Former SMU AC Scott Smith
Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 8:58 amfrom the DMN
ROCKWALL – Some might think a coach would be anxious about taking on a football program that won seven games the last three seasons.
But Rockwall coach Scott Smith, who opened two-a-day practices 6:30 a.m. Monday, says finding a way to improve is the part he enjoys most.
"If everything in life was already done," Smith said, "then why play the game?"
Smith will lead a program that hasn't made the playoffs since 1994 and never has in Class 5A. Rockwall competes in District 12-5A with powers from Mesquite and East Texas, including Class 5A Division I champ Tyler Lee.
Smith said Rockwall will have its own definition for success, which includes improving every day and working hard.
"To me, if you're doing that, you're winning, and nobody knows it better than yourself," he said
Though Smith spent the last two seasons at fabled Odessa Permian, where his teams went 10-10 and didn't make the playoffs, he is hardly a stranger to the Dallas area.
He starred at Highland Park and Baylor and coached at both. He led Duncanville, Garland and Highland Park to the playoffs. He was an assistant coach at North Texas and Arkansas. He was an assistant at SMU in 1989 when the school pulled off the "Miracle on Mockingbird," a last-second, 31-30 win over Connecticut.
At Rockwall, Smith is implementing a multiple offense, which will open things up for more passing, and a 3-4 defense.
Tommy Hudspeth, Smith's father-in-law and a Texas High School Coaches Association hall-of-fame coach, is his athletic clerk. Smith's younger son, Braden, a sophomore, is playing quarterback for the Rockwall junior varsity. Smith coached his older son, Shea, who is at the Air Force Academy.
Senior quarterback Zack Eskridge, who led Rockwall's 7-on-7 team to its first state tournament this summer, said Smith called him a couple of times a week over the summer, just to check in.
"He wants to know what I saw, so he'll understand," Eskridge said. "It's almost like sharing the same brain.
"He's trying to share his knowledge with me."
Smith comes to Rockwall in the midst of sweeping change. The school also has new coaches in boys basketball, baseball, boys soccer and girls track.
Even bigger, Rockwall-Heath, the growing town's second high school, is opening. Heath will compete at the sub-varsity level this season. Changes are evident at Wilkerson-Sanders Stadium, where artificial turf has been installed to replace grass to withstand the wear-and-tear of two schools. The Rockwall-orange trim is now painted a neutral brown, and "The Home of the Yellowjackets" lettering has been removed.
It's still Rockwall, it's just different. And Smith is bringing his approach to it.
"When it comes down to it, you want to win the game," he said. "But you're missing the boat if you don't see the small victories along the way."
ROCKWALL – Some might think a coach would be anxious about taking on a football program that won seven games the last three seasons.
But Rockwall coach Scott Smith, who opened two-a-day practices 6:30 a.m. Monday, says finding a way to improve is the part he enjoys most.
"If everything in life was already done," Smith said, "then why play the game?"
Smith will lead a program that hasn't made the playoffs since 1994 and never has in Class 5A. Rockwall competes in District 12-5A with powers from Mesquite and East Texas, including Class 5A Division I champ Tyler Lee.
Smith said Rockwall will have its own definition for success, which includes improving every day and working hard.
"To me, if you're doing that, you're winning, and nobody knows it better than yourself," he said
Though Smith spent the last two seasons at fabled Odessa Permian, where his teams went 10-10 and didn't make the playoffs, he is hardly a stranger to the Dallas area.
He starred at Highland Park and Baylor and coached at both. He led Duncanville, Garland and Highland Park to the playoffs. He was an assistant coach at North Texas and Arkansas. He was an assistant at SMU in 1989 when the school pulled off the "Miracle on Mockingbird," a last-second, 31-30 win over Connecticut.
At Rockwall, Smith is implementing a multiple offense, which will open things up for more passing, and a 3-4 defense.
Tommy Hudspeth, Smith's father-in-law and a Texas High School Coaches Association hall-of-fame coach, is his athletic clerk. Smith's younger son, Braden, a sophomore, is playing quarterback for the Rockwall junior varsity. Smith coached his older son, Shea, who is at the Air Force Academy.
Senior quarterback Zack Eskridge, who led Rockwall's 7-on-7 team to its first state tournament this summer, said Smith called him a couple of times a week over the summer, just to check in.
"He wants to know what I saw, so he'll understand," Eskridge said. "It's almost like sharing the same brain.
"He's trying to share his knowledge with me."
Smith comes to Rockwall in the midst of sweeping change. The school also has new coaches in boys basketball, baseball, boys soccer and girls track.
Even bigger, Rockwall-Heath, the growing town's second high school, is opening. Heath will compete at the sub-varsity level this season. Changes are evident at Wilkerson-Sanders Stadium, where artificial turf has been installed to replace grass to withstand the wear-and-tear of two schools. The Rockwall-orange trim is now painted a neutral brown, and "The Home of the Yellowjackets" lettering has been removed.
It's still Rockwall, it's just different. And Smith is bringing his approach to it.
"When it comes down to it, you want to win the game," he said. "But you're missing the boat if you don't see the small victories along the way."