Swagbucks Chief Executive Chuck Davis, an avid soccer fan, enjoyed this summer’s World Cup in person by heading down to Brazil to catch some games.

“I’m seeing Brazil play Cameroon and I’m seeing England play Costa Rica,” Davis said before leaving on his trip. “That’s a real treat for me.”

A youth soccer coach in Pacific Palisades and Brentwood for 10 years, Davis, 53, still referees some American Youth Soccer Organization games on weekends. Between 1996 and 2006, he coached about 600 games.

However, his first season coaching an all-star team in 1999 didn’t quite go as planned – his squad of under-10-year-olds won only five of 53 matches.

“It was probably one of the worst teams in California history,” Davis laughed. “But we were having fun, so we kept playing.”

Luckily, the team’s never-say-die attitude paid off. A lot of the players stuck it out and the next year they won 53 games out of 64. Seven of those kids even went on to play soccer in college.

“We found a way to manage through adversity and get to the top,” he said.

Playing Through

Speaking of youth sports, Bruce Beck, 60, has coached high school athletics for 22 years.

It was a natural side job for the founder of Westlake Village public relations firm DB&R Marketing Communications Inc.

In 1972, he was drafted to play baseball professionally for the Kansas City Royals. But when he injured his pitching shoulder soon thereafter, he opted to attend Pepperdine University.

Beck started his extracurricular career by coaching baseball for seven years, including several successful seasons as head coach at Agoura High School. Then, 14 years ago, he took up coaching golf at Oak Park High School when his son, Brandon, was on the team. In the time he was there, the boys team advanced to southern section regionals every year and the finals twice.

This year, with that legacy in place, he decided to retire. But before he left, he took home a state title – for coaching. Beck traveled to Sacramento earlier this month to receive an award from the California Coach’s Association. There, he was named boys golf coach of the year.

“To be singled out as the No. 1 coach in all of California in my sport, I was very proud,” he said.

Staff reporters Omar Shamout and Bethany Firnhaber contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].