BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
After it was announced at Sharyland ISD’s special board meeting on Tuesday that Casey Smith had been named the new head baseball coach at Sharyland Pioneer, Smith called every one of his players at Mission Veterans to let them know he was leaving.
“It was an extremely tough decision,” Smith said. “The toughest part of it is leaving the kids that I had there. … It’s going to be tough not seeing those kids every day, because I love them. They are great kids.”
That kind of passion is exactly what Pioneer athletic coordinator Thomas Lee said contributed to the hiring of Smith.
“We have that with all of our coaches,” Lee said. “We expect that. We want our coaches to build relationships with our kids on and off the field and make sure they are doing the right things in the classrooms and they are representing Pioneer high school to the highest of esteem. We expect that from Coach Smith, and we know he had that with his kids at Mission Veterans.”
Smith spent six years early in his career within the ISD at Sharyland High as an assistant to head coach Barton Bickerton. After Smith’s time working with Bickerton from 2002-08, Smith and Bickerton remained close. So, when Smith became a candidate for the Pioneer job, Lee knew just who to talk to.
“We go out there, and we do our homework,” Lee said. “Him and coach Bickerton are good friends, and they have coached together for a long time and coached against each other for a long time. I always like to talk to coach Bickerton about baseball coaches, because he knows just about everybody in the Valley. He was a good part of the figuring out what we were going to do out here at Pioneer.”
When Smith got the job at Veterans, the situation was similar to the one he is entering at Pioneer. The program had only been in existence for a few years, and the team had never had a winning season and never been to the playoffs. In eight years at Veterans, Smith’s teams went 177-67-1 with seven playoff appearances, including going four rounds deep once. The Patriots have also won a district championship in each of the last five seasons.
“The Pioneer job really mirrors the situation when I started at Mission Vets,” Smith said. “It’s a daunting challenge, but it’s a fun challenge. I enjoy challenges, and I enjoy the building aspect of it. Is it similar? It’s extremely similar to me. God willing, we can experience the same type of success that we have been able to build at Mission Vets. That’s tough to do. If that were the case, that would be unbelievable to match that level of success.”
Smith was the right candidate for Lee and Pioneer. But for Smith, the reasons to leave needed to be overwhelming based on how much he loved his time at Mission Veterans.
“The main reason for my decision was my family,” Smith said. “I live in Edinburg. The drive to Mission Veterans was considerably longer. … I’m able to be closer to my family, and it’s an opportunity to build again, start fresh and build a new program.”
With the Mission Veterans job fading into the rearview mirror, Smith took a moment to reflect on his time on that crisscross of dirt, chalk and grass just off North Francisco Avenue.
“The first district championship was special,” Smith said. “But, really just the moments with the kids. I could sit there and look at trophies and stuff like that, but really just being with those kids. I had so many wonderful experiences, coached so many great kids, and they sold out for me, they sold out for the program. I will forever be grateful for those kids.”