
Last week I heard about David Crosby’s death and was transported back to my 10th-grade humanities class. My teacher and cross-country coach, Coach Smith, often started his classes with his own version of “Name that Tune” and without that tradition, I probably wouldn’t have known much of the music that I still enjoy today.
I was devastated the next day when I learned that Coach Smith had also died.
Coach Smith was one of a kind. With boundless energy, he taught government, economics, and humanities and was a faculty leader for our National Honor Society chapter. He founded the men’s and women’s cross-country programs at John S. Battle High School in the 70s and remained the coach of both teams until the early 2000s, just a few years before he retired from teaching high school. He facilitated the Special Olympics each year and eagerly supported his students and athletes in endeavors outside of school, especially those related to serving others.
Always exuberant, Coach Smith shared his love of Mother Nature, wildlife
(especially birds), and the Blue Ridge mountains. He led by example in his attempts to shape us into hard-working, kind, and helpful people. Sure,
achievement was great, but the main takeaways from my years with Coach Smith were that showing up, putting forth your best effort, and serving others are among the most important things in life.
He showed us that we have so much to learn from other religions, cultures, and traditions – something generally lacking in homogenous Southwest Virginia – and encouraged us to respect those differences. He was my first introduction to the “outside” world, having spent my life on a small farm without much exposure to different cultures. Without his influence, I would probably still be in the “holler” instead of on a beach in Ecuador.

He enthusiastically shared his favorite music and poetry, often integrating song lyrics into lessons in the classroom and on the cross-country course. I still have a stack of his encouraging notes, poems, and songs he would give to us in class, or before a big cross-country meet, or just because. Every year, Coach Smith kicked off the cross-country season with his “tater speech” to help cohere us as a team.
Perhaps most importantly, though, Coach Smith shared himself. He shared stories about his family, his life, his feelings on challenging topics. He wrote his own beautiful, heartfelt poetry that he shared with us. I’ve had more than 10 years of higher education since high school, and Coach Smith remains one of very few teachers I’ve encountered who really made the effort to connect with his students and athletes. More than 20 years after graduating from high school, Coach Smith and I still kept in touch.
I have a whole shelf of books that he had given me over the years, all signed and dated with a kind or encouraging note inside the front cover. Many of them are favorites that I have read over and over. The last conversation I had with him was about a year ago when I was re-reading “The Tao of Pooh” for the hundredth time. A gift from Coach, and a book I revisit often, we had a quick chat about some of the wisdom it offers. Thank you again for that one, Coach.

He had a big laugh and an even bigger heart. He incorporated silliness and laughter into every day and every lesson, never missing a chance to poke fun at himself or give a good-natured ribbing to one of us. Everyone loved the “B.S. stamp” he would use for grading papers when it was obvious someone hadn’t tried very hard. He will especially be remembered for his trademark greeting: “WAKA WAKA Pilgrim!”, always with a big grin on his face.
He was an exceptional listener and had a knack for making me feel like there was nothing more important to him at that moment than the conversation we were having. He was the first person to recognize my depression, long before I even knew what it was, and offered his support endlessly.
To say he was influential is a vast understatement. I consider having known him to be one of the great privileges of my life.
I will forever be grateful for his impact on me and am so grateful to his wife and daughters for graciously sharing him with us for so many years.
“Think love, and see where you turn up…”. Indeed.

Randall W. Smith
April 22, 1951 - January 19, 2023
So beautiful. How lucky you are to have someone so special in your life. I am so sorry for your loss
Beautiful tribute to Coach Smith.