Eagles Coach of the Week Gerald Davis has had to overcome tragedy more than once in his life, but has overcome it and made incredible things out of it.

Davis, in his second year as head coach of Pemberton High School, began coaching thanks to his late wife, Tamara. After Davis was unhappy with how his son's youth team was being coached, Tamara pushed him to start coaching himself to make a change.

Davis started coaching his sons in the Pemberton Youth Football Program and did so for 11 years, serving six of them as the president of the program. In 2012, Davis joined the Pemberton Township High School football program as a volunteer coach.

However, in 2018, Tamara passed away unexpectedly, and Coach Davis took a year off. During that time, he realized coaching football was his true passion.

"Without her and that journey we had together, I wouldn't be coaching," Davis said. "It was just one of those things that it was God's plan. That part of my life is something that I cherish and I'm not afraid to discuss it, because in her name, we've done so many good things."

In 2019, Davis earned a role as the team's defensive coordinator before being elevated to his current role as head coach.

Davis also lost his daughter, Ciera, who passed away from Leukemia at the age of 17.

In honor of Tamara, Davis created a scholarship for student-athletes, giving away $2,500 every year. The student-athlete must have a grade point average that is above 3.0, help out within the community, and write an essay explaining the impact of sports in their life and what they want to do for their community.

For his daughter, there is also a scholarship in Davis' hometown in Virginia in her name.

"We kind of keep them alive that way through charity, so that people don't forget their name and who they are," Davis said.

In Virginia, Davis played football at William and Mary, where he was teammates with Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin and Bills Head Coach Sean McDermott.

At Pemberton, Davis is teaching his players so much beyond just the game of football.

"Our goal is to get you to be outstanding young men in the community, go get a job, use football if you're lucky enough to go to school and get your degree. That's what's important, the things you're going to learn, you're making lifetime friends at the high school level," Davis said. "For me, it's really the life lessons and how to handle adversity is what I want these kids to really walk away with.

"We do a lot of talking about we versus me and that we're a family here and that I'm your coach. If you ever need to come back and talk to me, I'm always Coach G for them, so that's kind of the message we try to put out there for them."

After going winless last year with a younger team and losing a lot of close games, Coach Davis and his team faced adversity. The second-year coach kept his team together, telling them they would never be 0-10 again.

This year, his message has rung true, as Pemberton is off to a 4-2 start, going 4-0 in league play and currently sitting in first place following a 28-6 victory over Florence Township Memorial last week.

"We were changing the culture here. Culture isn't easy to change, and it doesn't necessarily happen overnight, but they had to buy into the message, and they did," Davis said. "We had a tough first game, and it felt like we could go down that road again, but they came back, and I said it's always about how these kids handle adversity."

As Pemberton gets ready to face Riverside on Saturday, Coach Davis reflected on the school and what it all means to him.

"It's always Pemberton pride. It doesn't matter what people think about us, it's what we show as an example. If you do the right things, it'll change. Me getting this award, I look at it more so in the respect of its community pride," Davis said. "I'm proud to have it for myself, but I'm more proud that the community is proud that I could be a representative for the community and for the kids."

– Written by Liam Wichser