Mike Davey

, says the team's assistant coach, Jason Washington. But now things are about to change, as Davey, who has been coaching the team for 35 years, is retiring from his position as coach and gym teacher at the high school.
But Davey shrugs off the notion that he might have played a major role in shaping South Side's wrestling program, while others say he's just a very modest guy. "He's very low-key and doesn't like the hoopla and limelight at all," said Michael Heller, athletic director of the Rockville Centre School District. "He doesn't put himself in the forefront. He'd rather sit back and let others take the credit. It's very much about the kids and not him. He certainly has his fingerprints all over the success of this program, but he won't tell you that. But people see it and they know it."
One of his former wrestlers, Larry Hurl, who graduated from South Side in 1980, says there wasn't much of a wrestling program when Davey first started. "He made it into one of the best programs in the county," he said. "He took kids with no experience, who hadn't taken part in pee wee programs, and we went on to become some of the best wrestlers in the county."
A baseball and wrestling star at Calhoun High School in Merrick, Davey went on to wrestle at Cortland State University. An education major, he graduated from college in 1972 and landed immediately in Rockville Centre, where he was brought in to teach gym and take on the role of head coach of the wrestling team, a role his uncle Jim Davey held in the 1950s.
In fact, wrestling has always been a family affair for Davey. Not only were his father and his uncles all wrestlers and coaches, but so are his cousins. Wade "Rocky" Davey is the coach at Riverhead High School, while Bill Davey coaches at John Glenn High School in Suffolk County. Mike Davey often faces his cousins' schools in matches. "It's nice because my father comes and their fathers come," Davey said.
"His family is very supportive," Washington said. "They're all very involved in the sport. It's nice to see."
Davey has coached other sports at South Side, including varsity gymnastics, junior varsity girls volleyball, junior varsity softball, varsity golf and varsity badminton, but he is primarily known for his role with the wrestling team. Over the years he's had a handful of wrestlers win the county championship, moving on to place in the state tournaments, he says, though he doesn't know the exact number. This year, he ended the season at the top of Conference 3B with four wins and one loss. Six of his wrestlers made it to the county championships, but none of them placed.
Winning isn't what matters to Davey though; it's the kids that matter to him. "A lot of people will talk about statistics," he said, "but my favorite thing about South Side is that I went to about 25 different weddings over the years. I think that's a good indication of how I affected a lot of kids."
Former wrestlers, some who graduated as much as 20 to 25 years ago, still come by to visit him, bringing their children, says Heller. And they all still call him coach. "They continue to call and visit and seek advice on things," Heller said. "What he did as a coach didn't stop when the athletes left high school. These are lifelong relationships that kept going into adulthood. That says a lot about a person." Just go into his office, says Washington. His desk is covered with holiday cards and pictures from his former athletes.
As a coach, Davey has been able to influence a lot of teenagers, says Hurl, who hasn't gone more than a month without talking to him in the 34 years he has known him. "He's been a mentor and a father figure," he said. "He taught kids how to be competitive, good citizens and good parents. He taught them hardwork, teamwork and competition - all things that would make them a better person. A lot of kids are doing very, very well because of him. He's helped a lot of boys become men."
A gregarious and animated coach, Davey took a very hands-on approach with his athletes and always set high standards for them. "The expectations are always high, promoting self-discipline and commitment to the sport," Heller said. "Hard work is certainly a part of the equation in terms of practicing hard every day. Mike's got tremendous, unquestioned integrity."
Washington says Davey is the best technical coach he has ever worked with. "He's very hands-on and involved with the kids," he said. "He's a great technician with moves and set-ups. He knows what the opponent is going to do before he does it."
"He wanted his kids to do well so badly," Hurl said. "We would win so well because of the hard work he demanded at practice. Then, when you got on the mat, he was 120 percent behind you." He instilled a high work ethic in his athletes, stressing basic wrestling skills and physical conditioning at practice. "His biggest thing was getting everybody in shape and having the team be a team," Hurl said. "He taught us how to be a champion. What we did in the wrestling room transpired to the mat. How you practiced was how you wrestled. The harder you worked in practice would definitely show when we went to the mat."
With his time with South Side over, Davey plans on moving to New Mexico to buy a cattle ranch. This might seem like an odd move to some, but ever since he fell in love with that area of the country while on a road trip with his daughter 10 years ago, he's been spending his summers working on cattle ranches. "I'm going to miss wrestling," he said, "but after 35 years I was ready to change over a little bit and try something else."
Now Heller faces the tough job of filling Davey's daunting shoes. "Mike's a veteran. He's one of the most respected coaches in the county in the sport of wrestling, and one of the most respected coaches in the school district," he said. "Those are going to be tough shoes to fill. It obviously has to be the right person to continue the legacy of the Cyclones wrestling program."
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