6 minute read
Steve Smith Heads West (brook Christian) in 2023
I felt like Piedmont was the best job in the state and it had to be a perfect situation to leave. I feel like Piedmont is the best public school system in the state and that Westbrook is the best private school in the state.
Throughout American history there has been a fascination with the American West. Most of the early decades, if not a century and a half, of this country saw folks in the East journey westward to find new opportunities, adventure, and discovery. Even as late as the 20th century, Americans flocked to the Western states for a new, fresh start. There has always just been something about heading west. In the realm of high school football in East Alabama there was a short, but major move west in the off-season. Not a move of thousands of miles, but just a relatively short 30 miles or so geographically. That move involves a legendary coach doing as so many have done over time and moving west to kickstart a new challenge.
No prep football fan in this state needs an introduction to Steve Smith. Entering his 29th year as a head coach, Smith’s teams have won 78% of their games with a record of 283-81, 5 state titles, 16 area/region titles, have garnered 27 state playoff berths, and posted 20 seasons with 10 wins or more. The accolades and awards go on and on. Suffice it to say he is one of the most successful coaches in state history and will one day be in at least 3 Halls of Fame, maybe more. This story though is not about the past success at Cedar Bluff and Piedmont. This is about the aforementioned move west, to Westbrook Christian School in fact.
Friday, January 13th will be remembered by local football fans for years to come. That is the day Coach Smith announced his retirement from Piedmont High School and his move to become the new Head Football Coach at Westbrook Christian in Rainbow City. Though a surprise to many, Smith saw many positives in coming westward to WCS. “I thought for a longtime that Westbrook Christian was a gold mine, that it had great potential. There is great support from the administration, great kids and staff, the W Club is bought in. There is unlimited potential. I was never looking to move to Mobile, Tuscaloosa, or anywhere across the state. I felt like Piedmont was the best job in the state and it had to be a perfect situation to leave. I feel like Piedmont is the best public school system in the state and that Westbrook is the best private school in the state,” says Smith.
The recently built, current, and future facilities are a big drawing card to Westbrook. Turf was installed last year at Jack Osborn Stadium, and a video screen scoreboard is in the works for the future. This season the Warriors will move into a new football facility that will be second to none in the state. In a recent tour of the construction, Smith pointed out the amenities to High School Football Alabama. The new 11,400 square foot building will feature a 4,000 square foot weight room with 20 new racks, a state-of-the art training room, a nutrition room with grab and go snacks, warm and cold food, and recovery drinks for the players after practice. The facility will also have a dressing room with lockers that each have personal combination storage spaces and charging stations for personal devices. There will be meeting rooms for the offense and defense, spacious coaches’ offices, and a 95-seat film room with chairback theatre seating. The campus also has a new junior high/visitor locker room, a new multi-purpose addition that can be used for football practice during inclement weather, and more paved parking around the stadium.
When asked about the transition to a new school and program for the first time in 17 years Coach Smith replied, “The transition has been good. The summer was outstanding. Everybody has bought in and the cupboard is not bare. Coach Noles (Drew, previous WCS Head Coach) did a great job and is a great man. I am excited for the season. We have some talent. The continuity is not there yet, so that is the biggest adjustmentstarting at square one and getting everybody together on the same page.”
There are some goals that Smith likes to have in place that he believes are important in building a program, and make no mistake Steve Smith believes in building a program. “I am not a team builder, but a program builder. To do that you have to get all athletes in workouts, strength and speed training, get everybody in school and summer training programs. We have to get everybody bought in on the strength and conditioning program.”
Another major component of a Steve Smith program is the youth. Smith states, “We have to get involved in the youth teams-the elementary and middle school kids. We have to get them to where they all want to be Westbrook Warriors. 75% of our players at Piedmont had been managers for me.” Smith also believes continuity and consistency are big keys to success of the program, “Consistency has been a word we have used all summer. That is what we will be looking for in the next year. It has been a pleasant surprise just how invested the people here are in the school. It has a real community, family type feel to it. We expect to be successful. I won’t make any predictions on when it might happen, but I feel like this can be a marquee program.”
For this story, only one question was asked of Coach Smith concerning Piedmont. That was about October 6th when Westbrook plays Piedmont at the Field of Champions and Smith returns to the stadium where he created so many treasured moments and victories. Smith answered, “There will be a series of emotions that day because of how Piedmont has been so special to me and my family. We were blessed to be there for 17 years. There are very strong emotions to that school and those folks. I am thankful for how the Piedmont people treated me. I am indebted to the players, coaches, administrators, and boosters at Piedmont, but on that night I will be 100% committed to the guys in black and red.”
Many of the folks who headed west in America’s history did so in search of gold. Steve Smith believes his shorter destination to Rainbow City, Alabama and Westbrook Christian School could yield a similar, but different type of gold mine. Just as many trips west are exciting and adventurous, this ride to the West (brook) promises to be just as fun! ►
