After three years, Warriors football head coach Trevor Smith announced his decision to retire as head coach. Smith was Cleveland’s first head coach after the return of varsity football in 2022. During his tenure, the team went 5-22 overall, and 1-8 this past season.
Smith announced his decision to resign in a heartfelt statement to his players. He
wrote, “the time has come to step back and focus on (his) health and family.” Smith reflected on his involvement in football since 1981, with the exception of five years as a player or coach.
Football to Smith has always been more than a game. “It’s about developing people, building relationships, and fostering a strong sense of community,” Smith wrote in his letter. “Serving as the head coach at Cleveland has been an absolute honor.”
Smith couldn’t thank his players enough for the passion, dedication, and energy they’ve brought to the team. However, Smith won’t retire from teaching as he plans to continue teaching physical education for years to come.
Senior James Ho believes Smith’s “passion really made him stand out (from other coaches) because he wanted to build the program up as much as possible.” Ho describes Smith’s coaching style as “passive-aggressive.” “He likes to make jokes to call kids out on mistakes, but he does it out of the kindness of determination and to make kids better.”
Senior Peter Bamer says Smith “taught me a little bit of discipline in the sense you have to work to get somewhere.” When asked about Smith’s coaching style, Bamer stated, “He’s here for the vibes kinda. He won’t punish you, he’ll make you run once in a while, but he wants us to practice, he wants us to get better, he’s kind of a booster coach.”
Smith helped Cleveland stay focused and not dwell on past mistakes in tough situations. When the season wasn’t going well, or the Warriors were coming off a tough game, Smith would tell his players to drop the past and look to the future.
Assistant Coach Bradley Blocker is unsure if he’ll return to football for the next season after Smith’s departure. Blocker isn’t interested in taking the head coaching job. Stating that Smith is a very organized coach, Blocker believed that Smith implemented the feeling of a family even though everyone didn’t always take it. Blocker is excited to see “new blood in the program.”
“He did a great job handling the challenges throughout the season. I think Coach Smith set up whoever is hired next very well with the amount he has put into this program.”
Blocker would like to see someone who is already part of the team take over for Smith, suggesting that assistant coach Josh Gray would be a great choice.
Cleveland is currently in the interviewing stage for finding a new head coach. The panel for the hiring consists of Principal JoAnn Wadkins, Athletic Director Kellie Sauer, parents involved in the football program, the booster club, teachers, student-athletes, and students in leadership roles. Everyone who is already part of PPS has been notified about the opportunity.
Wadkins would ultimately prefer to hire someone who is already working for Cleveland or someone they could hire to be a teacher in addition to coaching because she believes that it would be easier to build a strong connection with the school’s community.
Wadkins isn’t allowed to comment on who has applied until after the new coach has been officially hired. The date that the head coaching decision will be made is currently unknown.
