“How’d you start coaching or get interested in volleyball?” “I read a book.” That’s how my coach Ron Smith started coaching. That’s why I’m nominating him. He just received coach of the year here in Delaware. He coaches my club where I play travel ball and he coached at my school. I may have not played on varsity, but I still played for him and know how he coaches. To me, he’s the best coach ever.



His personality is great for a coach. He came up with nicknames for my travel team; I was starfish. He tries to relate to the team as much as he can. He stays positive. Ron makes your day better as soon as you talk to him. He knows how to have fun and make you laugh all the time. He is not too strict at all. He stays positive and he never has a bad day when he comes to practice. There is always some type of fun at practices. He may come off as a mean coach, but once you start to play for him and get to know him, you will think he is the best coach.


During tournaments and games, Ron let’s everyone play. He gives everyone a chance. If you make a mistake, he will forget about it and give you another shot. If he feels you need to be taken out, he will take you out, but he will tell you why, and he will tell you how to improve your mistake for the next time you go in. He is a relaxed coach. We called him Ronald McDonald, and he wore a clown nose to make us laugh at the tournament. He tries different things to see how they will work.


At practices, he tries to have as much fun as possible. It can be serious also because he is preparing you for a tournament. He lets you try out different positions to make you better, so in games or tournaments, you can be comfortable trying new things. If you have a question, he always gives you a detailed answer, and tells you what to do. At the first practice he laughed at me because I chose the number 43, which was the highest number on my team. He always gives you something to laugh about at practice also.


Ron Smith always makes me remember to be happy and keep my head high. He never said it, but by the way he stayed positive, you could tell that was a part of his message. He was truly the best coach I ever had. I thank him for always believing in my team and me. He was the type of coach who never gave up; he pushed you to get better. He never pushed someone too far to where they would want to quit, but at the same time he never stopped pushing you. He never stopped caring about your potential and he never gave up on you as a single person. He believed every person who played volleyball had potential. I guess a book about volleyball can really teach you big things.