CENTERBURG – When Joe Smith took off his uniform after the Centerburg baseball team’s 4-1 loss to Columbus Academy in the second round of the Division III district tournament on May 20, he did it for the last time.
Smith, who had been putting on the Trojans’ uniform for 30 years — including the last 22 as head coach — announced that he was stepping down at the team’s banquet. It was made official at the school board meeting on Monday, June 14.
“I hope I did it the right way,” he said. “I think I did.”
It was a fitting way to go out for the low-key, quiet and reserved coach.
“He’s really down to earth,” athletic director Rich Porter said. “He’s a family man and just a real good, all-around great person. It’ll be big shoes to fill for sure.”
“Joe is as down-to-earth a guy as you could ever imagine,” longtime assistant Brad Beeler said. “He put everybody else in front of himself — especially his players.”
The decision came down to his family. Smith and his wife Anna have seven daughters: Felicia, Cora, Emma, Dayna, Amelia, Pricilla and Zada. Amelia just finished up her senior season as a standout on the softball team. Joe didn’t get to as many games as he would have liked.
“(Amelia) had a phenomenal senior season (in softball) and it just killed me missing (it),” Smith said. “We got two girls at home still that are 8 and 5 (years old), and I’m not missing anymore. We’ve got two grandsons and are expecting two more this year. It’s time for me to give them the attention that they deserve. It’s time for somebody else to step in and take Centerburg baseball to another level.”
Self-deprecating and humble, Smith doesn’t know his overall record. It didn’t matter to him. Coaching wasn’t about the wins and losses as much as it was about the relationships.
The Trojans won one district title with him at the helm in 2018.
“I think I’ve just been winging it for 22 years,” he said with a chuckle. “The district championship is probably a pretty big deal. That’s the biggest baseball moment I’ll remember.”
Joe Smith got into baseball as a kid under the tutelage of little league coach Bob Stewart. He played at Centerburg for four coaches in four years: Dan Stevens, Dave James, Bob Gutherie and Jim Stoyle. And while he found joy playing for all four, stability was a major reason he stuck around for 22 years.
“I look back and I remember moments in games,” Smith said. “I remember funny things in games, but I don’t remember games as much as I remember the guys. What I remember most is how they grew up and how they became good young men. Hopefully, I had some impact on that.”
Smith was careful to not name names. He didn’t want to leave anybody out.
Over 22 years, he had more assistants than he could name, but his pitching coach Beeler was his one constant.
“He deserves as much credit for the success we’ve had as anybody,” Smith said. “He’s been the foundation for our success, and he’s been a mentor for me. We’ve had lots of great coaches over the years, but he’s been the one that’s been there steadfast for 20 years.”
Beeler was the yin to his yang, the rough to his smooth and the loud to his quiet.
“We were both really honest with each other,” Beeler said. “Neither one of us had conflicting egos. He gave me the general parameters that he wanted … and then he let me work within those parameters. My philosophy was that it was my job as an assistant to make the head coach as good as I could. Between our two thought processes … it just worked.”
Smith credited his assistants, parents, the administration and the little league for their help along the way.
He’s also not hanging up the spikes completely. He’ll continue to coach youth tee-ball and machine-pitch softball. But that’s as far as he’ll take it.
“Now, when I go down there, two-thirds of the coaches have played for me,” Smith said. “That’s a pretty cool (thing) is that those guys are now men and are taking care of their families and doing positive things with their lives. That’s probably what I’ll remember the most and am most proud of.”
And that will be Joe Smith’s legacy.
