People of Central – Caitlin Smith

Story By Anna Konen

Photo by Xiaobin Su

Caitlin Smith, or “C Smitty” as her friends call her, is a freshman at Central Michigan University. Her major is sports management with a minor in coaching and leadership. Smith has big dreams of one day coaching basketball, becoming a high school’s athletic director and possibly even working for the Pistons Youth Organization.

Smith is a MAC scholar who received the Leadership Advancement Scholarship, sings in the gospel choir C3 and is the head coach of the girl’s club basketball team.

Smith was drawn to CMU because of both the MAC and LAS programs on campus. When she came to the university she knew she wanted to be involved with basketball in some form. With the coaching position opening, as well as the former coach coming in to talk to her class, the job seemed like a perfect fit.

“This is a great experience for me. It’s weird because most of the girls are older than me, but they are really good at listening to me and following directions and most nights are a ton of fun.”

Smith is currently unable to play basketball because of the four different foot surgeries she had over the course of her high school career.

“I finally told myself I had to stop so I could actually enjoy high school.”

Due to not being able to play, she became the manager of her high school team. This was one way for her to stay connected to her passion; basketball.

“It was really scary at first with all the freedom I had,” she said.

Smith went through some obstacles with her dream.

“Since I couldn’t be as involved in basketball, I got involved with leadership and student government. I found a way to use my strengths in leadership and also apply it to basketball.  ”

Smith is a prime example of what it means to overcome obstacles and live life with an open mind if things don’t go as planned.