6 minute read
Trinity, Saks, Jacksonville…White Plains. Can Clint Smith and Staff Do it Again in Calhoun County?
In the first two years of 8 man football at Oxford’s Trinity Christian Academy the Tigers won 2 games, then Clint Smith and staff arrived. Over the next 3 seasons Trinity won 19 games including a10-1 season and a state championship in 2000. At the beginning of the 2005 season Saks High School had suffered through 9 consecutive years of losing records, then Clint Smith and staff arrived. In the next 7 years the Wildcats posted winning records and made state playoff appearances 4 times, including 2 trips to the second round of the Class 4A playoffs. Heading into the 2012 football season Jacksonville High School had posted losing records in 10 of the 12 previous seasons and had employed 3 head coaches, then Clint Smith and staff arrived. The Golden Eagles did not have a losing record again for the next 13 years, including 12 state playoff berths and an appearance in the 2019 Class 4A State Championship Game. Jacksonville won 8 or more games 8 times and Smith became the first JHS coach to end his tenure with a winning record in 52 years.
Now in 2025 Clint Smith and staff move again to another Calhoun County school and football program, this time at White Plains High School. The Wildcats have not had a winning season in 21 years and have not made a playoff appearance since 1994. That playoff berth 31 years ago is the only playoff berth in school history and White Plains has never won a playoff game. On paper this appears to be the biggest challenge for Coach Smith and staff yet, and would appear to be one of the most challenging football jobs in the state. During the Summer I sat down with Smith in his office during an evening thunderstorm and dove into finding the answer of “Can it be done again at White Plains?”.
The answer all begins with the aforementioned staff. Four of Smith’s staff are coming with him from Jacksonville including Josh Blythe who has coached with Smith for 4 years and Darren Mitchell who has been with Smith for 5 years. Two very important keys to the staff have been with Coach Smith for almost the entirety of his coaching career and are also moving with him to White Plains. Defensive Coordinator
Marcus Albright has been at Smith’s side for 19 years and Offensive Coordinator Jamison Edwards has been with Smith for 20 years.
Smith says the coaching staff is the first key to turning a program around, “The only way it will work is to bring almost an entire staff with me. It creates consistency and brings the same messaging. And it is not just a staff, but a staff you trust, know and enjoy being around, and that are loyal to you.” He says of longtime coordinators Albright and Edwards, “We have basically grown up together and are very familiar with each other. We have spent our whole adult lives together. I was 25 years old when I came to Saks and then took 5 coaches with me from Saks to Jacksonville.”
Another big answer to building a winning program according to Smith is consistency. “The biggest thing that has to happen at White Plains to turn things around is we have to have kids come out for football in 7th grade and stay in the program all 6 years to create that consistency. For that to happen they have to know you will be here. They have had 3 coaches in 3 years. I am not that guy that bounces around. I like to put down roots and dig into the school and community,” says Coach Smith.
Smith continued, “I spent 7 years at Saks and 13 at Jacksonville. I have lived in Calhoun County since 1997 and I have lived my entire life in Calhoun and Clay Counties. I married a Saks girl (wife Ashley) who taught at White Plains for 17 years and I did my student teaching here under Mike Altman. This place is like home. I have had opportunities and turned down bigger jobs because being close to family and being at home is important.”
Smith employs what he calls the 3 Rs in building a program. Those 3 Rs are building relationships, building respect, and building reputation. Coach Smith particularly emphasizes the importance of relationships in building and maintaining a successful program, “Relationships are important in building a staff and a team. If you have good relationships the kids will do whatever you want. I try to go to games in the other sports the players participate in because I care about them, not just as football players. Championships are nice and wins are great, but being with kids every day is what it is all about.” Coach Smith also says, “Football has changed, so we have had to evolve. Kids play because it is fun and we have to help the kids enjoy playing. Part of that is one thing we always try to do as a staff is value the players’ time. We want to run a great high school program, but a lot of coaches today try to run a high school program like a college program.”
Coach Smith states they will do a lot of the things they did the first year at Saks and Jacksonville, “It is the same exact situation we had at both places. All 3 schools are similar as to where they were when I got there. We are trying to get numbers up, create excitement, have a vision of where we are going, and build those relationships.” That vision includes belief. Smith proclaims, “It is humbling when the kids buy in and do everything you have asked them to do. I enjoy watching a group of young people do something that they didn’t initially believe they could do.”
Smith and staff realize the challenge that is ahead, but are ready to tackle it head-on, “I was told that Saks was a coaches’ graveyard. I was told that Jacksonville would never win. They are saying the same things now about White Plains. One thing that is gratifying is starting and finishing the job at each place we have been.” There seems to be quiet confidence that a turnaround can happen at White Plains, though Coach Smith would not put a time table on it. Indeed, the most asked question in prep football circles around East Alabama this year has been “Can Clint Smith and his staff do it again, this time at White Plains?”. If past results are a reliable predictor of future performance, the answer could be a very interesting and historical story about to be written again in the annals of Calhoun County football. ◆
