Not Your Average 7th Grade Math Teacher
May 5, 2003 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Kentucky Horsemen News Release
Grayson Smith makes the three-hour round trip journey from Salyersville to Lexington two to four times a week. Unlike many first-year 7th grade math teachers, Smith doesnt make this trip to work on a masters degree. No, Smith, who teaches math and coaches high school football, drives to Lexington to play for the Lexington Horsemen.
When asked why he would commit so much of his time to play football for 200 dollars a game, Smiths answer is simple. I love the game, he says. I love the competition, and mostly I love the camaraderie of playing football with my old teammates. Plus, my players [at Magoffin County High School] get to watch me practice the techniques I teach them every day.
Smith has never been average in any aspect of his life. He walked on to the University of Kentucky as a 218-pound linebacker and finished his career there as an undersized 250-pound defensive lineman, competing in one of the toughest conferences in the nation. His spare time in college was spent sharpening his boxing skills Smith finished third in the National College Boxing Association as a heavyweight.
Horsemen Head Coach Tony Franklin was an assistant at Kentucky while Smith was playing there and says, Grayson exemplifies what college athletics are supposed to be about. He overcame limited physical talent and worked hard enough to be a starter in the SEC. If we had had 85 players with Grayson Smiths work ethic and unselfishness, we would have never lost a game.
Grayson graduated with a challenging degree in mathematics while playing college football and competing as a top collegiate boxer, says Frankin, but his best quality is his genuine caring and professionalism. He is a foxhole friend. I want him on my team and I would love to have him teach my kids.
Smith his wife Amanda, a respiratory therapist at Central Baptist Hospital, loved their days as students at Kentucky. The chance to continue to play football with old friends was something that they couldnt pass up. Smiths passion for the game makes him a very unusual math teacher and football coach one who actually gets the opportunity to practice what he preaches.
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Arena Football League Stories from May 5, 2003
- Rattlers Headed to Playoffs for Eleventh Straight Season - Arizona Rattlers
- Not Your Average 7th Grade Math Teacher - Kentucky Horsemen
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