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Larry Joe Smith, a 1977 graduate of
McKenzie High School, has coached boys and girls
basketball, baseball, and boys and girls golf at his
alma mater. He is currently head basketball coach and
recently took the boys golf team to state competition. |
There are many doors that have brought great people to
McKenzie. More than a few new graduates have passed through
the doors of Bethel College to put down roots in the
community they'd come to love. Some arrived with industry
and proved themselves leaders at more than just the
boardroom.
Among other doorways leading into town, there are those of
downtown doctors' offices, now rusty with disuse, through
which new moms and dads left with babes in arms, their
progeny destined to live the best years of their lives in
the same small town in which they experienced their youths.
One such person is Larry Joe Smith, born to Joseph William
and Doris Smith on August 13, 1959 in what was then Dr. E.E.
Edwards' office, located next door to Dr. J.T. Holmes'
clinic, both now empty.
People remember Larry Joe as a happy-go-lucky youth with a
perpetual smile. The smile remains, an indelible mark of his
character, though these days he may best be known as
"Coach", a title earned in 22 years as a teacher and coach,
20 of those years spent in McKenzie.
His own youth was spent in the waning years of a carefree
era when sunshine meant the entire neighborhood of children
was out of doors and in each others company. Right in the
middle of the lot would be Larry Joe, full of energy, his
fuse lit at both ends like the best fireworks of the Fourth
of July. He lived life large.
An only child, Larry Joe says, "I was blessed to have the
home life I had; my mom and dad, I put them at the top. If I
can obtain any of the qualities they had, I'm very
fortunate; my mom is 'one of a kind.' I assure you I was
spoiled rotten."
His Spruce Street home was close to school, close to town,
and close to the Mulberry Street ballpark that attracted
kids like a magnet.
"I have great memories of that area," he says fondly of days
when it was safe for children to have the run of their
neighborhood. "I can remember at the age of four or five
riding my bicycle down to Mrs. (Swat) Scarbrough's, where I
went to kindergarten. Everyone at that age rode bicycles
there and to school... and it was nothing for us to have
20-25 kids get together to play wiffle ball at the Martins
or McCalebs or the ballfield. It was nothing to have 25-30
kids playing together, running rampant across Stonewall and
playing Hares and Hounds throughout the neighborhood. I have
lots of fond memories of the late 60s and early 70s."
Their nighttime playing field was the "high tech" back yard
of Ross and Tinsy Martin, whose son Phillip was among Larry
Joe's playmates.
"It had four corner posts with lights on them," he says,
then, turning his thoughts to the present, continues, "You
can't drive around and find 20-something kids playing wiffle
ball or football or basketball anymore. We just played as a
community... even at age 46 those are still memories that
stick out."
And though the childhood friends have scattered or in busy
days see each other only in passing, Larry Joe says,
"Usually when we do get together we can't go too long
without speaking of those days."
Later contemplating the successful careers of several old
friends and college roommates, he grins, with a glint in his
eyes, "I've had a great impact on a lot of my friends."
One college roommate, now Kentucky state Senator Bob Jones,
in February 2003 honored Larry Joe with a Senate resolution
proclaiming him to be a "Kentucky Colonel", a privilege in
which Smith takes considerable pride.
When it came to high school sports, Larry Joe says he was "a
jack of all trades and a master of none."
"I had to make a decision between baseball and golf because
they were both spring sports," he says. "I really debated it
hard; I'd played in many All-star games (at the Mulberry
Street ballpark) by the pajama factory."
He ended up joining the golf team and, after graduating high
school in '77, played at Bethel a year before transferring
to Murray State.
"I enjoyed the time at Bethel but by that point I thought it
was best for me to get on up and ease out of town and
somewhat get on my own a little bit," he explains.
His original plan was to major in radio and television,
however, "after being told I had a face for radio", he
jokes, and otherwise deciding opportunities for success in
the career were slim, he chose instead to minor in the
subject while majoring in education and working in the
intramural department.
