Published Wednesday December 24, 2008 in USA Today
USA TODAY
2008 National Coach of Year Award
George Smith
St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Fort Lauderdale)
Age: 60
Family: Wife, Carole (38 years); daughter, Mandy; son-in-law, Roger; granddaughters Kira and Kylie.
Career Highlights: Five state championships, 333-65 record, including 62-19 in the playoffs in 32 seasons at Aquinas. “It’s not me. It’s everybody. It’s our players, our school, our coaches.”
What will he remember about this year’s team: “Just like I remember a lot of our teams. They bought into what we’re doing. The crucial thing is this season was going to Ohio. We didn’t have many fans, and they (the players) had to take care of themselves.”
Coaching philosophy: “We’ve always wanted our kids to do the right thing, be responsible and be respectful – the three Rs. On the field, the players are coached to play as hard as they can and take care of each other.”
Coaching influences: “Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler and Don Shula. Those guys were all genuine, and I had a chance to meet them, and I had guys play for Bo, I went to Woody’s clinics as a young guy and Don Shula’s grand kids played for me.”
Why has he coached so long: “The guys keep you young. We’ve been fortunate to have great kids, great human beings.”
On winning the Power of Influence Award from the American Football Coaches Association: “I’m humbled. Of all the great coaches in the country who have done great jobs, how can anybody be singled out? Taking care of kids, that’s what it’s all about.”
© 2008 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
Published Thursday December 25, 2008 in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Smith wins National Coach of Year Award
By Dave Brousseau, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Here's one for St. Thomas Aquinas football coach George Smith.
On Wednesday, Smith was named the National High School Football Coach of the Year by USA Today.
"Whenever you get an honor that singles out a coach, it's really about the staff and not the coach," Smith said. "It's all about the assistants and the players that bought into the what the coaching staff taught them. I congratulate them."
Smith completed his 32nd season at St. Thomas. In that span, he's won five state championships, complied a 333-65 career record, including a 62-19 record in the playoffs. The Raiders were named consensus national champions on Monday.
St. Thomas finished 15-0 following a 56-7 victory over Lakeland for its second consecutive Class 5A state championship last Friday. The Raiders convincing victory was an indication of how good a football team they were this season. Their back-to-back football championships were the first for the school and first in Broward County history.
The Raiders have won 24 consecutive games and outscored opponents 695-117, and just three teams were able to score more than 10 points against them.
Copyright © 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
