Matt Smith will lead Huron girls basketball team

HURON — Huron didn't have to look far for its new girls basketball coach. Matt Smith, who was an assistant last season, was hired as head coach at Monday night's school board meeting. Smith worked for one season under Darius Schaeffer, who took an assistant principal position at Warren High School in southeast Ohio. That one season of experience with the Tigers was a plus for Smith during the interview process. "I was here last year and I knew the girls," he said. "Because Darius was leaving, I was already coaching (the summer season). In the interview process, I was able to talk about what we were already doing, what my vision was." After Schaeffer told Smith about his move to another district, Smith told Huron athletic director Matthew Ayers that he wanted to pursue the head coaching job. "I said, 'I would really like to be the head coach, but I want you to hire the best person for the job. Don't hire me because I'm a teacher (he teaches Algebra I). Make me earn it,' " Smith said. "The more that I prepared for the interview, the more I really wanted the job. I'm excited about where we can take basketball." Ayers said six candidates were interviewed. Smith's vision for his players on and off the court stood out. "He's a great guy. He has ties to the community and has a good understanding of the culture and vibe at Huron," Ayers said. "He has a slew of basketball knowledge at every level and he cares about the girls. He cares about how they are as people." Smith, who previously worked at Perkins and Margaretta, is impossible to miss on the sidelines. He stands 6 feet, 10 inches and has been a part of the game for years. "I'm a high-energy guy who likes to get after it," he said. "A little intense at times, but I also understand that it's bigger than the game of basketball. I want to teach them about life. There's ups and downs in life and in the game. You're not always gonna win, but you're always gonna try to do your best and improve." Smith graduated from Ontario High School in 1998 and was a standout player for hall of fame coach Joe Balogh. He played four years at Robert Morris University, where he was an Academic All-American. "One of the best things that happened to me there was I played for three coaches (Jim Boone, Danny Nee, Mark Schmidt) in four years," Smith said. "I got the perspective of three different types of basketball." Smith, who is entering his second school year in the Huron system, was a boys assistant coach for 13 years under Scott McVeigh at Perkins. He also was the athletic director and assistant principal at Perkins for four years before working as director of operations at Margaretta for four years. He was the junior varsity coach at Margaretta for the 2022-23 season and was on the bench when the Polar Bears played in the state semifinals. "When Ray (Neill) got the job (at Margaretta), I helped him for one year," Smith said. "It was too much to coach and do the (director of operations) job correctly so I took a year off. I really missed working with kids and coaching so that's why I decided to make the change (and take a job in Huron)." Smith's coaching salary will be $8,196. He'll take over a program, that has won 48 games the last four seasons. Jessica and Julia Brown graduated, but the Tigers will return six players who played in 20 or more games last season. Three starters are back — senior Addie LaCivita, junior Jenna Cox and sophomore Mya Smith (the new coach's daughter). "We're gonna be young again," Smith said. "We've been playing five sophomores in the summer and we've been getting some freshmen some playing time. We've got a really nice seventh- and eighth-grade group coming up. The future is really bright; Darius did an amazing job of setting that foundation where Huron can go." Smith, 45, would prefer to play an up-tempo style, but wants to play to his team's strengths. "The faster you play, the more girls you have to play," he said. "The more they play, the more they want to be part of the team. You see a lot of coaches who play six girls and they wonder why their numbers are low. "A lot of times that mentality trickles down to the youth. If you're only playing six or seven girls in fourth grade, you're not getting those girls better and they don't want to stick it out. I'd love to get to a point where we have a freshman, JV and varsity schedule." Smith is a big proponent of high school athletes playing multiple sports. "We're pretty fortunate that we have 10 girls who do volleyball," he said. "They'll hit that hard in July. We have another five, I think, who play soccer and one or two cross country runners. We're not gonna have a lot of girls doing nothing in the fall, which is great because they're involved. "I want these girls to understand they can be successful in multiple sports. You always see the schools in western Ohio that go to state in every single sport. I think Huron has the potential to be the same type of district and be good in everything. But you gotta get those girls doing everything." The Tigers' summer season is nearly over and many of his players will soon turn their attention to volleyball. Smith works in the same department as Huron volleyball coach Don Wood, which will help him keep tabs on his players. "I think we have a good setup here," Smith said. "Coach Wood and I have a really good relationship; I've known him for a long time. My dad (Jim) used to play volleyball with him in the 80s and 90s and my sister played travel volleyball for him. My wife (Dawn) was the head volleyball coach at Perkins for a couple years so she coached against him. "Huron is a great place to work and coach. There's so much potential here to be good at every sport. They've had so much success in volleyball and track. They're turning the corner in softball and soccer and I think basketball is right there as well. I love working with kids and coaching, and since I work here it's something I wanted to do."