Mark Davis – A Junior Coaching Legend

I have always had a lot of long-distance respect for veteran Junior Coach Mark Davis. Winning always seems to follow him in Junior C, Junior B or wherever he ends up. It never took him long to get another job if something did not work out with any team. His travels have taken him to Mooretown {3}, Sarnia {2}, Petrolia, Chatham (2), Wallaceburg and even over the border to Michigan. I am not sure if there is a coach in the OHA who has had a long career with as much success, over the same period as Coach Mark Davis.

Mark grew up in Port Lambton and now lives in Corunna just outside of Sarnia. He played his minor hockey in Mooretown, as well as Junior C in Mooretown and Wallaceburg until he was twenty years old. That is when his coaching career started. 

Mark is the current head coach of the Mooretown Flags, and this year he is in third place just a couple points behind Essex in the PJHL Stobbs Division.  It has come full circle for Mark because he started coaching junior in Mooretown in 1987 where he took his team to an All-Ontario Championship.  They defeated Port Perry in the finals to win in 1987-88.  George Burnett was the coach of Port Perry that year.  Murray Parliament, a longtime Port Perry manager stated Mooretown had a solid team that year and deserved to win.

Defenseman Blake Howard of the Mooretown Flags is in his fourth year with Mark, and he would not want anyone other than Mark behind the bench coaching. “He pushes us to our limits and pulls out the best version of a hockey player and young man all at the same time.”

Mooretown GM John Baker has been around Mark for several years now and says Mark is one of the best motivators he has come across in the game. The real testament though is that as hard as he can push players he is also an individual that would do anything for his players off the ice. He helps young men in time of need, helps them get job opportunities, etc. He has a passion for not just the game but all those around him.  It can be seen by the fact that all three of his assistant coaches have played for Mark in the past, going back to when he started in this league in 1987-1988.

Through his coaching career, Mark has bounced back between the GOHL and the PJHL with a stop in professional hockey with the Motor City Mechanics. After leading the Flags to that All-Ontario Championship he moved up to be an assistant with the Sarnia Bees. They won two league championships over the next few years – 1989 and 1993.

In 1998 he led the Wallaceburg Lakers to a league championship but lost in the All-Ontario final. That year he defeated the team I managed in Kincardine in the semi-finals.

After that, he moved over to coach Petrolia where he won another league championship in 2003.  He also coached Lambton Shores Junior B when they moved from Petrolia 

For 2004 Mark coached the Motor City Mechanics in the UHL.  

Chatham was his next stop and he won another league title in 2005. but lost in the finals in 2006.

In 2007 he coached the Wallaceburg Midgets to an All-Ontario Championship and a Silver Stick Championship.