Willie Smith is returning to the post of athletic director at Coupeville High School in the fall.
Smith previously held the position for five years until six years ago when he resigned because of a “major philosophical” disagreement with then Superintendent Patty Page over the “importance of the position and athletics in general,” Smith said.
Until this year, Smith coached at least one sport since arriving in Coupeville in 1994. During that span, he had stints as the head girls basketball coach, head middle school football coach, head middle school basketball coach, assistant high school football coach, and assistant and head baseball coach.
His coaching reign ended last spring when he stepped down as the head baseball coach after leading the team for 19 years.
Smith decided to resume the athletic director duties because he “felt it was time to get back (into) that arena.”
The last time he was AD, Smith noted, he was coaching two sports. This time around he will be “able to devote more time and energy to the position.”
“The position needs full-time attention, and Duane (Principal Baumann, who doubles as AD) had so many other duties he was trying to fulfill, that he just couldn’t devote the amount of energy it needed, so I offered my help.”
Through his coaching experience and his relationships with “some very good coaches and programs,” Smith said he hopes to help coaches and athletes develop programs that win games and, more importantly, are “respected and community driven.”
Coupeville’s athletic programs are in good shape, Smith said, and he will work with coaches to “make them stronger each year.”
One area in which he would like to see improvement is the school’s link with the community. The high school teams need to create “more feeder programs that get the younger kids exited about and exposed to our programs sooner.”
Coupeville has several newer coaches, and Smith hopes to be a mentor just as others were for him when he first started.
“Coaching is a tough and mostly thankless job, and I want them to feel like they have support from me as well as some strong expectations,” he said.
