Kirby Smart (SEC Twitter Photo)
You never know what kind of information/stories might come out during the Southeastern Conference Media Days and one of the best I’ve heard this week came from Georgia coach Kirby Smart. No, it is not pure football information and has nothing to do with Kentucky’s chances to beat Georgia this year. Instead, it shows the human side of a coach with his family that we do not often get.
Enjoy the story Smart shared:
“I was able to spend a lot of time in July with my family and wanted to share a quick story. I have three kids that all play different sports. So I get to spend time with my daughter, Julia, at AAU basketball. We travel all over and get to watch her play.
“Then I get to watch my son Weston play tennis, and I spent four nights recently in Rome with some rainouts watching USTA tennis. Then my son Andrew playing baseball, we get to go around and travel.”
“Quick story. When we go to Augusta for five straight days of All-Star baseball, five days of one-game-a-day baseball, I take my other two, Julia and Weston, to a restaurant. We get to eat there at a fancy little hamburger place in Augusta. Several people come over and want autographs. I get to give a couple autographs as being a head coach in the SEC. I held a baby, took a picture, did several autographs with young men.”
“And I had an elderly lady come over to our table and say, You must be somebody famous. I said, No, ma’am, I certainly don’t think so. She said, Are you a professional golfer? I said, No, ma’am, I’m not. You’re thinking Augusta, right? Then she said, Are you a NASCAR driver? I said, no, ma’am, I’m not.”
“By now, my kids are kind of giggling, and the last one she said, Are you a track star? And my daughter almost spit out her food and just thought it was hilarious, and at this point, I said, No, ma’am, I coach football at the University of Georgia.”
“I always say humility is a week away, so it was pretty humbling to have the elderly lady accuse me of being a NASCAR driver, golfer, and also a track star, which couldn’t be anything further from the truth.”
“But I got to spend a lot of time with my kids. That’s what it’s all about to me, being with those children, being able to watch them play their sports. That’s my passion. That’s what I do in my free time when I’m not getting to recruit. It’s big I got to do that. It’s also important that our players see us as coaches, as real men and fathers.”
