Davila hired at Costa Mesa

Costa Mesa High has hired Tamiko Davila as its girls’ soccer coach, the school announced Wednesday.

Davila will be a walk-on coach. The Costa Mesa resident is no stranger to local soccer, as he is the director of soccer for the Newport Mesa Soccer Club.

At Costa Mesa he will take over for Dan Johnston, who resigned in March after 20 seasons, citing health issues.

“I’m real excited,” said Davila, 34. “It’s the first time that I’ll be the high school coach of the community that I live in. There’s a real sense of community and personal pride. I want to do a good job. My plan is to be at Costa Mesa long-term and to create a program where my daughter would be proud to be a part of it.”

Davila’s daughter is a second-grader at Woodland Elementary.

Davila holds an “A” coaching license in the United States Soccer Federation. The former Costa Rica Youth National Team coach, Davila has coached in California’s Olympic Development Program and is the former director of coaching at Orange Junior Soccer Club. While there, he helped build a team that was ranked No. 1 in California and took the club to a top-10 ranking in the state.

Costa Mesa finished 6-8-8, 4-3-3 in league last year. The Mustangs were fourth in the Orange Coast League and missed the playoffs for the third straight year.

Davila said he feels his experience at Newport Mesa Soccer Club will be beneficial for Costa Mesa.

“I get the opportunity to see players at a really young age,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of talent coming through the ranks ... My goal is to truly create a program, all the way from seventh grade on up to the varsity level. I get players for six years [with Costa Mesa Middle School], as opposed to four. I truly want to be one program, not just teams that are all playing different ways or being taught different things.”

matthew.szabo@latimes.com

Twitter: @mjszabo