Lapeer football coach Mike Smith, left, shakes hands with Davison coach Jake Weingartz, who has coached with or against Smith for the better part of 20 years. Photography by Rusty Bashor
Lapeer – After 39 years of coaching football, 26 years with the Lapeer football programs, 2023 Michigan High School Football Coaches Association 2020 Football Coach Mike Smith hangs up his whistle.
Smith, who coached Lapeer West from 1988-2013 and at Lapeer Consolidated High School since 2014, gathered with a group of more than 50 players and coaches to make the announcement in person Thursday. Smith will maintain his position as dean of students and his roles within the athletic department.
“At some point, you have to decide when it’s the right time to go,” Smith told his players and coaches in the gym on Thursday. “But don’t feel sorry for me, I’m the lucky one. I was very lucky to be your coach.”
Smith said Boycott He presses Thursday afternoon, “We’ve been thinking about it for a while, my wife and I. After 26 years as a head coach, I have grandchildren I want to see play sports, and because I coach high school football, I’m unable to do that.” My wife and I talked. “You just know when the time is right.”
Lapeer University football coach Mike Smith stands at the top of the stadium steps leading to Fitzpatrick Field in the Innovation Center, a ritual he has repeated since 2014 when Lapeer East and West merged into one high school. Photography by Lisa Payne
Smith, who said he has 24 years working in Lapeer Community Schools as his full-time job, indicated he will decide in July whether to retire from his administrative position.
“Some things in our lives will change a little bit,” Smith said of what life will look like after stepping away from football. “It felt right. It’s a youth sport (laughs). I enjoyed every minute of doing it and I never wanted to be in a situation where I couldn’t give 100% of my energy. I never wanted to cheat on the job. It’s really a 12-month job and not I have no concerns about it. I’m not that guy anymore, and my wife and I have things we want to do. Travel, we have kids out of state, and a lot of other things we don’t have time for.
Smith, who never sought the limelight, was always about the young people he helped shape.
Lapeer Football Coach and Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2023) Mike Smith coached his final football game after announcing his retirement from coaching on Thursday, November 30. Photography by Rusty Bashor
“The thing I’ll miss the most is the kids,” he said. “We get to know these kids as 10th graders in our building and to be able to watch their maturity and growth and the relationships they build with the coaches while we’re all trying to build youth and provide a great product on the field every Friday. Night time is what matters to me. I’ve always enjoyed that process. It’s a working relationship.” “The teachers, the players, the community, the staff. I appreciate it all. I’ve had a lot of support and I feel very grateful and very blessed.”
When Smith was asked what Friday nights might look like in the future, he didn’t hesitate and said with a laugh: “My wife will help me fill my schedule!”
“We’ll have to live with our lack of it (football) at first and see how that fits in with us as we make those plans,” Smith added.
Smith returned to the critically important relationships he had built and cherished.
“Relationships are very important to me. With the players, their parents, my assistants, the staff, the administrators. What we do on Friday night requires a lot of people, and I’ve been very fortunate to have such great support from everyone in something I absolutely love.
Smith also explained: “Football is a unique sport, the ultimate team game. The support we receive from the players, parents and community at our stadium is a special experience. It’s something I’m all proud of.”
Smith said it will be difficult to leave behind something so near and dear to his heart, but he hopes the next coach will continue to provide a great football product every Friday night for the community.
He noted that the program has had its share of ups and downs, but the merger of Lapeer East and West was not the most difficult.
“Our off-season training over the winter, all the behind-the-scenes operations, a lot of people let their egos down, and it was all about football,” Smith explained. “If you put in a lot of time and effort and cooperate honestly, everything will work out in the end. I am proud of the children who had a huge role in this first combined team and how they all wore the same jersey and put aside competition to become one team.
Smith also stressed that as the district searches for its next head coach, he knows it will be done right.
“It’s going to be a well-thought-out process and I’m all for coming out of that process to get the best way to keep this program moving in the right direction. I can see three of our current coaches stepping up and we’ll see who steps up from the outside,” Smith said.
Lapeer Community Schools Superintendent Matt Wandrey praised his outgoing leader.
“You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who has had a greater impact on our school community than Coach Smith,” Wandry said. “We are so fortunate to have a man of such integrity, clarity of purpose, and love of community to guide our youth. No one loves Lapeer more than Mike Smith, and we are forever grateful for his leadership.”
During his time as head coach of Lapeer High School, Smith compiled an incredible 75-27 record.
Davison coach Jake Weingartz, who co-coached with Smith during the first few years of the merger, knows Smith better than most.
“Obviously losing a Hall of Fame coach is tough,” Weingartz said. “LaPierre has had good support, with Eric Hensel and Austin Green and others who have been around the program. As long as they have good people, they’ll be fine.”
Weingartz continued, “Mike has had a great career. I’ve known Mike since I was a little kid. My mom and his wife are very good friends, so I’ve spent many years around him since I was a kid, going on spring break trips and stuff. Mike’s a good guy.”
“For six years when we were rivals, then four years at the fusion school before I went to Davison. I have a lot of respect for Mike. I’ve coached with him, against him, and we’ve been with or against each other for 20 years.”
LCS said it will begin the process of finding Smith’s successor in December, publishing the vacancy internally and externally with a goal of hiring a new head football coach by the end of January.
