Tyler Corlett<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When Mr. Smith first walked in to North Toronto Collegiate, he was young, had a full head of hair, and two working legs. After thirty three years at the school, and none of the above, he has decided to retire.<\/p>\n
Mr. Smith began his years at NT as a temporary
\nPhys-Ed substitute in 1979. In that year, a litre of gas cost 23 cents, the
\nPittsburgh Steelers won their 4th Super bowl, and two top songs were the well
\nknown disco tunes \u201cI Will Survive\u201d and \u201cLe Freak\u201d by Chic. Soon after arriving,
\nMr. Smith was offered a position as a full time Phys-Ed teacher, and so the
\nlegend began.<\/p>\n
Back in his prime Mr Smith wasn\u2019t quite like you know him today. In school, he was
\nquite the athlete. He played on the high school football and basketball teams
\nand was also an OFSAA cross country champion. His success in these sports was
\nrecognized when he received The Athlete of The Year Award in his graduating
\nyear at Jarvis Collegiate. Mr Smith went to the University of Waterloo to study
\nKinesiology. While there, he played for the Waterloo Warriors football team. It
\nwas while playing football at university that his long and interesting history
\nof knee problems began.\u00a0 Little did he know, his first knee injury would snowball, and it would be the butt of many jokes for 40 years.<\/p>\n
Mr. Smith is extremely well known in the TDSB. He has convened multiple sports
\nleagues, most frequently basketball and baseball. At one time he was President
\nof the TDSB Athletics Association. He seems to know every coach of the teams he
\ncompetes against, many of the referees, and the sports writers who scribble
\ndown his witty post game remarks. Not only is Mr Smith well known, he is
\nincredibly well liked.<\/p>\n
At school, Mr. Smith has coached many sports teams, most notably the boys\u2019
\nbaseball and basketball teams. He was also defensive coach of the football
\nteam, coach of the girls\u2019 basketball team, and coach of the curling and golf
\nteams.\u00a0 Athletes describe him as a player\u2019s coach. He loves nothing more than to see his athletes succeed, but he\u2019s not afraid to let you know where you need to improve. After years of coaching other people\u2019s children, he was finally able to coach his own son
\nOwen, and daughter, Jinty.<\/p>\n
In the staff community at North Toronto, Mr. Smith is a huge contributor. He is
\nconstantly organizing social events and slipping notes into staff mailboxes
\nabout lunches at the Duke of Kent. He organises playoff hockey pools and the
\nMasters Golf tournament pools. The staff I spoke to say he is an incredible
\ncontributor to the morale of all the teachers at the school. Sometimes teachers
\nlook forward to staff meetings simply because they can\u2019t wait to hear what he
\nhas to say. Mr Hood says, \u201cThings will be very different when he leaves.\u201d<\/p>\n
He is a natural speaker and M.C. with an amazing sense of humour and quick wit.
\n\u201cSometimes pulling teeth is easier than getting the microphone out of his
\nhands\u201d said Mr Russell.<\/p>\n
I was the subject of one of his roasts at commencement this year. He has the
\nuncanny ability to simultaneously make you feel better about yourself, and
\nlaugh at yourself. I can say it was quite an honour to be roasted by Mr. Smith.<\/p>\n
It would have been pretty easy for Mr. Smith to have decided to retire when
\nconstruction of the new school began 5 years ago. He knew the next 4 years
\nwould be quite a challenge, especially for the Phys-Ed department which runs
\nthe second most number of sports team in the TDSB. Despite this he decided to
\nstay. Facilities at the old school were already subpar, and as soon as
\nconstruction began we lost our field. Many gym classes and team practises took
\nplace at Eglinton Park. It was a logistical nightmare for the Phys-Ed office;
\nthey didn\u2019t have much to work with. Mr Smith, the department head known for
\nnever losing his cool, made things work.<\/p>\n
Mr.Smith also stayed stayed because he felt an incredible amount of attachment to
\nthe school and its community, and felt he should see the transition through. He
\nwas instrumental in the planning of the school\u2019s new athletic facilities, and
\nhas advocated for many of the things we take for granted in athletics today.<\/p>\n
After giving as much as Mr. Smith has to North Toronto, he deserves a wonderful
\nretirement. He plans to move up to his newly renovated Huntsville cottage and
\nspend time with his wife Nora. I\u2019ve heard there may even be plans in the works
\nto buy a pick-up truck, a perfect match for the laid back northern lifestyle.
\nThe couple will also look forward to travelling the world on Mr. Smith\u2019s brand
\nnew knee. Let\u2019s hope he\u2019s able to avoid multiple cavity searches when the new
\nmetal plate in his knee continues to set off airport security.<\/p>\n
There was graffiti on the side of the old school that read \u201cMr Smith was alright\u201d. As much as he was alright, Mr Smith has been an incredible coach, mentor, friend and colleague. Every time I see him he makes me smile \u2013 I\u2019m going to miss that. He is truly an outstanding role model for students and teachers alike and an inspiration to us all. Take it easy on that knee Mr. Smith, enjoy your retirement; you deserve it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tyler Corlett When Mr. Smith first walked in to North Toronto Collegiate, he was young, had a full head of hair, and two working legs. After thirty three years at the school, and none of the above, he has … Continue reading