Posted: Wednesday September 30, 2009
Dave Hyde
VIEWPOINT
St. Thomas Aquinas' George Smith makes impact on and off field
On every Father's Day and Mother's Day for more than 20 years, one former player, Barry Robinson, phones his old coach to say thanks for being the parents he never really had. Another, Michael Irvin, called before each Super Bowl he played to say, "Without you, I wouldn't be here."
Tavares Gooden of the Baltimore Ravens wrote a poem to thank him, and Nate Salley, who until last week was with the Carolina Panthers, not only wrote a poem but also read it aloud at his senior banquet: "What you mean to me, words can never explain ..."
You don't have to rent Hoosiers to see a high school coach from central casting. Just wait your turn outside George Smith's office at Fort Lauderdale's St. Thomas Aquinas, if you have the time.
His team is ranked No. 1 in the country, and right now a Nebraska recruiter is outside his office, waiting. A TV film crew is out here, waiting. A former player, Twan Russell, who played with the Redskins and Dolphins, is waiting, too.
Smith? He's sitting at the same desk he's sat at for 34 years, being interviewed by a high school reporter accompanied by his mother. The kid isn't even from St. Thomas. But he was assigned a story on someone who inspires other people and he thought of Smith. He even got a first-hand account in how the coach works.
"Do you ..." the kid mumbles.
"Speak up,'' Smith barks.
The kid speaks up. His mother covers a smile. That's what everyone gets from Smith. He is so hopelessly old-fashioned players are expected to say, "Yes sir,'' and, "No sir." He walks the school halls, confronting one kid, "How's your math going?" and another, "You get Spanish figured out?"
His wife schedules dinner at 10:30 each night, because she knows the phone won't stop ringing until then. A father whose son is in trouble. A parent needing college advice. A former player. A rival coach. Sometimes, the phone calls even are about football.
Smith's teams have won five state titles in Florida and the national title last year. But he teaches important lessons, too. That's why, a few years ago, a father brought his son to Smith to see about playing football at St. Thomas.
After a few minutes, Smith asked the father to leave the room. He wanted to talk to the son alone. It was the kid he'd be working with, after all. The father might just get in the way, the way fathers often do.
So Cris Carter left the room.
"I liked him doing that,'' Carter said.
Carter's son, Duron, made the 52-mile round trip from their Boca Raton home to St. Thomas each day. He also had a quick answer when his father flirted with taking over a high school program and asked if his son would transfer there.
"No way I'm leaving here,'' said Duron, now playing at Ohio State.
