After 50 years of being around the game of baseball, playing from the age of ten through the minor leagues and then into coaching, the 60-year old grizzled veteran of the game decided it was time for something different on Thursday.
Smith was a part of five State Champion teams, his first as a player at Robersonville in 1967, followed by two back to back as an assistant at Robersonville in 1972 an '73.
His head coaching record sits at 323-187 while guiding two teams to State Championships, including 2008 with Rocky Mount.
Smith cited the pressure to repeat this year as one of his factors as he stepped down.
As a player that was around Coach Smith for four years he always had the demeanor that nothing bothered him and that he let nothing get under his skin. Maybe under those sunglasses Coach's wheels were turning more than he let on.
He was the coach that beat things into your brain, and preached that it was his way or the highway if you wanted to play for him. Players may not have always welcomed his teachings with open arms, but there was a level of respect in the coach-player relationship that Coach knew what he was talking about.
It will surely be different not to see #20 standing down at third base next season, but I am sure that the players will be glad not to be hearing Sambo barking on those early Saturday morning practices. If anyone is happy Coach Smith is hanging them up, it's Sambo, his dog.
Coach Smith was not always the easiest to get along with, but he will surely be missed next season at Gryphon Stadium. He has returned the Gryphons to prominence and manicured the playing surface at the stadium to the highest level, one of the best in North Carolina.
Good luck to the golf balls, as Coach Smith will seemingly be hitting a lot of them in the future.
Coach Smith with the senior class of 2008 after winning his 5th State Championship on May 31, 2008
(photo - Nick Phillips)
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