Chris Smith, always exuding a quiet confidence. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Jack of all trades, and also a master of all of them.
In his time at Coupeville High School, Chris Smith brought professionalism, superb teaching skills, and enough energy and spirit to light up a town on his own.
Not content to just take one job and be good at that, the father of three stepped into the thick of things, bouncing from season to season, always in uniform and always on point.
When he left us in the spring, Smith was the head varsity baseball coach at CHS, as well as being in charge of both the Wolf JV boys basketball and JV volleyball programs.
While it’s understandable we’ve lost him, in person at least, with the real world pulling him away from Whidbey after the graduation of his youngest child, his memory will live on for a long time.
Over the years, I have worked with a lot of coaches, some great, a few far less so, and Smith easily lands in the top tier.
He brought an energy and excitement to everything he did which carried over to the young women and men he coached, and it genuinely seemed to inspire many of them.
“Get on the bag, son, and stop givin’ me angina!”
There were big wins, and a few tough losses — coaching will always give you both — and Smith reacted, in public at least, as if both were the same.
When his squads pulled off victories, whether by rout or hard-fought comeback, he was quick to spread the love. Both to his players, and to his fellow coaches.
It was his steady hand and calm, but fiery, nature, which centered his team, but rarely does a squad win or lose because of just one person, and Smith knew that.
He was not a screamer, but he could, and did, get his athletes bouncing off the walls when needed.
And, just as often, he was that calm voice in the wilderness, reaching out to comfort and pick someone up at their lowest.
Smith is a people person, and also very adept at reading each individual he came into contact with, and adapting his approach to fit what will work best to maximize their response.
It’s what separates a decent coach from a great one, and I firmly believe he lands in the latter category.
Hanging out with Kory Score on Senior Night.
What is also unique about Smith is his ability to coach both boys and girls sports teams, subtly shifting his approach to fit whatever the situation might be.
In each sport, he brought out the best in his players, helping some of them to soar way past their abilities, and giving others hope.
That hope came because Smith was relentless in preaching a positive mind-set.
He wasn’t rah-rah just to be rah-rah.
Confidence, in himself and in his athletes, flowed out of Smith like water, and he always had a warm word or a grin and a quick joke for everyone around him.
Passing on wisdom to Hawthorne Wolfe.
Sports teams often take on the attitudes of their coaches, which meant his squads played with passion, but also with a quiet confidence.
Several of those Wolf teams had major comebacks, pulling out wins from contests which seemed to be well out of hand in the early going.
Smith didn’t need to scream, or throw clipboards, or wing a chair across the gym, Bobby Knight-style, to get the attention of his players.
He showed his young charges respect, asked for it back, and inspired them to reach great heights in a calm, reassured manner.
And then, without fail, he always sent stats and quotes to the ink-stained wretches in the press, or stopped to talk to us, giving of his time in a way which made you believe that was what mattered most to him in the moment.
Even if he was probably dog-tired and dreaming of dinner and some quiet time.
Smith (with big assistance from their mother Charlotte) gave Coupeville three of the most-talented athletes our town has seen in recent decades — sons CJ and Hunter and daughter Scout.
But then Chris also gave us his time, his expertise, and his conviction, playing a key role in building each of the Wolf programs he helped lead.
We’ll miss him, but wish him the best as he pursues new goals off-Island.
A piece of Smith will always be here in Coupeville, however.
It will show through each time one of his athletes has a big moment, finds something inside themselves they didn’t realize they had, and achieves greatness in life.
And he will also live on through this blog, since, after this, he’ll join his children up at the top of the page under the Legends tab.
The newest member of the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, he exits the way he entered — a winner every step of the way.
