FORT MYERS, Fla. – Perfect Game Baseball has announced that former Howard College (Texas) National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Coach of the Year Britt Smith has agreed to join PG in a full-time regional leadership role effective July 1.
Smith, who turns 45-years-old in September, completed his 13th season as head baseball coach and 10th year as the Director of Athletics at Howard College in Big Spring, Texas, this spring. He joins Perfect Game after compiling an unmatched record of 552-202 at Howard over those 13 seasons, which included a NJCAA National Championship in 2009 when the Hawks finished 63-1.
“I am really looking forward to this challenge,” Smith said of beginning a new career with Perfect Game. “It gives me an opportunity to not only stay in baseball but also to work with people I know and for a company that I’m very familiar with. I’ve done stuff with Perfect Game for at least the last dozen years. It’s a great opportunity all the way around, but more so from the family standpoint. That’s the part we’re all really excited about.”
Smith will be overseeing all of Perfect Game’s operations in its South Region, which includes Texas and the adjoining states of Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Smith’s efforts will be directed toward improving everything from customer relations to scouting initiatives in the far-reaching region, and his presence will be felt in everything from PG WWBA tournaments and regional showcases right on down through the youth levels.
Initially, at least, his main focus will be on the development and promotion of the Perfect Game Baseball Association (PGBA), a new affiliate program where individuals will be running tournaments throughout the entire region. He will also work to promote the PG Series, which emphasizes training, skills testing and further development at the youth levels.
“We have worked with and have known Britt Smith for many years and we are excited about him joining PG in a much larger capacity,” Perfect Game President Jerry Ford said. “Britt’s resume speaks for itself. His leadership and success as the head baseball coach and athletic director at Howard College is well documented; his work ethic, character and baseball knowledge truly stand out.”
Coaching at the collegiate level was obviously something Smith excelled at and he loved the responsibilities that went with those duties. But he also felt more of a responsibility toward his young family and sincerely felt the move to PG would be beneficial to everyone involved. He and his wife Wendy reside in Big Spring with daughters Bailey (13 years old) and Berkley (6), and son Logan (10).
“Coaching takes a lot of time away from your family,” Smith said. “When you’re working 60 hours a week before you even get to your weekend games, it’s difficult on your family. I’m not opposed to work at all … but this will give me the opportunity that when I am home to actually be home.”
That said, there are elements of coaching he is reluctant to leave behind: “I know I’m going to miss game-day. These last couple of years I got to the point where I liked game-day even more than I did when I was younger – just the competition of it. To me, that’s why I did it; that’s why I played. Win, lose or draw, it didn’t matter. It was just fun to compete, to lineup and measure yourself and see where you are. I’ll certainly miss that aspect of it.”
The flip-side is Smith brings that passion for the game to his new role at Perfect Game, and he’ll bring it with an insider’s perspective: “I think the biggest part of it is that I can identify with coaches,” he said. “When they’re in tournaments or they’re in situations where they want to win and tensions are high, I can identify with where they’re coming from. It’s easier for coaches or ex-coaches to communicate situations to each other just because there’s common ground there.”
The hiring of Smith puts an exclamation point on Perfect Game’s efforts to increase its presence in Texas and the surrounding states. It’s an expanded effort to provide that region’s young players with even more opportunities to pursue collegiate or professional baseball careers. “The state of Texas is one of the nation’s hotbeds for baseball,” PG’s Ford said “Britt will lead two of our more important initiatives – the PGBA and the PG Series – in Texas and the surrounding region.”
Smith agrees: “(PG) is seeking out areas where we can grow and expand, and I think there are a lot of opportunities for Perfect Game in Texas going forward,” he said. “Just to have an opportunity to bring some bigger, higher profile events to Texas, I think you’re going to see a lot more involvement.”