Before the sun rises over Boyle Heights, the Davila-Tapia family is already in motion. An alarm rings. Snacks are packed. Keys jingle as Anthony Davila and Vanessa Tapia rush four kids out the door for the morning routine.
By day, Davila, 42, is a maintenance technician and Tapia, 36, an administrative assistant. At night, they shift into another role: supporting the Boyle Heights Wolfpack football program — he as the head coach of the Jr. Pee Wee team and she as the team’s athletic director.
Their two older sons also play for the Boyle Heights Wolfpack, so the family’s evenings mirror their mornings. After work, they swap clothes for Wolfpack gear and have only about an hour to get their sons to football practice.
This routine isn’t just their life; it’s their heartbeat — a rhythm tied to commitment, community and legacy.
A family fueled by football and community
“I do it because I love the sport, but most importantly, I love the kids of this community,” Davila said. “I know that I am shaping kids’ lives. I’m helping them to stay out of the streets and stay focused.”
The Boyle Heights Wolfpack itself has deep roots. Founded in 1988, the program has long offered a home for children ages five to 14 years old. It has since become a rite of passage for many in Boyle Heights who compete here and go on to play in the East LA Classic.
“Trust me when I say the Wolfpack is a tight-knit community. Everybody cares for each other,” said Davila.
Davila knows this firsthand. He played for the Wolfpack in 1996 and 1997, long before he became a coach or a father. He said his coaches were a big influence in his life.
“The coaches were there for me. They were father figures, and I just had to give back in that way,” he said. “Now that I have multiple children in the program, it just inspires me even more.”
In 2006, Davila became a coach for the Wolfpack. It’s there that he met his fiancée, Vanessa. She had just moved to Boyle Heights from Baldwin Park and often took her younger cousin to flag football practice, where Davila was the coach. Three years later, they became a couple and are now a major part of their community, helping mold future leaders.
A championship decades in the making
Over the weekend, that hard work paid off. The Wolfpack won its first-ever championship in the program’s 37-year history.
On Saturday, the Jr. Pee Wee team defeated the Glendora Tartans, 13–12, in the San Gabriel Valley Junior All-American Football Conference championship game at La Puente High School. It marked the Wolfpack’s seventh time appearing in a title game, after having lost the previous six.
“It was five years in the making,” said Davila. He and Tapia have led the same group of kids since they were five or six years old. Now, as 11-year-olds, they’re champions.
Coaching the next generation
One of them is Davila’s and Tapia’s son, Aiden, a running back and linebacker who understands what it’s like to wear the Wolfpack colors. He grew up hearing stories about his dad’s time in the Wolfpack, about playing in the East LA Classic as a Roosevelt High School Rough Rider and about the love the community has for its players.
Aiden said that despite being the head coach’s son, he loves how much he gets to bond with his parents. “Our relationship gets stronger on the field,” said Aiden.
Five other coaches on the staff also have their own sons on the roster, making this victory as much a family achievement as a team one.
And the next generation is yet to come. Tapia said once her daughter is five, she’ll be putting her on the Wolfpack’s cheer team. Until then, she cheers in the stands alongside her brothers.
“It feels amazing to be a part of this community,” said Tapia. “I feel like Anthony has been involved for so long that it inspired me.”
For Davila, there’s no separating the sport from the place that raised him.
“I love Boyle Heights. It’s something special to me,” he said. “I don’t say I live in East LA Every time people ask me, I say Boyle Heights.”
