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Coaches' Corner: Jason Smith

Wednesday, October, 17 By Alan Siegel
Staff writer

Jason Smith has to be the Merrimack Valley's biggest Syracuse fan.

The 32-year-old Methuen swimming and softball coach graduated in 1997, but still catches the Orange on TV and in person whenever possible.

So how did he end up here?

While getting his master's degree at Boston University, he met his future wife Keryn (Duggan), who was a swimmer at Haverhill High in the mid-1990s.

This week we caught up with Smith, who was the Eagle-Tribune's 2004 Swimming Coach of the Year.

1. Swimming and softball. What are the similarities and differences?
"They are totally different types of kids. Both sports have a mental aspect. Swimming is a lot more mental than people think. There's no physical contact and what not, but it takes a real mental toll on you. ... (For example) I have a girl working her tail off to make the sectional cut in the 50 freestyle. It's the hardest event to shave time off. She keeps getting better. ... It whittles away at you. You try to give it as many shots as you can to reach that goal. But you have to be delicate with the fact kids get frustrated."

2. You're from upstate New York (Albion). Is the weather as bad as people say?
"You either love it or you hate it. If I really hated it, I guess I would've gone to a much warmer school. Obviously there are days you wish there weren't two or three feet of snow outside. But I loved Syracuse, I wouldn't trade that (experience) for anything in the world."

3. What were some of your favorite sports memories from Syracuse?
"John Wallace was the big guy. He was from Rochester. He was somebody who was from real close by, so we read about him before he got to school. It was 1996, (the basketball team) lost in the final to a great Kentucky team (at the Continental Airlines Arena). At that game I sat in the same row as (former Kentucky star) Kenny Walker. That was also the year that I went with some friends of mine to the Gator Bowl. Donovan McNabb beat up on Clemson. It was really a good year to be a Syracuse student."

4. What was it like going to basketball games at the Carrier Dome?
"That's an experience in itself. Thirty-three thousand people for a basketball game? That's just unreal. They call it 'The Loud House.' Words can't really describe it."

5. Are you a baseball fan?
"I'll always be a Mets fan. People say you can't have two favorite teams. But I do enjoy watching the Red Sox. I only root against the Red Sox when they're playing the Mets."

6. Where were you during Game 6 in 1986?
"In bed. My parents made me go to bed. I snuck a Sports Illustrated AM/FM radio into bed. I listened to it as quietly as I could. I tried not to make any noises when Mookie Wilson hit that ball."

7. What did your parents say to you about it the next day?
"They never brought it up. My dad (Ken) had already gone to work. My dad is actually a diehard Indians fan. they haven't won the World Series since he was two. I can't say it would be a bad thing. He's suffered through four (Bills) Super Bowls."

8. Are you a Bills fan?
"I'm a Broncos fan. Based on their track record, I couldn't become a Bills fan. I refused to suffer."