Balancing the office and the dugout

This story was produced by Miami University journalism students Kethan Babu and Alexis Varner in partnership with the Oxford Free Press.

On most mornings, Scott Davie’s day begins long before students fill the Talawanda High School hallways.

Davie arrives by 5:30 a.m., reviews his calendar, takes note of important events and lays out his schedule from the start of school until well after the final bell. 

As the school principal, Davie is in charge of more than 1,000 students and 130 teachers and staff. Between organizing schoolwide events, managing budgets, communicating with parents and helping students with day-to-day challenges, Davie’s days are full. 

Switching hats

Once students exit the hallways for after-school activities, Davie does the same, switching from his role as principal to head softball coach. While the responsibilities may appear separate, he approaches both roles with the same mindset: helping students grow.

“I really try and take the same approach whether I’m thinking as an administrator, a counselor or (a coach),” Davie said. “At the end of the day, we’re all human beings. Everybody deserves love and respect.”

Change of direction

Davie didn’t always plan on building a career in education and athletics. After graduating from college, he originally planned to attend medical school at Temple University, but a last-minute high school coaching opportunity changed everything.

“I really didn’t have that on my radar at all,” Davie said. “We were bags packed, ready to go”

Soon, Davie was coaching high school football at Foran High School in Milford, Connecticut.

“It was terrible. We were 1-9, we had like six kids who suffered concussions that year,” he said. “It was a really rough year from a win-loss perspective, but I fell in love with coaching. It was just so much fun, and so I literally told Temple, ‘I’m not coming.’”

Davie shifted directions, pursuing graduate school to become a school counselor while continuing to coach football and basketball at Foran High School.

His fall and his winter schedules were full, but by unexpected circumstance, Davie ended up as a softball coach when the district needed someone to lead the junior varsity  team. He then led the varsity squad for five seasons.

Oxford arrival

After several years working in school counseling and coaching across the Northeast and Midwest, Davie eventually found his way to Talawanda High School. 

Throughout those years, Davie said his passion for working with students, especially through athletics, remained constant. Coaching had been a part of his life since he was in his early 20s, and it naturally blended with his career in education.

For Talawanda softball players, seeing Davie in the school hallways and on the softball field feels seamless.

“I wouldn’t say it’s two sides,” sophomore catcher Maddy Cox said. “He puts himself in a position where he’s rooting for us to get better at all times, whether that’s on the softball field or in school or personal life. He’ll come with the same approach of making us better as athletes, as students (and) as people.”

Building lasting connections

Davie strives to make new players feel welcome by establishing a connection years before they start high school. That includes freshman shortstop Bella Cobb.

“I think it was third grade (when) I came to the softball camp and it was my first time pitching,” Cobb said. “I remember he caught me and taught me the basics. It gave me somebody to look up to. I thought it was so cool that the high school coach was talking to me and teaching me how to pitch.”

Balancing both positions requires careful structure and discipline. Despite the demanding schedule, Davie said the relationships he builds with his students and athletes make the work worthwhile. Wins and losses matter, but for him, they aren’t the ultimate measure of success.

“I’ve been here long enough to have seen kids through college, and now they’re out there doing all kinds of great stuff,” Davie said. “That is certainly a big part of it. I think the other part of it is being able to see the progress. In my opinion, if you’re doing it right, you’re involved with kids from a very young age … Seeing that kind of growth and progression is really powerful and meaningful.”

In Davie’s eighth year as the softball head coach, the Brave began play this spring for the first time in the Southwestern Buckeye League.