Spartan coach beloved on all sides

June 28, 2016 at 12:05a.m.

Family came before football

BOARDMAN

High school football coaching can be ruthless, especially when someone leaves one team to join a rival’s staff.

Such was not the case with those who knew Garry Smith, a Boardman High School teacher for 38 years who was a longtime assistant coach for the Spartans’ football team before joining Don Bucci’s staff at Cardinal Mooney High School for four seasons.

Friday, Smith, 68, died after a two-month illness. A social studies teacher, he also coached baseball and softball for the Spartans. Most recently, Smith was an assistant for three seasons at Western Reserve High School.

“He was wonderful, really helped us with little things,” Western Reserve head football coach Andy Hake said Monday. “He had a lot of experience and was a real positive guy.”

Smith transcended a Steel Valley Conference scenario that’s almost hard to imagine. In 1988, Smith had been an assistant football coach for 20 seasons and was Gene Pushic’s defensive coordinator.

But family came first. Although the Spartans and Cardinals were fierce Steel Valley Conference rivals, nobody had much of a problem with Smith’s change of allegiance.

“Two reasons,” said Jack Hay, who, like Smith, was a longtime Boardman teacher and coach before retiring. “First, everybody liked Smitty.

“And everyone knew the main reason [for the switch] was because his sons [Brent and Jason] were about to go to Mooney.”

At that time, Smith lived in Youngstown. Hay said Mooney was the family’s choice after the boys attended St. Dominic School.

Don Bucci, now Mooney’s athletic director, said Smith “did a great job for us coaching tight ends.

“He was outstanding — we hated to see him leave but we knew sooner or later he would return to Boardman.”

After four seasons with the Cardinals, Smith resumed his coaching career at Boardman, first with the softball team and eventually football.

When Dan Pallante stepped down after the 1996 season, Hay was to be the successor. But Hay had second thoughts, Six weeks later, Smith was named Spartans head coach, a position he held through the 2003 season.

His teams compiled a 42-31 record, made the playoffs twice and shared the SVC crown three times.

Smith grew up in Youngstown and graduated from Rayen School in 1965. He then played football at Youngstown State University for coach Dike Beede where he was a three-year starter at guard.

In 1969, Smith was hired to teach at Boardman. His subjects included economics, psychology, sociology, honors American history and geography.

Football wasn’t his only sport. He played Class B baseball in the summers.

“Smitty had been real good baseball player,” said Hay who coached with Smith for many seasons.

Hay said what he most remembers is how much fun they had.

“We laughed, always got along,” Hay said. “We talked about everything other than coaching.”

What most impressed Bucci was Smith’s consistency.

“He was so detailed, I couldn’t believe it,” Bucci said. “He was so punctual.”

Bucci said he can remember Smith missing only one practice.

“He came to me one day and asked to be excused for the next practice,” Bucci said. Asked why, Smith told him that he and his wife, Audrey, were going to the Cleveland airport to meet Sarah, the daughter they were about to adopt.

“They decided they wanted another child,” Hay said, calling it an example of the family’s “selfless love.

“They have loved Sarah [so much],” Hay said.

In 2012, Sarah played a role in her father’s final coaching stint. She was teaching at Western Reserve when principal Doug McGlynn saw Smith visiting and asked him if he might be interested in helping fill an opening on Hake’s football staff.

“The kids loved him,” Hake said. “It was an honor to have him around. I wish I could have coached under him.”

Calling hours are today from 4-8 p.m. at the Good Hope Lutheran Church and the funeral will be there on Wednesday at 11 a.m. Hay will deliver a eulogy.

“He’s too young to be gone,” Hay said. “He created a lot of great memories.”