William Davey Jr.
William Davey Jr. was born into a true wrestling family.
While growing up, furniture was often cleared to hold impromptu clinics amongst his cousins, Dale, Rocky, Jimmy, Mike and Tim. These were led by his father, Bill Sr., and uncles Ed, Jim and Kenny.
In the early 1970s, Bill's biggest challenge was finding a practice room. His junior high school did not have a team so he would stay after school and practice with the Commack North High School team in the basement. Some evenings, Bill had the good fortune to workout at Bay Shore’s 5th Avenue Elementary School kids wrestling program run by Bill Knapp and Gombastista "Jumper" Leggio Leggio.
After earning all-league honors in high school, he wrestled for his uncle, Jim Davey, and his cousin-in-law, Bob Stack, who taught him a great deal about wrestling and coaching. Using the tools and philosophy, Bill became a productive and successful coach.
He started the Kings Park kids wrestling program and was the varsity coach for the next 11 years. He led his teams to 101 wins and three Top 10 finishes at the Section XI tournament while coaching 89 all-league wrestlers, including 25 champions.
Bill then assisted Joe Colloca at Mt. Sinai High School and helped him develop a powerful wrestling program that culminated with an undefeated team that won a league and Suffolk County championship. It was only the second time that a "small" school was able to win the county title.
While at Mt. Sinai, he also became involved with the Smithtown kids program, which annually has more than 150 youngsters participating.
In 2006, he became the assistant coach for T.J. Brockings at John Glenn High School. In the span of five years, this coaching team produced a Division II county championship and two Division I county titles. One of Bill's career highlights was John Glenn dominating the update teams at the Union/Endicott Duals.
After retiring from coaching, Bill is still involved with the wrestling community and spends much of his time rooting for his son Bill’s Half Hallow Hills East wrestling team. He is also enjoying his golden years with wife, Denise, and daughters, Danielle and Andrea.
Awards:
Year
2016
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Award
Lifetime Service to Wrestling
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Chapter/Region
New York - Downstate
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