SPRINGFIELD – The year was 1994. A 14-year-old Thurston high schooler, Steve Smith was curious about the frisson of excitement around volleyball that rippled throughout his school. At the time, Thurston featured an official volleyball class and Smith already knew several friends who participated.
In his youthful vigor, and after careful, sustained interest, Smith decided to test his resolve by signing up for an open gym volleyball tournament. The co-ed tournament featured adults and other high schoolers. Each player pitched in $5 and was placed on a team.
“So then I was put on the team and I was horrible,” Smith said. “I mean, I was bad, and the team that I got put on was complaining about me, too. I actually got kicked out of the gym, and the coach at the time, who had encouraged me to play in the first place, told me, ‘Don’t come back until you get better.’”
With his pride wounded, Smith channeled his disappointment into hard work.
“At first it was like, ‘Nobody is gonna tell me what to do!’ type of thing. Also, I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t going to get kicked out again. I wanted to make sure that I was good enough to be in that gym and that I deserved to be there. So I worked my butt off on jumping, hitting, and everything about volleyball and learning every aspect,” Smith said.
It took Smith about a full year until he had fully sharpened his skills. By the end of his sophomore year, he “was playing sandball” and was a transformed player.
A different era
Smith had to be resourceful as he developed his skills as boys volleyball players faced a lack of resources on the high school level.
“By that summer, I was jumping higher, hitting harder, and passing better,” he said. “I also worked on my form. I had friends that helped me out and some had a full-on sand volleyball court in their backyard, which I used.”
A young Smith would have never anticipated how learning to play volleyball, in each of its elements and surfaces, would blossom into a true passion, enthusiasm, and deep love of the sport.
His open volleyball tournament experience in 1994 was a fateful day, and at the time it was an embarrassing episode for a teenager, one that would leave most dispirited for a lengthy time. But it changed Smith into the dedicated, passionate coach he is today.
“From there, I just grew more in love with the sport – with the more I knew about it. I learned it was the sky’s the limit,” Smith said.
After graduating, Smith’s passion for volleyball continued as he joined recreation leagues in the Eugene-Springfield area, including the Athletic Club and the University of Oregon men’s club volleyball team. Opportunities kept piling up.
“I went to open practices and open gyms,” Smith said. “And it made it easier because once I got better and people started to notice me, I got more opportunities. People would say ‘Hey, why don’t you come to Lane and play with us?’ or, ‘Why don’t you come to U of O and play with us?’”
As Smith continued to play, he implemented coaching and feedback, which provided the nascent sparks of his coaching career. When he was 17, he helped out at Thurston. After graduation, he continued to help in the Eugene-Springfield area at schools such as Sheldon and Willamette.
“I kind of helped out quite a bit around, just volunteering my time here and there,” Smith said. “But never was an actual full-on hired assistant, because, at the time, I was focused on my daughter.”
Gaining coaching experience
After Smith’s daughter graduated from Willamette, he expanded his coaching career. He was handed the opportunity to coach the Webfoot Juniors volleyball club. Cathy Nelson, former head coach of UO volleyball (1995-99) and owner of Webfoot reached out to Smith and made an offer. Smith had already known Nelson when he helped her out at Sheldon High School, where Nelson was head coach from 2000-06.
Smith coached Webfoot from 2003-04 and then moved to Portland briefly to attend Portland Community College at the Rock Creek campus. While he was there, he remained grounded in volleyball and coached a couple of club teams in the city.
He returned to Webfoot and resumed coaching from 2010-16. From there, he coached the Springfield-centered club Game Day from 2016-24.
By the time Smith applied for high school coaching, he had an entire community rallying behind him – and a lifetime of coaching experience.
“I’ve worked my way up, and high school coaching was just the next level as far as coaching,” Smith said. “I’ve always put it off because I just didn’t know if I was ready for it. And then when this job became available, I had parents, coaches, and players saying ‘You need to apply for this job!’ It was very nice to hear and have the support of the school. It’s like, before I even applied, they had my back and they wanted me here. That made me feel really good.”
As a male involved in what has traditionally been a “girls sport” at the high school level, Smith is an advocate for gender equity.
“Volleyball has gotten really big, and it’s just growing more and more, and I think sand volleyball has helped out, as well as the Olympics. Having that finally start being a sport in a high school, that’s just one more thing to give kids a stepping stone to help them into college; it’s as beneficial as anything that helps kids get into college.”
Teamwork and support are elements of the culture, Smith said. KALLIE HANSEL-TENNES / THE CHRONICLE
He said recent sport expansions by the Oregon State Activities Association are increasing opportunities for everyone.
“There are boys out there that want to play volleyball,” Smith said. “To be able to give options for the boys to play is great. And with them doing that, they brought in flag football so that girls could play football as well.”
Smith is excited for OSAA to implement more boys’ high school volleyball programs and is involved in the advocacy for one at Springfield High.
“With OSAA bringing in boys volleyball in the high schools, I think that is one of the biggest things they could have done,” Smith said. “They didn’t have it back when I was in school, and I wish they would have and I know that it’s taken this long to get there. I’m glad that it’s there, and I can’t wait to see what happens and what transpires with it.”
Three-year strategy
For Smith’s longterm goals and strategies at Springfield, he expresses a desire to compete at the state level. His specific plans are “to reach state in three years.”
“I want to grow it and by growing it, that’s reaching out to middle schools such as Briggs and Hamlin, and talking with them and their volleyball coaches,” Smith said. “I’m seeing what’s coming in next year. I’m reaching out and saying, ‘Hey, this is how I coach. This is what I expect. This is the verbiage I use. This is how I do things.’ So when the kids get over here and they apply or try out or whatever, they know what I expect.”
Smith said his coaching approach includes communication and collaboration with families, parents, and other coaches.
“This world is always evolving, so you always have to figure out how to coach,” Smith said. “You have to find your niche in each one of them. And you know, anytime that I ever do anything, I always have meetings with families, parents, coaches. ‘Hey, what do you think?’”
He emphasized the importance of academics and athletics.
“I’m here to push the players, and I’ve told all these kids, yes, this is athletics, but I’m very big into academics, and so academics for me is first and foremost. Going into this season, I want these players to be 100% positive on the court, but I also want them to be 100% positive in the classroom. If grades are up, that means the court’s going to be up. I’m here and I’m ready.”
