Gladstone Coach Smith Built Champions
October 24, 2016
By Dennis Grall
Special for Second Half
ESCANABA — Gerry Smith put his life into helping area youngsters get a foot into the athletic doorway, and in the process touched the lives of so many people.
“Smitty” died Oct. 15 following a lengthy illness.
“God got a great softball coach,” said retired Gladstone athletic director Matt Houle. “He was unique and old school, but his love for kids and the game always showed clearly. He had such a passion for the game of softball and just loved working with kids.”
Smith, 70, worked at Mead Paper Co. for more than 30 years and was IBEW 979’s business agent for 21 years. But he will perhaps be most remembered for his 43 years on softball and baseball fields throughout the area. He spent 11 years as Gladstone High School’s head softball coach, directing the Braves to MHSAA titles in 2004 and 2009. He was 290-77-1, but missed much of the 2008 season because of shoulder surgery. The Braves were 31-10 under interim manager John Malloch, which would give Smith an overall 321-87-1 record.
“He put a lot of trust into people he asked to help him out,” said Ashley Hughes, who succeeded Smith in 2014 and guided the Braves to the MHSAA Division 3 title that year.
Hughes, who joined Smith on the softball staff when she became a teacher at her alma mater in 2009, also pitched for Smith and the Braves before getting a softball scholarship to Lake Superior State University.
She recalled Smith sought her services when she returned to Gladstone. “Hey kiddo, how about helping us out this year,” is how Hughes remembers that conversation.
He then told her, “I’m going to teach you everything I know and in a few years this will all be yours,” Hughes related.
“For me to come as head coach after Smitty, there was so much pressure. I wanted to live up to everything he had provided for this program,” Hughes said. “I didn’t want to disappoint him. He put a lot of faith in me.”
She said Smith also had an impact when she was a player. “He was so in your face in such a positive light. He wanted you to be successful, whether you had never touched a ball or had the ability to go on to play college ball. He was a spit-fire. He was so intense.
“He just exuded passion, at practice, at games. He had so much love for the game. That is something I’ve held onto because I too loved that game. To have someone like Smitty be so passionate and intense helped me become passionate and gave me the drive to be like that.”
Bill Buchmiller and Smith were partners for 40 years and he became godfather to Buchmiller’s children. In addition to guiding the Braves’ high school varsity, they served as American Legion coaches in the early stages of Gladstone’s program, worked together as Little League coaches and were softball teammates.
“He took a program from nothing to two state championships,” said Buchmiller. “He always encouraged the group. He may have broke them down a little bit but he always built them back up. He was a hard guy to get to know, but once you got to know him, he was a great guy.”
Smith used the knowledge he had gleaned from many years as a player and infused that into his players. “He just dwelled on the basics of softball. If you had to play small ball to win, that is what he played,” said Buchmiller.
“He covered all the different bases of softball. He stressed defense. He told (hitting coach) Al Verbrigghe, ‘You give me one run Al and we’ll win the ball game with my defense. Give me a run and we’ll manage somehow.’”
Theresa Shepeck, who joined Smith on the GHS staff in 2003, agreed with that assessment.
“Smitty always thought the short game was the way to go,” she said. “It was about bunting, not the long ball. You get a runner on one, you bunt her to two. You get somebody on three, then you suicide (bunt) her home.”
Shepeck said his players thrived on his various idiosyncrasies, such as finding tourney lodging in rather inexpensive motels and using a wad of cash to pay for the team’s rooms. “The kids just yukked it up,” she said with a laugh.
“He always put the kids first. If somebody made a mistake, it was never their fault; it is my (Smith’s) fault, the coaching staff’s fault. If one of us coaches made a mistake, he took that blame. It was always his fault, his responsibility,” said Shepeck.
The players appreciated how he used them in games and practices. “His philosophy was to put the best nine on the field, period,” she said. “He walked on a lot of toes, he had a lot of hurt feelings (of parents), but I think the kids respected that. Nobody ever doubted how they fit in. He was there to win.
“He was a little man (about 5-foot-6) but had a huge heart. He was all about the kids and the coaching staff. It was an honor to learn from him, to be in his presence, to be a mentor to the kids.”
Hughes agreed, noting “he had a way of figuring out what the team needs are and re-arranging the players (duties). He knew the players’ strengths and was always looking out for the entire team.”
Smith’s career record likely could have included more wins if he didn’t use the season’s first month to shuffle personnel while building for the postseason. It paid off when it counted the most as the Braves reached at least the Quarterfinal level each of his 11 seasons.
“He was definitely not afraid to experiment,” said Hughes. “He knew the rules of the game and he was always looking for more (from his players). He was an aggressive coach, and the girls who love the sport really grasped at that. He utilized every player on his roster.
“He didn’t have to say too much, but you always wanted to answer him and make him proud and prove to him that you can come through.”
Houle summed up Smith’s legacy when he said, “He was the person that put Gladstone High School on the map in high school activities. He will be dearly missed by so many. He touched so many lives.”
