Reed Smith Takes Over Pea Ridge Girls Basketball | Varsity Vibe

Reed Smith was promoted to head coach of the Pea Ridge Girls Basketball program after being an assistant coach over two separate stints. Joining Alyssa Orange on this episode of Varsity Vibe, Smith talks about what he learned from Heath Neal, how he's adjusting to his new role, and what he hopes the future of Lady Blackhawks basketball looks like. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Commercial real estate everyday tests. Accurate information effort project services craft. Whatever your needs are, data clients to site evaluation, project execution, off excess.com. That's V-L-E-W-I-S.com. Get started today.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Love where you live and play with Lindsay Bad. Affordable apartment and golf memberships. Nine Top Corps. I yourself Trust Lindsay and Associates, serving the community for over 50 years. Lindsay, number one apartment, golf and real estate. Lewis Automotive has been serving Northwest Arkansas for over 75 years and just getting started. Our knowledgeable sales team is here to find you the perfect vehicle to fit not only your lifestyle, but also your budget.

SPEAKER_04 1:00

Our factory trained service technicians keep your vehicle running at optimal level.

SPEAKER_03 1:04

And if you're looking for genuine parts and accessories, our team has exactly what you need. Relax on a comfortable lap. And when your car's ready, we'll return it to you spotlight.

SPEAKER_04 1:13

Thank you for being a part of our story. Come see us in Lewis Automotive Group where you're more than a customer, you're family.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

Welcome into Varsity Vibe, brought to you by First Security Bank. I'm your host, Alyssa Orange, and it is great to share another conversation with you. We're going to head up to Pea Ridge and sit down with new head girls basketball coach Reed Smith. Smith taking over recently as the former head coach Heath Neal decided to step away from the program. And it's an exciting time. He has been on this step in two different stints, and he's just excited to continue to carry on the level of execution and excellence that was laid from the head coach before. So love the opportunity to sit down and pick his brain and just the excitement of what is next for Lady Black Hots basketball. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Pete Ridge head coach Reed Smith. So it's been a few weeks now, I think, since you've taken over as the uh head coach. How's it been? How's it feel?

SPEAKER_03 2:26

Uh well, no, it feels great. Like I'm I'm super excited to be here. I'm glad that I got this opportunity. Uh I'm drinking from a fire hose right now. Um but uh kind of kind of getting used to it a little bit. Um but yeah, no, everything's wonderful. I I've I've had uh Coach Kenny uh beside me this whole time. So we've kind of been um trudging through it together to try to figure stuff out, but it's going good. I'm I'm starting to I'm starting to get the hang of it.

SPEAKER_01 2:54

Great, great. Well, this is like your second stint at Pea Ridge, right? You were there for a little bit, left, went to Missouri, kind of came back and then came back as an assistant. Um, you know, but over those years, what did you learn about the program that once this opening opened up, you felt really called to see if you could lead it?

SPEAKER_03 3:12

Well, yeah. So I I mean, well, first of all, you know, Coach Neal, like wonderful basketball mind, great X's and O's guy, and and and a great friend of mine. I've known him for 30 years.

SPEAKER_02 3:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:22

Um, so whenever I uh I had a had a job uh out, uh had a different career, and then I I decided I want to go back to school and be a teacher and a coach. And Heath gave me my first opportunity to to work with him, be his assistant. And so I was at P Ridge for five years as the JV coach. And then I got an opportunity to be a head coach up in Missouri. So I took I took that job and and and absolutely loved being the head coach. Uh uh, but life circumstances, it was it was a long drive, um, and it was uh wasn't a whole lot of money in it, so so I made a decision to come back to Arkansas. And uh was with uh different school district for a couple years, and then and this job opened back up, same job I had started with uh with Heath. And so I I called him up, said love to come back. Uh got back on board with him, and of course we had we had a wonderful run. Now I love working at P Ridge because I love being around the people. Uh not only the kids, but the the staff here. I I think is fantastic, and it kind of had a family feel to it. And I I was looking forward to getting back to that whenever I came back. So I enjoyed that. And of course, again, whenever I came back at a great time. We had we had one of our kids that made a fantastic run. Uh so it was it was great to be a part of that. And when Heath decided to move on to other things, when Coach Neil decided to move on to different different things, um, I kind of just jumped at the opportunity. I I I mean, I I wouldn't necessarily say it was a calling by any means, but um the chance, the the chance to sit in that chair and and lead the program, like uh it felt like an opportunity that I couldn't pass up.

