‘Waking up the echoes’ at his alma mater earns win for The Bee’s Coach of the Year
When coach Tim Garcia took over the football program at his alma mater in 2014, things were much different than he remembered.
After serving as athletic director for his first two years back on campus, a position he still holds now, he realized something had to change.
“When I got back in 2012, I was just under the impression that the school and the program were kind of the same as they were when I was there,” Garcia said. “That wasn’t the case.
“I really wanted to commit to getting this thing going again. It was about our kids that are on campus getting an opportunity to experience the things that I was able to experience as a student-athlete because I care so much about the school. It had such a big impact on me as a young person.”
Davis had seven combined wins from the 2010 to 2013 seasons.
A few years into Garcia’s time as coach, things began to turn around.
After winning three league games in four years, the program hit a bright spot in 2018. The Spartans won five games in the newly formed Western Athletic Conference in 2018 and again in 2019.
Davis’ 2021 season was historic. The team went 10-0 during the regular season and 7-0 in the WAC.
It was the first time in 20 years the Spartans won a league championship and their first unbeaten season since 1984.
For his role in guiding the Spartans, Garcia is The Bee’s Coach of the Year.
He could feel the difference between this season and when he originally took over the team, the success brought a new energy to the campus.
“It was just about bringing back the excitement,” Garcia said. “I kind of titled this season ‘Waking up the echoes.’”
He knows he was never alone. He has had the support of the community, coaching legends he played for and coached with, and his family.
“I am just thankful for my players, coaches and administrators after all these years,” Garcia said. “I’ve been surrounded by wonderful people.”
Garcia gives a lot of credit to his wife and kids. “They have been my No. 1 fans through good seasons and bad,” he said. “I couldn’t do it without them.”
Garcia’s first coaching job was as a junior varsity coach at Central Catholic. He was hired by local coaching icon Mike Glines in 2004. Glines returned to the sidelines as a member of Garcia’s staff in 2018.
For years, Garcia has been close with former Davis High basketball coach Dan Pacheco, who recently had the basketball court dedicated to him.
He played football for Len Johnston, who led the Spartans to numerous successful seasons.
Garcia has taken pieces from every coach he has been around and molded them into his own coaching style.
“It’s about raising quality young men that are going to be good fathers, good husbands and good sons someday,” said Garcia. “People that are going to be good pillars in the community. Then the X’s and O’s will kind of take care of itself.
“We’ll win when we’re supposed to win and we’re gonna lose when we’re supposed to lose.”
Garcia has no plans to move on from the school and community that raised him. Instead, he wants to pay it forward and give them the same high school experience he had.
“This whole journey, every day it’s kind of deja vu all over again,” Garcia said. “It’s like, I’ve been here, I’ve seen this. It kind of just brought me back down Memory Lane.
“I’m just really excited for our kids to be able to experience something that they’ll never forget; these will be memories that they will never forget.”
