After five years as the head softball coach at Owensboro High School, Bryan Smith announced his resignation from the position on Tuesday.
Under Smith, Owensboro won 28 games over the last five seasons, with 12 coming in 2018 and 10 in 2017.
Smith, who also teaches, still has one year left in the classroom before he can retire. He said he considered coaching another season, but thought it would be best to let someone else take over.
“We’ve got a pretty decent young group of 7th- and 8th-graders,” he said. “I think it’s only fair to those girls to let somebody that’s going to be there another five to 10 years go ahead and start coaching them now. I could do it another year and I’d put all my time and energy into just like I have the past five years. I just think it would be best for the program in the long run if they get in someone now who can start with these girls.”
The Lady Devils took a small step back in terms of wins this year, but Smith said nothing on the field contributed to the decision.
“There was no frustration this year that led me to say I’m not coaching any more,” he said.
When Smith first took the job ahead of the 2015 season, he said his goal was to stay at least five years. The Lady Devils were coming off a year that included a huge upset win over powerhouse Owensboro Catholic, but Smith said he understood the role he’d be taking on.
Since 2010, Owensboro had only beaten a district opponent twice and posted a single winning season.
“I knew what I was getting into when I first started,” he said. “One of the questions I was asked was how long do you think you’ll stay. My direct answer to that question was my gameplan is to stay five years, and we’ll play it by ear after that.”
Smith said his first goal was to get the players to dedicate themselves more to the sport. Many of the area teams have rosters full of girls who play in the summer and fall, but much of Owensboro’s roster only played during the spring.
Despite only a handful of victories, Smith said he thinks the program is moving in the right direction. The players have shown an increased desire to do well, and Smith hopes Owensboro can continue to improve.
“I wish we would have had more wins, but we didn’t,” he said. “I feel good about the foundation I’ve laid. It’s a little bit more of a culture than it was the first year or two that I coached.”
Smith said another big factor in deciding to resign this year was so he could spend more time with his wife, Julie, who retired last month.
“I’ve been coaching so long, we’ve never really had a lot of time to do stuff together,” he said. “I’ve coached softball, baseball and football. I’m looking forward to spending some more time together.”
Athletic Director Todd Harper said he was always pleased with the was Smith carried out his role beyond the softball field.
“Coach Smith was one of the hardest working coaches in our school system and always held his players accountable,” Harper said. “He taught them about more than just softball and I always respected and appreciated that. He will be very difficult to replace.”
Harper said the high school will have the job posted in the very near future and will hope to have the right person for the job as soon as possible.
