Kentucky’s professional organization for health and physical education teachers has recognized the LouCity & Racing Foundation’s interim executive director, George Davis IV, with the 2024 Merit Award.
Individuals honored with the annual award, given by Kentucky SHAPE, are recognized for their work in the field of health, physical education, recreation and dance. Davis, a former Louisville City FC player, will receive the award on Sunday, July 7, at KYSHAPE’s MoveThrive24 conference in Louisville.
“George’s continued support of health and physical educators across Kentucky and specifically in the Louisville area has allowed the sport of soccer to become more embedded in standards-based PE programs in numerous schools,” said MeMe Ratliff, the president of the KYSHAPE board of directors. “Through his collaborative efforts, countless K-12 students have been able to experience soccer in meaningful ways. In addition to trainings offered to educators through the foundation, George has partnered with KYSHAPE to create group outings for educators to experience LouCity and Racing games to celebrate the health and PE community.”
“We are humbled by the recognition for our efforts to support the teachers and students of Kentucky,” Davis said. “Our intention on collaboration and building strong relationships has been highlighted through our work with educators. The youth of our communities deserve exposure to opportunity, and we will continue to play a small part in the bigger picture. Personally, it is very rewarding to see the impact, and I hope to build on these efforts to support the KYSHAPE community.”
Davis, 36, played six seasons with LouCity, playing a key role in the club’s back-to-back USL Championship-winning campaigns. After his retirement from soccer, Davis started as the program director for the LouCity & Racing Foundation, which was founded in 2021 as the charitable arm of Soccer Holdings, LLC, the parent company of LouCity and Racing Louisville FC. This year, Davis moved into the interim executive director role.
In his role with the foundation, Davis works to make soccer accessible to communities across the greater Louisville region through clinics, community outreach and scholarships to the LouCity & Racing Academy. Ratliff said Davis’s efforts “created multiple opportunities for educators to engage with the sport of soccer and strengthen their instructional practices.”
KYSHAPE is the commonwealth’s affiliate of SHAPE America, which is the nation’s largest membership organization of health and physical education professionals. The organization, which started in 1885, is behind the National Physical Education Standards and National Health Education Standards that serve as the framework for school curriculums across the country.
