Davis Draper – REI & Youth soccer coach – Outstanding in his Fields

Friday, Jul 2, 2010

Davis Draper is used to dealing with the idea of very important information, and depending on what time of day it is, he’s either helping people protect it or giving it out freely. That’s because of Draper’s two distinct vocations: instructing technical security techniques during the day and teaching young players the fundamentals of soccer in the evenings. But his drive and continual focus on fundamentals guides him equally through both endeavors.

After earning his bachelor’s in sociology and an MBA from Tennessee Tech, Draper worked for the Hertz Corporation for two years and then pulled up stakes to live in Central America for a time. In the process, he became fluent in Spanish, a skill that would later earn him the attention of a couple of employees at Research Electronics International, a global technical security equipment and training company based in Algood. In 2008, Draper began work for the company as a Technical Instructor in radio frequency training.

As an instructor, Draper teaches both basic and advanced courses in technical security as they relate both to free space detection – detecting cell phone signals, for instance – and component detection – securing independent devices like voice recorders. His teaching serves the needs of clients from five basic sectors: government, military, law enforcement, corporations and private investigators. In the process, Draper teaches people from all over world and travels to the four corners in order to do so; this year he’s already racked up 55,000 miles.

One specific challenge that goes along with the company’s international presence is the language barrier, but Draper’s previous exposure to Spanish has helped him face that head on. While he admits that teaching a course in technical Spanish was somewhat daunting at first, Draper believes that work without challenges wouldn’t be much fun.

The challenge that Draper has the most fun with, however, may be outside of the classroom. In addition to working for REI, Draper also volunteers as head coach for a 10- and 11-year-old girls’ soccer team. A lifelong soccer player, Draper coached a boys’ team, The Chippewas, to a state championship in 2006 and looks to continue his winning tradition by emphasizing the fundamentals with his current group.

But for Draper, soccer isn’t all fun and games. He has managed to use his seven years of coaching experience to enhance his role as an instructor, finding common ground between his two very different teaching roles.

“There’s definitely a carry-over,” he said. “My teaching methods are the same. I like to use humor, albeit bad humor sometimes, to loosen them up and get them to feel comfortable and I’ll use the same thing with my girls. But there are times when you’re serious when you train. I think it helps to develop a bond.”

Draper has used that bond to keep his team of girls, called Peace, Love, Soccer (or PLS), a competitive unit within the Upper Cumberland United Soccer Club. His approach to coaching also fits well with his other occupation: Draper uses a skills-based and technical approach to improve his players’ fundamental abilities, much like he would for a government agent trying to protect sensitive information. His hopes for the team are to coach the same group of players all the way through their high school years, a method he believes will further instill both fundamental skills and camaraderie within each participant. And he hopes to inspire the same success in his clients at REI.

“It’s a very small influence, but if I help these guys learn how to find a device, or if I help these girls learn to dribble with the outside of their foot, there’s a lot of reward in that. That’s one of the things that drives me: seeing other people succeed. That’s success for me.”

Because Draper measures his success by the success of others, he receives doses of fulfillment from both of his two careers.

“I get a lot of satisfaction out of watching the light bulb come on,” he said. “That’s whether they work for a major corporation, or some government agency, or if they’re on my 10- and 11-year-old girls’ soccer team.”

Draper likes to see the success of others so much that he also started up the Chippewa Soccer Technical Skills Camp, a weeklong instructional camp that gives kids ages 7 and up the fundamental skills they need to be successful on the field.

Regardless of Draper’s accomplishments in the technical security field or on the soccer field, he considers his most important pursuits to be on another plane.

“A lot of times the best accomplishments are the intangible things: the relationships you build with people, the friendships, how you see people improve,” he said. “Those kinds of things are really accomplishments, not medals or trophies or even scholarships. The best stuff is the intangible stuff.”

At age 31, Draper has accomplished a lot, both tangible and intangible, and while he is happy with his current responsibilities, he doesn’t ever want them to grow stale. But because of his internal drive, Draper believes he will always be motivated to improve himself and inspire success in others.

“Intrinsically, I have something that always makes me push,” he said. “Initially when I was younger, it was competition. Now it’s a success thing, but it’s not about success for recognition, but the success of getting self-satisfaction seeing people learn and making a difference in what someone does. That’s what drives me.”