SPEAKER_01 5:10

Yeah. Well, going back to that, that conversation, um, knowing that Coach Neal was gonna leave, um, how did that go with you two since you have such a close relationship?

SPEAKER_03 5:20

Well, I I mean, you want nothing but the best for each other, obviously. So he that an opportunity arose where um he could spend more time at home and and still take care of everybody financially. So I was all for it, man. I was like, go for it, right? Uh you know, he I don't have any little ones at home, but now he's got two now. I mean, he had a new edition this past year. So the fact that he gets to spend more time at home is great. He always said, like, you know, I spend more time with with my basketball girls than I do my my own kids, and and that's the truth. So the the chance that he got to jump at that, like I was all for it. Like, I didn't take any, like, hey man, like it's you got you gotta like you gotta take care of you and your family. So I I thought that was a wonderful opportunity for him, and I'm very happy for him for sure. We still talk almost every day. Um, I have to call him and pick his brain about stuff, and he's still he's like he's still a wonderful influence and a wonderful uh mentor of mine. So yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:18

Do you have to call him and say, hey, what drawer did you leave this file in, or something like that?

SPEAKER_03 6:21

Yeah, that's that's a fact. Um that that is an absolute fact. So he he handled a all of the administrative stuff and and the social media stuff, and and oh my lord, I'm terrible at it. Um the administrative stuff I'm figuring out pretty pretty well. Uh but uh I we're gonna have to get some young assistants in here that can take care of the social media stuff because I'm I'm I'm fumbling all through that right now.

SPEAKER_01 6:46

Yeah, so so what do you think as we before we kind of transition into what you see the program like, what did you learn the most from him and how he handled his business as a head coach?

SPEAKER_03 6:56

Oh, that's fantastic. So he was uh, like I said, X's and O's were outstanding with him. Now he he did he did a lot of things game management wise. I actually got to watch him grow as a head coach because I was with him his first year as a head coach, and I learned with him as we went. So game management was a one thing that uh I learned a lot from him because I watched him learn it on the fly. Um and that was that was wonderful. And that's that's that's a growth of mind that I that I want to know that I can do. And I've said that multiple times. Uh first 31 minutes of the game are relatively I I don't want to say easy by any means, but um straightforward to coach. It says the last 60 seconds, that's really tough. And he uh he was fantastic at control in that part of the game, and so I learned a lot about that from him. And listen, X's and O's, every school that I went to after I left P Ridge, I took his offensive defense with me. Like I ran a little bit of that everywhere I went. Um because uh I again I I I learned under him, so I learned how to implement those things. And so uh which influence did I have from him the most? I I it's it's hard to pin down one, um, but I would say a lot, a lot of my my basketball IQ grew exponentially because of him. And so I the fact that I get to take over for him, I I think is just awesome. I learned a lot from him. The influences are exponential uh all over the board from him.

SPEAKER_01 8:28

Hey, speaking of the last like 60 seconds of games, you guys had a lot of experience just this last season and the postseason, and a lot of notes to be taken.

SPEAKER_03 8:37

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Um, so I mean uh you know, the of course the Pottsville, the Pottsville game in regionals was was a tough one to swallow, right? Yeah, um, and then uh, but you you know, I mean they they made a shot. Whether whoever says what doesn't matter. They they made a shot at the end of the game. And then uh in the state tournament, I mean Presley Hudson, that's that's a that's a moment that you're never gonna forget, right? Um it wasn't like we drew it up. That was that was just a kid being a great athlete and having um the presence of mind to to cut off the next pass. So it was uh mostly player skill and a little bit of luck thrown in there.

SPEAKER_01 9:26

Sure, sure. I mean you just had such a special senior class um that I'm I'm sure you'd love to have back, uh, but they've all graduated and moved on. What did that group teach you over the years? How fun was it to just watch their development?

SPEAKER_03 9:40

Yeah, so I actually so I coached them when they were seventh graders, then I left uh to run around and do the do my own thing. Um and then I came back in their juniors. Uh and a majority of the that the ones that I had in seventh grade stayed together and they stayed as a group. They play all year together, they played all year round together, whether it be for P Ridge or an AEO team or something like that. I mean, they they were always together and and they were a very close-knit group, and they knew um everybody knew they were very talented and they and they had a they had a chance to make some type of run like that.