After graduating from Murray in 1982, he was torn between
accepting Superintendent Baxter Wheatley's offer to teach in
Union City or taking on the graduate assistantship he'd been
granted at Murray.
"I always said my four years of college were the best six
years of my life," he quips. Despite a nagging feeling that
he needed to get on with his life, he decided he should
honor the commitment he had made to the college to help with
Special Olympics children.
About a week later, he met Tiffany Hurley, who was a student
at the college. The couple dated that year, then Larry Joe
left in the summer for his first teaching and coaching job
at the DeSoto Academy in West Helena, Arkansas, earning a
yearly salary of $9,000.
"I tell people I coached a couple of games at Tunica when it
was nothing but a rice paddy," he says.
Before long, mid-way through her junior year Tiffany put her
books away and packed her bags to join Larry Joe in
Arkansas.
"From August to December I'd done everything I could with
Hamburger Helper," he jokes. "I thought. 'I can do better
than that,' so we got married in January and we've been
married 21 years now."
He taught seventh and eighth grade science at the private
school and was assistant coach for high school and junior
high football and head coach of junior high boys and girls
basketball as well as assistant coach high school boys and
girls basketball, golf coach, and coach of one of the girls'
track teams.
"That's a true story," he says, "that's every hat I wore.
When they asked me to coach the track team I literally took
a book off the shelf."
Despite being previously unversed in the sport which, Larry
Joe says, involves "quite a bit of coaching and decision
making to make more points," the team went on to win the
district championship that year.
The basketball teams were prolific as well.
Coach Smith and sons Marshall
and Kendall.
"I was very fortunate that I came out with some nice ball
teams and we won some ball games," says Larry Joe, noting
that over two seasons with the boys basketball team and one
with the girls, the overall record was 67-8.
Nonetheless humble, he adds, "I've been on both ends of the
spectrum in my career. My philosophy is, you want to win
every one of them but the wins and losses are not as
important as what kind of effort was made... A lot of
coaches have a hard time letting go of the losses, but you
can't let them eat at you... We're just trying to round kids
into good adults. Our purpose to these kids is that hard
work pays off and taking the right steps to achieve our
goals and if we can come away a winner it's just that much
better; I enjoy watching them improve and grow-winning is
just the icing on the cake."
His attitude has stood him in good stead over 20 years as a
basketball coach in McKenzie, where he has won more than 300
games and "lost my share as well" after being recruited to
return to his hometown after his second year at DeSoto.
In addition to coaching girls and boys basketball in
McKenzie, he has coached baseball for 12 years (accumulating
a 193-82 record) and boys and girls golf (amassing more than
300 wins.) He has also assisted the junior high football
team and helped out with the high school team as well.
"We've made it to the state in each of those sports," says
Larry Joe, who took the boys golf team to the state
tournament this year with a record of 40-10.
Previously, he took the girls golf team to state in 1995; he
took the basketball team to the state tournament in
Murfreesboro in '98; and the baseball team to the state
tournament at Greer's Stadium in '87 and won a middle school
state tournament in basketball.
As intrinsically rewarding have been the times he's seen
sports change the direction of a young person's life.
"I've seen some where I'm not sure they didn't have jail
time ahead of them; sports was an avenue for them to really
turn their lives around. And we've sent several athletes to
college on scholarships.
"I'm pleased-I've had a bunch of great kids over these 20
years; it's not a reflection of me, it's a reflection of the
kids," he says easily, smiling his satisfaction and hinting
that his coaching years are winding to a close. "I'm at the
age now where my players' kids are coming through."
Over the past 15 years or so, he has also played a part in
radio broadcasting of local college and youth sports. He is
still the play-by-play voice of the Rebels on WMUF and WHDM
every Friday evening.
"Coaching is a big part of my life but it's not the only
part," says Larry Joe, who during his career has taught
physical science, life science, biology, psychology, general
business, speech, health and physical education, wellness,
communications, and general math.
"I can remember a time when I didn't have my own classroom,"
he says, laughing. "I taught in six different rooms
throughout the course of the day."
