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CRIMSON SHIELD
THE ONLINE MAGAZINE OF BROTHER MARTIN HIGH SCHOOL |
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| January 2011 |
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Head Soccer Coach Louie Smothermon
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Louie Smothermon had a circuitous journey from Vietnam to New Orleans.
- His father met his Vietnamese bride while working as a civilian for the Army during the Vietnam War. The family moved to Arizona when Louie and his younger brother were toddlers.
- Louie played baseball and soccer from an early age. His mother prohibited football because of fear of injury.
- His freshman year at Greenway High School in Phoenix, Smothermon tried wrestling so that he could compete in a sport where his small size would not inhibit him. Despite being named Freshman Wrestler of the Year, he abandoned wrestling because it conflicted with his first love, soccer.
- "I was not one of the better players until my junior year." However, he developed into an All-State performer. He also competed on club teams in tournaments throughout the southwest and west coast.
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Soccer provided his ticket to a college education.
- His high school coach knew the soccer coach at Lander University in Greenville SC. So Louie and several of his teammates traveled across the country to play for the NAIA school.
- Louie made All American twice, was Palmetto Conference Player of the Year, and District 6 Player of the Year.
- An Exercise Science major, Louie won some academic honors, including an invitation from his department chair to apply for a Rhodes Scholarship.
- However, he had his sights set on a pro soccer career, preferably abroad. He hired an agent who didn't pan out.
Louie returned to Arizona.
- He played pro indoor soccer in that area for several years.
- He took a graduate assistant opportunity at East Tennessee State. During his two years there, he commuted to play with a pro team in Greenville SC.
After earning a Master's Degree in Sport Management in 1997, he tried out for the New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers of the United States Independent Soccer League (USISL).
- He made the team and moved to the Crescent City. In addition to his salary, the team covered his housing and living expenses.
- He played with the Gamblers as they transitioned into the Storm, becoming an assistant coach as well.
Since the USISL season covered only half the year, Louie sought other employment.
- He was named Director of Coaching and Player Development for the Carrollton Soccer Association in 1998.
- The position came in handy when the Storm folded the following year.
- At that point, he decided to retire from pro soccer and concentrate on coaching. "I continued to play the whole time with men's leagues, just not pro."
- He married a local girl and settled in the Crescent City. They have an eight-year-old daughter and three-year-old son.
Smothermon was open to coaching at a high school if the right opportunity opened up.
- He became Brother Martin's non-faculty coach for the 2005-6 school year.
- Before he held a single meeting with his new squad, Katrina hit. Principal Gene Tullier gave him the green light to organize a team during the first semester when Brother Martin held evening classes at Catholic High in Baton Rouge.
- Louie recalls how excited the boys were – especially the seniors – when they learned they would have a season. He knew some of the players from coaching them or coaching against them on the playgrounds.
- The 2005-6 team played a full schedule. They practiced daily at Independence Park in Baton Rouge until Brother Martin reopened on Elysian Fields in January. Amazingly, the Crusaders made it all the way to the state semifinals.
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Louie thinks his current squad's #5 state ranking is "fair."
- "We have a good, solid team. A lot of good young men. At the end of the day, we'll compete in the playoffs with the top teams and many things will determine whether we're state champions, but that's our goal."
- He is pleased with the younger teams' development. "The 9th-graders just beat our blue friends down the street at the Rummel tournament."
- He likes having 7th-graders to point them in the right direction a year earlier.
- The senior staff is giving the younger players more attention this year. Louie and his varsity assistant work with them from time to time. "The program is healthy. The future is bright."
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Coach Smothermon at work
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The Carrollton Soccer Association continues to be his main employer.
- He worked to merge all the clubs in the city, a process that was completed last year. Louie now supervises all youth soccer in the area.
- As Brother Martin coach, he has to walk a fine line in dealing with club players. He doesn't see coaches recruiting for their school teams. "If people ask you about your school or program, you tell them. If they show interest, you talk."
Louie would like to change the LHSAA's attitude toward club teams.
- Louisiana is one of the few states that prohibit soccer players from participating in any practices or games with club teams during the high school season. As a result, some students with aspirations of playing in college forsake their school teams to play in club tournaments that attract hundreds of college coaches whose season ends in late November just as high school seasons are starting.
- Louie sees no need to move the prep season forward. Instead, he wants the LHSAA to follow the lead of other states and grant players a certain number of exemption days during the season when they can play in club tournaments. The high school coaches would construct their schedules around those opportunities so that their players can experience the best of both worlds.
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