SPEAKER_02 10:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:19

So it was it was a very special group. It was a great group to be around. I I mean uh obviously Prescy Hudson was a late edition. Um, but I mean, you know, you got McKenzie, you got uh Brooklyn Wynn, you had McKenna Ward, Jazzy Dixon, Anna Price. I I know I forgot some somebody, so whoever's listening, I apologize. Uh, but like it was an awesome group to to watch and be a part of, and and that's one of those groups where it's um a lot of times you just kind of get to sit as a coach sit back and watch, right? And so that's a lot of fun. And uh, you know, they taught this next group uh a lot of a lot of valuable lessons. So I'm excited to see what this next group uh can do. They the they haven't had uh a lot of that varsity experience, so so now it's next man up mentality. We get to see get to they get the opportunity kind of to kind of shine, and I'm really excited to see what they've learned from that previous group and what what this group can really do.

SPEAKER_01 11:17

Yeah, and it feels like you get to learn together as you kind of figure out what you want things to look like. You've got this brand new group coming in. I mean, you could sit here and say, you know, what do you hope that this upcoming year looks like, or what do you hope that they've taken away from from watching those girls play? But really looking to the future as you sit there right now, what does it look like?

SPEAKER_03 11:36

Well, uh, so so like I said, hey, I mean, there's a big question mark on that always. Like you never know what what the year is gonna bring you or how the which way the ball is gonna bounce. And and and uh there's always uh you got to make adjustments on the fly with injuries or move ins or move outs. Um so so you never can really pin down what that is. What I want to see out of this group is just confidence more than anything. Like I want them to know that they they have uh the support from the coaching staff to go out there and kind of do their thing and and uh the success is gonna come from uh how well that they compete. Like they they haven't had that opportunity to compete yet. So it how much how competitive they are is is gonna be a real driver of what their success is. Um and like I said, what they've learned from the previous groups, like you're gonna see you'll see a lot of the same stuff that uh offensively and defensively and philosophy-wise that that you saw in the previous years. Uh I mean, every year you have to change a little bit because of personnel, but I mean you're gonna see a lot of the same stuff. But I mean, kind of to answer your question, what what do I hope to see out of them as far as success? Like if if they walk in with that type of confidence that I know they can have, I I think you're gonna see this group really shine and really show something and really shock a lot of people.

SPEAKER_01 12:59

Yeah, yeah. You said that you took a little bit of Coach Neil's offense and defense with you and all of your previous stops, and now you're back. But if I were to say, what is your basketball philosophy, what does your style look like? How would you describe it?

SPEAKER_03 13:12

You know, I I get asked that a lot in general. And at the high school level, your your philosophy depends on what group you have. Uh um, so it has to change year to year. I mean, it has it has to uh kind of have a little flow to it. So uh it's still gonna be it's still gonna be a four-out motion type offense with uh with the group that we have. I I have I have two bigs that I have a lot of faith in. So we're you're gonna see a lot more high-low type stuff that it's gonna focus more uh working the ball inside out. Whereas last year, you had a Kinsey, you had a you had a Brooklyn that could just fire it from 30 feet. So those uh the philosophy was a little different with with that group, but the core of the offense is still gonna stay the same. It's just gonna have a little bit of tweaks to focus on a uh a couple different strengths that we have this coming year rather than what we had last year. Um defensively, uh last year, very small, very quick. Uh, you saw a lot of man, a lot of run and jump, right? This year, uh we got a little bit more size. So, so we're probably going to focus on uh protecting the paint a little bit more. And um the game may not be as fast. We're still gonna try to play a little fast. Uh but uh philosophy, like I said, you you tweak it every yeah, but what Coach Will spent 10 years putting into place into here, I'm not gonna it like I'm not gonna try and reinvent the wheel on what he did because I I was here with him whenever he put it in, right? So I I want to be a part of that for sure.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

Yeah, that makes total sense. So, what has kind of been the big things? You talked about team camp is starting and you guys have got some stuff, and so like what does the summer look like for this program?

