Photo: Gadsden City baseball coach Robby Davis speaks at a meet and greet session on Tuesday, June 25 at the GCHS library. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger)
By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor
New Gadsden City baseball coach Robby Davis recently unveiled his blueprint for success.
At a meet and greet session on Tuesday, June 25 at the GCHS library, Davis shared his three core principals of confidence, attention to detail and having fun.
“I want our young men to be confident in all that they do,” he said. “When they step out onto the field, I want them to have the confidence that they can do the job that’s required of them, whether it’s in the batter’s box, throwing strikes or getting people out in the field. That’s not to say that we’re always going to get the big hit or the big out.
“We’re going to strike out with the bases loaded, we’re going to hit into inning-ending, rally-killing double plays and we’re going to miss a ground ball. That happens in baseball, all the way up to the major leagues. But I want our guys to have the confidence that they’re going to make the next play.
“With attention to detail, I want the little things to matter for our players – knowing where to be in certain situations, having the correct footwork on certain ground balls and knowing every little detail about an opponent. It takes discipline to do the little things right each and every day. When we’re disciplined in the small things, that’s when our confidence will grow. We’re going to practice every little thing, so when our guys step into the batter’s box with the game on the line, they’ll have the confidence to get the job done.
“By having fun, I don’t mean the silly kind of fun when you goof off. The fun I’m talking about is in competing. I want our guys to compete against each other in the weight room and have healthy competitions on the baseball field. I want our guys to compete in the classroom and have their grades matter to them. It’s my job to spur them on and encourage them along the way. When you have healthy competition, at some point that’s going to breed winning.”
As for the city’s youth baseball programs, Davis would like to see homegrown talent to stay put.
“I want to keep Gadsden City kids in Gadsden and play for Gadsden City High School,” he said. “What I want to incorporate is learning those kids’ names at an early age and watch those games and make them feel important and that they matter to the future of Gadsden City baseball.”
A 2005 Glencoe High graduate, Davis was a three-year starter at quarterback for the Yellow Jackets under coaches Lance Smith and Will Hill. In his senior season of 2024, Davis helped Glencoe qualify for the state playoffs for the first time in four years.
“We were only 5-6 that year, but if you look at the playoff bracket, we played the state championship and state runner-up, three of the four teams in the semifinals and five of the eight in the quarterfinals,” said Davis. “I’d like to think that we helped lay the foundation for the success [Glencoe] had under Lee Ozmint a few years later.”
In baseball, Davis helped the Yellow Jackets win three straight area championships. In his senior year of 2005, Glencoe went 25-3 and made it to the second round of the state playoffs, where the Yellow Jackets lost to Winfield in three games. Hokes Bluff then defeated Winfield in the quarterfinals on the way to the Class 3A state title.
“Us and Hokes Bluff were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 heading into the playoffs, and I think Winfield was ranked third,” said Davis. “I honestly believe that if we finished runner-up in the area, we would have played Hokes Bluff in the semifinals. Whether we win that series or not is another question, but it definitely would have been a great three-games series.”
Davis earned a baseball scholarship to Gadsden State where he played under Bill Lockridge before continuing his career at Auburn-Montgomery.
Davis pitched two seasons for the Senators after being red-shirted and undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Davis began his teaching/coaching career at Pleasant Valley from 2011-13, where he was assistant baseball coach and assistant football coach under his dad Jeff. Davis went to Sylacauga for one year, during which he was an assistant football coach, an assistant girls basketball coach and assistant baseball coach. The Lady Aggies’ girls basketball team finished the season as the Class 5A state runner-up.
“That was probably my most adventurous coaching year,” said Davis. “After that, [Gadsden City athletic director and baseball coach] Todd Lamberth called and asked me if I wanted to come to Gadsden City.”
Davis accepted Lamberth’s offer, arriving on the GCHS campus in the fall of 2014 as assistant baseball coach under Lamberth and later Taylor Talbot.
Davis spent 2016-2021 as an assistant baseball coach under Blake Bone and Shane Chappell at Southside before moving to Hokes Bluff, where he spent the past four seasons as assistant baseball coach under Jake Ball.
“If you look at a who’s who of high school baseball coaches in Etowah County over the last 20 years, with the exception of Larry Foster, I’ve probably coached under the top five guys,” said Davis. “I’ve been fortunate and blessed in that aspect. When you look back and take it all in, I can see how God orchestrated all of it.”