’s board of trustees until April. He soon found several differences between Philadelphia, a Class 2A school, and Columbus.
“There’s a lot more kids and a lot more coaches and a lot more responsibility,” said Davis, who holds a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Mississippi State and a master’s in coaching from Southern Miss.
But working with the Falcons’ athletes was what Davis wanted to do. He greets any athlete he sees in the halls and tries to attend every game or event he can make — a difficult task when many fall on the same night.
“I’m going to go to as many of them as I can and be their biggest supporter in everything we do,” he said.
In his new role, he’ll no longer be coaching football — a transition Davis eventually expected but hardly this soon.
“I did want to eventually get into being just an athletic director, but I wasn’t expecting it to happen right now,” he said. “This was a goal of mine to happen further on into my career, maybe a little bit closer to retirement after I coached a little bit more.
“But when something like this opens up, it’s time to go ahead and do it,” he added.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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