SPEAKER_03 14:56

So, uh more than anything, it's just us kind of getting to know each other. Um so team camps, uh, we we went down to Charleston. We're getting we're getting ready to leave to Pit State right now. We got Pit State two weeks in a row. Um again, just kind of uh getting a chemistry built, not only from coaches to players, but players to players. Uh you were seeing a lot of a lot of kids touch the floor um and be in games that uh hadn't seen a whole lot of RC minutes before. So they're kind of just finding their groove right now, and it's it's a lot of fun to watch. Um, but that's that's what the team camps are about. Uh I I have no idea how many wins and losses we have so far. Don't care. That's not what team camps about for me.

SPEAKER_01 15:37

So and what's that, you know, these these girls know you as an assistant coach, you know, they've been around you, you're a familiar face, right? But you're in a new role. And does that change maybe you as a coach a little bit or how they get to know you or you know, the relationship you have with these players?

SPEAKER_03 15:55

You know, I mean, maybe a little, uh, may uh maybe a little, but with with how we as a staff coach, um, every everybody every coach's voice is heard in a practice. Um, so it's not it hasn't changed that much because I was doing a lot of coaching before. It wasn't it wasn't Coach Neal running the entire practice, and I just sat on the side waiting for um somebody to be upset and I had to calm them down. And it wasn't like that. Um every coach runs drills in our practice, every coach's voice is heard, so it hasn't really changed that much. It's just one less voice right now with with Coach Neal not there.

SPEAKER_01 16:36

Right, right. How how important is you know the logo across your chest and lady black hawk basketball and just being able to now have an opportunity to put your own stamp on it and continue what Coach Neal has started, but really, you know, give it give it your own identity as well, and and the opportunity has just got to be really exciting.

SPEAKER_03 16:54

It is really exciting, but but like I said, uh I mean I I am thoroughly excited to to be in this chair. Absolutely. But I don't want to uh he built a legacy here and I just I want to continue it. Yes, I uh I mean I I know that I'm sitting in that chair now, but it's gonna whatever successes we see is gonna be as a group, the the group that we have that joined this office. Uh whatever failures we have is gonna be squarely on my shoulders. But uh the if we see if and when we see those successes, it's gonna be because of all the great things that uh there nobody's here right now, but they will be. But but the people behind me have done.

SPEAKER_01 17:32

So yeah, yeah. It's always a packed office every time I came to visit you guys.

SPEAKER_03 17:36

So that will change. I'm just I'm just here early right now. Like I've got to be sunk.

SPEAKER_01 17:42

I understand, which I appreciate. Has it has it sunk in, you know, that the head coach part of your title? And if it has it, when do you think it might it has absolutely not sunk in yet?

SPEAKER_03 17:53

Um absolutely not. I I think I think uh the first home game, okay. Uh whenever you know you turn off the lights and you do the intro, that that you you might see me sweating a little right then.

SPEAKER_01 18:06

But okay. All right. I was gonna say that's a little bit of a ways away, but uh yeah, I think that's what is really gonna hit me on the go. And your head coach, the lady Blackhawks, is reaching like, wait, who? I'm just kidding.

unknown 18:20

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 18:21

Like that that'll be the the big the big uh awakening for me.

SPEAKER_01 18:24

Yeah. So yeah. Well, congratulations. Um, I'm excited to see what you do with the program, and you know we'll be up there. So uh I'm excited to see how everything unfolds for you.

SPEAKER_03 18:35

Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 18:37

Thank you so much for joining us on this episode of Varsity Vibe brought to you by First Security Bank. Again, as I always do, I encourage you to head on over to our social medias because even though the athletic calendar technically is over there, so much going on with team camps and seven-on-seven and practices getting ready for the fall, and we will be covering all of it over there. So make sure to check us out on Instagram, X, TikTok, and Facebook for all of that, as well as sign up for our newsletter at varsityvibearkansal.com. That comes to your inbox twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. Keep tuned though with everything that's going on in high school athletics around the state, and subscribe to our YouTube channel and wherever you get your podcast. Once again, I'm your host, Alyssa Orange. Thank you so much for joining us, and I'll see you next time.

SPEAKER_04 19:36

Revive your ride at Club Car Wash.

SPEAKER_01 19:45

Quick surface, the go-to team for building championship level sports facilities for public schools, private schools, and the entire school district. They also install beautiful backyard hunting grades for homeowners, no life, like eco-friendly surf. QuickSurf handles everything from design and lighting to drainage and final landscaping. They also want approach delivers high performance services for athletes and low maintenance greens that last for years with preventative maintenance programs that keep every field and green looking game day ready. Schedule a free consultation today at quick turf.com. That's qik turf.com.