Young resigns as Davenport football coach

Drew Lawson, The Record-Times | Last updated Oct 13, 2022 5:16pm0

Drew Lawson | The Record-Times count

Justin Young (third from left) guides players through warm-up drills during an Aug. 2021 practice. Young resigned as head football coach last week.

DAVENPORT-Varsity football players here received a shock last week when head football coach Justin Young told the team he was resigning his post as his 12th year at the helm wound down. Young informed the team and district of his decision Monday, Oct. 3 and his resignation was approved by the school board Monday, Oct. 10.

Young said his sudden resignation was a family-first decision for him.

"I decided I needed to step down because it's best for me and my family at the moment," Young said. "I felt I needed to step away. There have been a lot of sleepless nights recently, and some physically and mentally exhausting things...I know it looks kind of odd resigning in the middle of a season with a winning record, but myself and my family come first."

He said his decision was his alone, not one he felt pressured to make by the district, team or community.

"I wasn't forced out," Young said. "I wasn't asked to leave."

Superintendent Chad Prewitt and athletic director Tim Rasmussen corroborated this statement.

"Justin never treated anybody poorly...he's tremendous. I don't have any concerns," Prewitt said. "There's no 'skeletons in the closet' kind of deal...I think the world of him."

Rasmussen added there was no investigation or pressure from the district informing Young's decision.

Young was in the middle of his 12th season as head coach. He was named NE2B Coach of the Year four times, made the state playoffs five times and had an overall winning record.

He said players were shocked at his decision and felt a lot of mixed emotions.

"We had a big team hug after film. It was emotional," Young said. "They understood and took it pretty well. Last thing I wanted was to be a distraction and didn't want them to think I quit on them. They all understood family comes first for me."

Young will continue teaching elementary P.E. at the school.

In the meantime, Rasmussen will step in to help assistant coaches Trenton Briney, Eric Orvis and Mike Jacoby finish the rest of the season before a search begins to find Young's replacement.

"Our job's to rally and do what's best for the kids," Rasmussen said.

Like most, Briney said Young's departure was surprising to the team, but said it has helped that most of the players have played sports together for many years.

"It's presented challenges in terms of learning new stuff," Briney said. "But they've really leaned on each other."

Young steps away with three games left in the regular season. The Gorillas are currently 2-2 in league and 3-2 overall with Senior Night against Colfax looming this Friday at 7 p.m.