Smith will lead Hawks into new hoop season

By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
    The Hodgdon Hawks will be under a new, but very familiar coach this season.
    Three years ago, Rob Smith began coaching junior varsity girls at Hodgdon High School and working as an assistant under then varsity girls’ coach Olin Quint.
    In his second year, Smith stayed in the same position until Quint stepped down. Smith then took over as the interim head girls’ coach until the end of the season.
    “That season was tough,” said Smith, who coached both the junior varsity and varsity teams. “I had to run two practices and coach both games with other coaches and the athletic director coaching the fourth quarter.”
     Last year, Trevor Parent resigned as the boy’s junior varsity coach, so Smith applied for the job.
    “I decided this would be a way for me to switch to coaching boys and it would give the girls a fresh start under Vaughn Farrar, the new girls’ coach,” Smith said.
    This summer was Smith’s first experience as a head coach.
    “I wanted to spend the summer getting back to the basics of the game and working those fundamentals into scrimmages,” he said. “The summer I would say was a success. They started to adapt well to what type of game I want to see played.”
    As the season kicks off, the Hawks and their coach are still learning together.
    “As we learn, we will grow stronger and start to see success on the floor,” said Smith. “It is a team game, from head coach down to the last player on the team. If we work together, we will succeed on the court and off.”
    Smith works at Hodgdon High School and also coaches the varsity baseball team.