Allen lacrosse coach Mark Smith made a difference

FROM KEITH GROLLER

Mark Smith was a standout football and basketball player at Allen High School.

But he said those sports depend so much on size.

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Tropical Storm Lee (2011)

That's why he was drawn to lacrosse where size doesn't matter. He saw firsthand the qualities of the sport as his son, Alex, came through the Schnecksville youth program and then played at Parkland High School and Wagner University before transferring to George Washington.

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Smith got involved and built a program at Allen and coached for six years.

But his main job is in real estate and his business ventures here and in Manhattan became too time-consuming.

So, Smith resigned as Allen's lacrosse coach this past week.

"It was a difficult decision, but with the real estate market in this economy, things are very busy and I just felt if I couldn't give my all to the program, I shouldn't continue as coach," Smith said. "It wouldn't be fair to the kids."

Smith is hopeful that someone takes over the program. He had an outstanding assistant in Scott Siegmund, but Siegmund works at Air Products and must do extensive traveling.

Although not successful in terms of wins, Smith felt his program did a lot of good.

"We had a lot of kids participating who weren't involved in any other sport," he said. "Our problem was that we could never get a feeder system going like the other lacrosse programs in the Lehigh Valley. We had kids who didn't pick up a stick until they got to Allen. But we had a few kids who stayed with it enough that they are now playing in college."

Smith appreciated the support he received from the Allentown School District and Allen athletic director Scott Cooperman.

"It did become a tough sell week after week when we didn't have any tangible sign of success, but the kids were great and responded," Smith said.

Dan Dolphin, the Central Catholic coach and a friend of Smith, saw the hard work Smith put into the program.

"Six years ago, with the approval of Scott Cooperman, Mark single-handedly raised the money to start the club lacrosse program at Allen," Dolphin said. "He received a grant from the U.S. Lacrosse Association that set aside money for inner-city schools to start programs. He hounded local business contacts for donations.

"Mark's teams have been the doormat of the six-team league since it was formed. That's because his kids were going against established programs where the kids were playing for three to five years before they ever got to high school. Allen kids never played before high school."

Dolphin said Smith gave so much of himself to the program.

"With the odds stacked against him, he could have quit at any time, and nobody would have blamed him," Dolphin said. "But Mark kept coaching, logging hundreds of hours each year with no realistic expectation of winning. He donated his coaching stipend to the program. He recognized the good his players were getting out of playing lacrosse."

Smith said he plans to stay involved with lacrosse and hopes to return to coaching one day, but said he would only do it in Allentown.

"I love the Allen and Dieruff kids," he said. "In fact, I'm moving back into the city. I care about my alma mater and the city and still want to make a difference. We had a Senior Night last year and of the 17 kids honored, 16 were going to college. That says it all."

LVC LENDING A HAND

The Lehigh Valley Conference and its Student-Athlete Character Council want to help those in Schuylkill County who are still recovering from the damage created by Tropical Storm Lee.

During this school week, each of the 12 LVC schools will be working to secure donations from its students. Donations of cash and gift cards will also be accepted at each school.

On Saturday, the LVC is hosting its annual boys soccer and girls field hockey "Play Days" at four locations — Whitehall, Nazareth, Bethlehem Area School District Stadium, and J. Birney Crum Stadium. A drop-off location will be available at each of the sites to accept donations from 9 a.m until 2 p.m. Cash donations will also be accepted at the ticket booths.

The donations will be then taken to Schuylkill County to assist the families affected by the extensive flooding and other destruction.

"Schuylkill County is part of District 11 and those are colleagues and friends of ours in the Lehigh Valley Conference," said Whitehall athletic director Bob Hartman. "I don't know if people truly understand the damage that was done and how difficult it is for those schools and the people in those communities right now.

"Fred Harris, the athletic director in Bethlehem, Rusty Amato at Nazareth and the entire conference is behind this. I've already talked to our four kids at Whitehall who are members of the Student-Athlete Character Council and they're excited and ready to do what they can to get the donations. If people pull together, we can take a whole of caravan to Schuylkill County with things that they really need."

Among the items that the LVC needs are: personal-care supplies, toiletries, diapers, wipes, cleaning supplies, rubber gloves, non-perishable food items, pet supplies, bottled water, drinks, paper supplies and more.

If you want to help, you can contact your school athletic office or visit http://www.lviac.net.

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