Band Dad Has Encounter With New Easley Football Coach

As a proud parent of a member of the Easley High School marching band I stay pretty busy doing “band parent stuff.” While I attend every football that Easley High School plays I had never had the pleasure of meeting Easley's “new” football coach, Chad Smith. The circumstances of our meeting were a bit unusual.

On Tuesday, in my role as band parent I was given the task of locating a piece of equipment that the band uses to prepare tasty treats in the football concession stand. I found the equipment still on “Historic Brice Field.” While I was thrilled to find the equipment I was a little bummed out that I was not going to be able to get the equipment out of the stadium, at least not without a great deal of help. The heavy equipment (with four flat tires) was on the Pendleton Street end of the stadium. The only open gate was on the Mill Hill end of the stadium.

In desperation, I made my way back to the Mill Hill end of Brice Field. I noticed there were two gentlemen in the field house. I wandered in and introduced myself to the two gentlemen. One of them was, soon to be legendary, Coach Chad Smith! Having played football for Easley years ago I was thrilled to finally meet our new Coach.

When I shared that I was a band parent I received a reaction from Coach Smith that thrilled me to death. Coach said that he would have given anything to have been able to take the band with him to the scrimmage at Clover High School the previous week! “If we could have heard that fight song just one time...”, said Smith.

I assured Coach Smith that very few things in life please the students in the Marching Band as much encouraging the football team and rocking out in the stands while the Green Wave drowns another opponent. (The Band was actually at Band Camp working on their competition show during the Clover scrimmage.)

I enjoyed meeting Coach Smith so much that I decided I was in no hurry to leave after meeting him. The situation actually worked out such that I rode to Pickens with him and two other Coaches to pick up two site buses that stay at Easley High School. (I am a SDPC Activity bus driver and only one of the other Coaches was licensed to drive the buses.)

The conversation in the car during the short ride to Pickens revealed to me several important things about MY new coach. Coach Smith has a genuine concern for the students at Easley High School. (As the parent of an EHS student, this is very important to me.) I also discerned that Coach Smith is a man of faith. (As an ordained minister myself, I was thrilled to discover this!) I also learned that his staff respects him and hold him in high esteem. (As a football fan this pleased me as well!)

In case you are wondering if I was able to retrieve the concession equipment I originally went after, here is what Paul Harvey would have call “the rest of the story.” Coach Smith loaned me the JV football team to carry the equipment from Brice Field to the parking lot so that it could be loaded on a trailer and hauled to the new campus! Coach Chad Smith, Coach Neil Smith, and the JV football team, the Easley Band Salutes you!

Coach Smith was very gracious and hospitable. I certainly appreciate him helping us out. He rightly commented that we are all on the same team. I could not agree more! Go Green Wave!

Whoever had the wisdom and foresight to hire Coach Chad Smith (I believe that would be you Coach Chris Carter) deserves a gold medal!

Our love will ever be, Easley, for thee!