Ex-UCLA Coach Smith Says Track Club Strong
Over the last 16 months, John Smith has been sued for $1 million, ended a 17-year coaching association with UCLA and watched star pupil Maurice Greene's 100-meter world record fall to Tim Montgomery.
Like others in the track community, Smith heard whispers that the HSI track club, headed by Smith and Emanuel Hudson, was faltering. He laughed them off.
"Anybody that thinks we're lost has not seen anything yet," Smith said. "The elite athletes I'm working with, we're all connected together. We have something to fight for. It's like they're saying, 'When it's bleak and dark and it seems like I'm on my last breath, I've been able to perform my best.' I've watched each and every one of them have their back against the wall and do their best."
Smith's back is no longer in danger -- at least in the legal sense. The civil suit filed in August 2001 by hurdler Anjanette Kirkland, who claimed Smith grabbed her and punched her mother and sister during an argument in a Eugene, Ore., hotel after the U.S. championships, was settled recently. Terms were not made public.
"Some very unfortunate things occurred. It's something I put behind me," Smith said. "A lot of times you walk a line and a mistake happens. I want to show people mistakes can happen and you can learn from them and grow stronger."
HSI last week added to its roster sprinter Angela Williams, the only athlete ever to win four consecutive NCAA 100-meter dash titles. Williams began working out Monday with Smith's core group, which includes Greene, Ato Boldon, Torri Edwards, Inger Miller and Jon Drummond.
"With Angela, we're adding talent and character," Smith said. "Those are the kind of people we want. We were founded on the principle that you work hard every day. That's the flavor we have now.
"I've watched her run since she was a baby. She's been blessed with a very competitive attitude and she had a great coach, Dr. Ernie Gregoire. He got a PhD at a time there weren't many black men with PhDs. That was inspiring for me. For me to work with one of the students he had is the ultimate. My job is not to muck it up."
Hudson, an attorney and agent, said HSI is hardly faltering. "Around [the 2001 world championships in] Edmonton, we cleaned house. We thought we'd do better with less people, but more serious people," he said. "We said we were going to get lean and start cherry picking. The only person we've brought in is the only person who's won the NCAA championships four times. Angela was a natural for us
