You've got a gem there.
Those were the first words out of Jeff Schneider's mouth when asked about new Ohio assistant track and field coach Christi Smith. Schneider was Smith's high school coach.
In fact, the same feeling seemed to resonate with anyone who was asked about Smith.
Ohio could not have found a better person for the job
said Curtis Stitt, Smith's youth coach.
Smith was hired to the coaching staff for Ohio's indoor track and field team on Tuesday, Jan. 11.
She has many accomplishments throughout her history as a Mid-American Conference runner, including 11 MAC Championships and an NCAA championship. Even with all these running achievements, Smith said she is a coach at heart. She said that she is able to take her experiences and use them to better coach the athletes.
I remember what it felt like to be an athlete on overload Smith said. I can relate to my student-athletes just because I've come up through the system. I look back at all the workouts that my coaches ran me through and basically how I was treated what I liked and what I didn't. I try to take all the positive things and try to relate those to my athletes.
Clay Calkins, Ohio's cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field coach, said that Smith is better able to coach because of her experiences.
She has been there herself
Calkins said. She can relate to the athletes directly; that was one of the main reasons I brought her on board here. That is an experience that most coaches and most people don't ever get to experience
being a national champion
Division I
it's just a great resource for us to use as a team
and she's just done a great job.
All three of her former coaches noted that Smith was special for her encouragement of those around her, even competitors. Dennis Mitchell, Smith's coach throughout her collegiate career, said that Smith was never withdrawn when she was competing.
Something that I think a lot of people would miss about her is how enthusiastic she was about the sport and about the competitors around her
said Mitchell, track and field coach at Akron. Her personality is just like that -she is a big cheerleader -which is unique to her. She isn't always thinking about herself. Everyone who competed against her knew her as the extrovert out there; that is one of her great qualities.
Schneider, currently an assistant track and field coach at Bexley High, said the same thing was true of Smith in high school.
The great thing about her getting her coaching job is that she was always so positive with everyone
Schneider said. When you are in high school track and field
you get people with not that much athletic ability who are just out there trying