The academic program has changed drastically since the days
when acquiring 16 credits was the simple standard for
graduation.
"The state has more and more of a role in testing," he says,
mentioning end-of-course testing and the Gateway exam as
examples. He says time will tell if the extra effort makes a
differences, noting, "An awfully lot of smart people came
through one-room schools, too."
As for sports, he says, they are no longer leisure
activities that you play in season. Instead, summer camps
and off-season programs stretch a single sport into
year-round activities, limiting youths who would like to
play more than one sport. The football team goes from the
playing field to the weight room at the end of the season;
traveling baseball teams play 90 games a year rather than
focusing on the summer months.
Coach Smith instructs his
team during a summer scrimmage. (Photo by Matt Swinea)
It's all an effort at "keeping up with the Joneses," says
Smith, noting the increased pressure is more prevalent at
the high school level. "If the basketball team down the road
plays 20 games in the summer you sort of feel that in order
to keep up, you'd better be doing the same thing-trying to
get better, faster, stronger-I miss the simpler times."
Tiffany, a third grade teacher at McKenzie Elementary
School, completed her undergraduate degree at Bethel and was
also recently awarded her master's degree from the college.
In the meantime, Larry Joe earned his master's degree in
administration and supervision, with an emphasis on
educational leadership, through Treveca in Nashville.
"Now we envision tackling the job of putting our children
through college," he laughs, noting Marshall, 18, is leaning
toward the University of Tennessee at Knoxville following
his graduation this year from McKenzie High School, where he
plays basketball, baseball and golf.
Kendall Patrick, 16, plays football, basketball and has also
participated on the trap team. Collin Hurley, who will be
ten November 1, does "whatever his older brothers will take
him to do; hunting or whatever he's in line to do."
"He is a mess," Larry Joe says with a grin, concerning his
youngest. "I'm paying for my raising... I can't go too far
without hearing 'He's exactly like you were.' But they've
been good boys; their mother raised them right."
A recent family photo catches
the Smith family as a unit before Marshall heads out for
college next year. Pictured behind Tiffany and Larry Joe are
16-year-old Kendall, almost 10-year-old Collin, and
18-year-old Marshall.
Hunting is a sport the boys picked up from their mother's
side of the family, notes Smith. Her father, Pat Hurley from
Benton, Kentucky, is a retired real estate broker and avid
hunter who enjoys hunting as far away as Africa and Canada.
"I still enjoy fishing and my buddies in the "Culture Club",
and golf is my part time leisure," says Smith. As for his
wife, he says, "She's a blessing to me, she is."
He mentions a decorative sign in the Smith home that
proclaims, "There's a place in Heaven for the mother of
three boys."
"Add me to it and on top of that being a teacher and a
coach's wife," he says, touting her strength and
perseverance when it comes to hearing criticism about the
coach after a tough game.
"She's a good teacher and she's a good mother; she is
raising those boys right," says Smith, whose home activities
are often curtailed by his duties as coach. "I leave the
house at 7:30 and sometimes don't touch foot in the house
for the first time until 10:30 at night," he says.
The family attends First United Methodist Church in
McKenzie, where Tiffany sings in the choir and has taught
Sunday School and where Larry Joe was lay leader for several
years.
"I grew up in that church and we try to get our boys
involved, and I think that's very important," he says.
Some of the best rewards of his career are when his
students, ten years later, send a wedding announcement in
the mail or make a phone call to say hello.
I've had thousands of kids in my over 20-something years,"
he says, then takes another look back at his own youth, when
current MHS Principal Terry Howell and retired coach Bruce
Herrin were keeping study halls when he was in the seventh
or eighth grade.
"Coach Herrin was my head junior high basketball coach," he
says, "and Coach John Camp was my high school coach. I had
the great pleasure of having Coach Herrin as my assistant
coach when we made it to the state tournament... I looked up
to all my coaches. I'll probably enjoy watching someone I
coached coach the Rebels someday."
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