Coupeville Sports

Willie Smith, still smiling while doing 10,001 things at the same time. (Helen Strelow photo)

Randy Sweeney has seen them come and go.

Over the past two decades-plus, as a coach and athletic director at Concrete High School, he’s competed against, and worked with, an endless list of men and women who share his love for helping shape the future of young student/athletes.

One of the best of those, he said in a recent chat, is his counterpart in Coupeville, Willie Smith.

“He has a great dedication to his position and loves being involved at every level,” Sweeney said. “Willie always puts his kids first, and that’s what makes him successful.”

The duo faced off during baseball and football games starting in the late ’90s, after Smith arrived in Coupeville from Sequim, and the relationship has grown from there.

Friendly, though deeply committed rivals, they’ve carried a healthy respect for each other as Concrete and Coupeville have shared the same league, parted ways, then reunited.

Now, with possible budget cuts looming, including a proposal to strip Smith of his AD duties, handing them off to an assistant principal whose own job will be cut by 16 days, Sweeney is one of many to call shenanigans.

“Most people have no idea of what we really do as AD’s,” he said. “Of the amount of time we all put in, year-round, always being available from early morning until late evening to deal with any issues which come up.

“It’s the scheduling, the travel, running events, dealing with officials, crowd control — the extent of what we do for a relatively small amount of money at most schools would surprise people.”

Having someone like Smith, who mixes a calm personality and extensive knowledge with decades of working smoothly with their peers, is invaluable.

“Willie is a huge benefit to Coupeville, but also a huge benefit to the Northwest League,” Sweeney said.

“He is always prepared, pays attention to the needs of other schools as well as his own, and is willing to work to benefit everyone.”

While most high school AD’s in Washington state juggle other responsibilities, whether it’s teaching PE like Smith or being a school groundskeeper like Sweeney, athletics drive their day.

Asking someone to jump into that on a limited basis isn’t the way to go, said Concrete’s main man.

“I’ve seen it tried many times, in many ways, and things fall by the wayside,” Sweeney said.

“It’s nobody’s fault, you can have good people working hard, but you need someone from this world who is deeply committed to make things work.

“You have to look at the relatively small amount of money which would be saved, against what Willie brings to Coupeville. Which I think is a lot.”