Coach Smith is among the most beloved teachers on the Cesar Chavez campus, most known for his coaching in Varsity football. In this Q & A we dive in and take a look beyond to learn more about the person, behind the teacher!

Q: What is the accomplishment you are most proud of?

A: I think my most proud accomplishment is buying my house. That’s something I’ve always wanted to do and I finally accomplished it.

Q: What is something your students would be most surprised to know?

A: That I’m a huge geek. I like all sorts of like corny games and like strategy stuff and I just happen to get the stereotype of like sports but uh computer games is up my alley. My favorite game is Civilization which a lot of people won’t know.

Q: What do most students not understand about teachers?

A: That we’re real people. A lot of them think our life is all school and that we wanted to be a teacher or be around kids 24/7. Sometimes you guys are annoying and we want a break ’cause we put on this facade that “oh no we love it, it’s great, even when you guys are being jerks.” So I think that’s somethings that most kids don’t understand, that we go to the store, do things for fun, go to the club and dance.

Q: How has traveling affected your life? And what is the best dish you’ve had on your travels?

A: I guess just being happy, it’s like a zen. Whenever you get to see new people, try new things, experience different cultures. I find it very invigorating. I don’t even know what my best dish was because I can’t pronounce it, but it was basically a Chinese burrito and I don’t even know what was in it, but it was bomb.

Q: What are three words that describe you?

A: Impeccable, trustworthy, and loyalty.

Q: Why did you want to become a teacher?

A: I didn’t wanna become a teacher, I kind of just fell into it when I became a football coach here. Applied for the job, somehow got it, then didn’t plan to continue after my first year but fell in love with it and liked teaching kids. Something’s wrong with me.

Q: How do you think your coaching has impacted athletes lives?

A: I think one of the biggest things I do for athletes is kind of teach them to create goals for themselves. I think sports does that for a lot of athletes, it teaches them how to push themselves and get what they want out of life.

Q: What’s one of the biggest pieces of advice that has changed your life?

A: I think one of the biggest pieces of advice is that there’s two types of people in the world, problem finders and problem solvers, you’re gonna always have issues throughout your life no matter how old you are. You’re either gonna see this is what’s wrong and make an excuse and can’t do it, or you’re gonna see a solution and do it no matter how hard it is and I think that’s something that I kind of live by.