Olsen named new football coach at Smithville High
Phil Olsen
He grew up in Smithville, played for the Smithville High football team that finished second in the state in 2002 and then served as an assistant on the SHS staff the past seven seasons.
Now Phil Olsen will take his shot at leading the program that means so much to him.
On Monday the Green Local School Board approved the hiring of Olsen as the Smithies’ new head football coach. The 36-year-old replaces Mike Baker, who stepped down early last month after going 9-19 in three seasons.
“I’m immensely excited,” said Olsen, a 2003 SHS grad who served as the defensive coordinator under Baker. “I’m honored, humbled, all the cliché things. Honestly, I’m just ready to roll and get things going, which is good because our time frame is pretty short.”
Olsen, who is the manager of grounds at The College of Wooster, played on Smithville teams coached by Keith Schrock, Wayne County’s all-time leader in wins. He began coaching under Schrock’s successor, Brent Besancon, and continued under Baker.
But after 12 playoff appearances and winning or sharing 14 Wayne County Athletic League championships, the Smithies have spent the better part of the last decade unable to get back to that level. Since its last WCAL title in 2011, Smithville has made just one playoff appearance — excluding 2020 when every school made the postseason.
Still, after going 1-9 with just 24 players grades 9-12 in 2018, the Smithies went 5-5 with bigger numbers in 2019 before last year’s injury-plagued season.
“Ultimately, we have to embrace what Smithville tradition is all about and instill some of those values — discipline and toughness,” Olsen said. “Really, those are the things every good football team has. Obviously, numbers are a big topic of discussion, and we want to keep those on a steady climb. None of that will happen without dedication too — from the players, the coaching staff and the community.”
Olsen will be his own defensive coordinator, with staff holdover Mike Johns the offensive coordinator. The staff also includes Andy Foster, Scott Meech, Lepear Smith, Tyler Trogdon and Dana Sillman while Jason DeMassimo, who was the defensive coordinator for the state runner-up squad, is returning to assist on that side of the ball.
While Olsen wants to continue with Smithville’s long legacy of physical football, he realizes flexibility is a necessity in putting together an offensive plan of attack.
“I think what you can expect is that you’re going to run what you know and, more importantly, what fits the kids best too. Your system has to reflect the kids you have,” he said. “I’m not anti-pass or run; I’m pro-what fits us best. We have to be multiple enough that if teams put eight in the box against us, we can counteract that.”
The last week has been a whirlwind for the first-time head coach — he met with the team last Wednesday and officially got the job Monday — and it won’t get any easier the next two months. The Smithies open the 2021 season Aug. 20 on the road at Tuslaw.
“Most people who are first-time head coaches have in mind what it will be like and what they want to do, but can you ever really be ready? I do know that at Smithville we’ve had so few head football coaches that it’s pretty rare air,” Olsen said. “I was fortunate to come in under Brent Besancon. I learned a lot, and being the defensive coordinator for three years, I cut my teeth in that respect, but every head coach goes through it. Has it officially set in that I’m the head coach at Smithville? Yeah, it has, and I’m ready to get going.
“We’ve got 54 days (until the first game), and no one is going to wait on us to be ready. Does it change how we practice? Yeah, we need to have every ounce of focus on every single rep. We’ve got to go to Tuslaw, and that’s what we’re focusing on.”
Olsen resides in Smithville with his wife Kate, their daughter Myra and sons Jack and Boone.
One of his first official acts as head coach will be to hold a youth camp for those entering grades 2-6. The camp will be on July 8 and 9 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. each night at the SHS football stadium with the $20 registration fee including a T-shirt. Registration is available on the district’s website or at the first night of camp.