Smith wraps up first year at helm

By ROB NUNLEY / Sports Editor for the Southern Standard

WCHS head coach Ryan Smith follows the action during his team?s district tournament game against Oakland. (Rob Nunley photo)

His first year as a high school head coach may not have gone as well as he would have liked, but along the way Pioneer coach Ryan Smith said he learned many things, and never lost his sense of pride in his players.

Reflecting on his first season as a coach at his alma mater during this week?s District 7-AAA tournament, Smith said that when coming in to the job he had a realistic idea of what would be required of him.

?I knew what to expect,? he said. ?You hang around Bobby Luna long enough, and you?ll see the kind of time it takes to do things right. Plus with my dad being a coach, and being around sports all my life, I knew the dedication it took.

?But I still learned a lot. I learned a lot from our kids, and from other coaches, and hopefully those are some things we can apply next year, and put some more notches in the win column.?

After a red-hot start to the 2005-2006 campaign, which saw the Pioneers win five of their first six games, times got tough for Smith and his players, as they won just two more contests and finished with a 7-23 record ? including Tuesday?s loss to Oakland in the first round of the league tournament.

But throughout the successes ? and struggles, Smith said his players never faltered in giving their best effort to the program.

?For these seniors, I was their third coach in four years. And that?s not just three coaches, it?s three different systems to have to learn. That takes a toll on a kid.

?It?s tough, but I thought the seniors did a great job of giving their best effort. And once we got down to the guys who really wanted to be here, effort was never a question.?

As for the off-season, Smith said there will be very little ?off? time for himself, or his players. Conditioning in the weight room is scheduled to begin next week, as well as working on players? skills on the hardwood to help prepare them for AAU competition during the spring and summer, as well as getting a jump on the next varsity season.

?As a program, that?s one thing we?ll have to have ? strong fundamentals,? Smith said. ?In time, by working with the middle school teams, we hope to begin teaching those skills on that level, and then refining them when players reach this level.

?But that?s the one main thing we want to work on this off-season, which will hopefully translate into more wins when we get back on the floor next year.?