Denny Grall retired in 2012 after 39 years at the Escanaba Daily Press and four at the Green Bay Press-Gazette, plus 15 months for WLST radio in Escanaba; he served as the Daily Press sports editor from 1970-80 and again from 1984-2012. Grall was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and serves as its executive secretary. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for the Upper Peninsula.
PHOTOS: (Top) Gladstone High School softball manager Gerry Smith holds the Division 3 championship trophy after the Braves won the 2009 title in Battle Creek. Smith, who also led the Braves to the 2004 crown, died Oct. 15. (Middle) Smith talks with catcher Jordan Kowalski at a practice prior to the 2011 Division 3 Semifinals. (Photos courtesy of Escanaba Daily Press.)
Niles' Arnold Remembered as Teacher & Leader, 'Doing Exactly What He was Meant To Do'
By
Scott Hassinger
Special for MHSAA.com
January 13, 2026
NILES – Throughout his 22-year career coaching varsity girls basketball at Niles High School, Jim Arnold required one thing from his players.
Just have fun.
"Jim always stressed to his players that the one thing he wanted them to do when on the floor was to just have fun playing the game," said George Brawley, who served 15 seasons as one of Arnold's assistant coaches at various levels.
Arnold, 81, died Dec. 9 following an extended illness.
But throughout his career, Arnold's teams did much more than just enjoy themselves. The Benton Harbor native built a highly-successful program at Niles, where he achieved an overall win-loss record of 360-139 from 1986-2008, with 19 winning seasons. Under Arnold's watch, the Vikings captured seven conference titles, 10 District championships – including nine straight from 1997-2005 – and five Regional crowns.
Among Arnold's other accomplishments were being named Class B Coach of The Year by The Associated Press in 1998 and receiving honorable mention in 1997, along with selection by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan as Region 5 Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2004. He was also named conference Coach of the Year seven times and received the Herb Quade Memorial Sportsmanship Award for the 2002-2003 season.
Arnold also coached Niles to back-to-back District championships in softball in 1993 and 1994.
As young athlete himself, Arnold excelled on the baseball diamond. A successful player while at Benton Harbor, he also played on Twin City American Legion teams and was known as a team captain and a coach on the field. Arnold later had an invitation to try out at the professional level with the Baltimore Orioles, but an injury ended his pursuit of that dream.
Arnold later played third base for Bargain Center, a slow-pitch softball team that won a regional championship and went on to play in the national title game in St. Louis, Mo.
His daughters Sonya and Allison were among the athletes that Arnold mentored during his coaching career. Sonya (Martinez), his oldest daughter, played for her father in eighth grade.
"He made the game fun, and you wanted to do your best because you didn't want to disappoint him. He poured his heart into each and every practice and game because preparation mattered to him. He demanded excellence, and every player became better because of his coaching ability," said Martinez, a 1986 Niles graduate.
Allison (Clay) his youngest daughter, played on the 1990 Niles varsity squad that finished 25-1, winning conference, District and Regional titles. She is a 1991 graduate.
"It was awesome playing for my dad. Some of my best memories in my life were during that time,” Clay said. “He had high standards and inspired others to be the best version of themselves. He put his heart and soul into what he did, and I had a front-row seat to that."
Linda Arnold has fond memories as a coach's wife.
"I loved watching my husband coach because of the joy it brought him. His passion, intensity and the love he had for his players was genuine,” she said. “It was more than a game. It was more about developing players in the area of discipline, teamwork and giving your all. Even in the busiest part of the season, he always made me feel like a priority. I didn't just watch a coach. I watched a man doing exactly what he was meant to do.
"My husband coached with passion, but he loved his family with intention. My girls would go to his practices and we all attended his games, and we had the team over for team dinners. His players were a part of our extended family. He made sure we felt a part. He was the best coach in the world, and he was mine."
Jim Arnold was highly respected by his coaching peers. He was kind and treated everyone with dignity. The community of Niles knew what he stood for and they knew his standards were high. He was admired for his preparation and understanding of the game as well as his commitment to doing things the right way. He was strict but fair and treated everyone the same, whether you were the star player or last one off the bench, Martinez explained.
"Developing his players' character was far more important to him than winning," she said. "Dad lived what he taught. He modeled humility, hard work and lived a life of integrity. He made people better by being a part of their lives."
When Jim Arnold first began his junior high teaching career in Niles, he also coached the boys junior high basketball team. There were no girls basketball teams at the time, so a girl tried out for the boys team. She was good enough to make the team, so Arnold kept her. The following school year, the principal asked Arnold to organize a girls team – and the rest was history.
Former Niles varsity girls basketball coach Jessica Johnson, a teammate of Clay’s, recalls the experience of playing for Coach Arnold.
"Coach Arnold taught us discipline, resilience and always required 110 percent effort from you. He would instill confidence in you while still holding you accountable," said Johnson, now an assistant women’s basketball coach at Southwestern Michigan College.
Johnson recalls Arnold's use of comic strips as a teaching tool to help his players improve upon their mistakes.
"If you had a game where you didn't shoot very well or took questionable shots, he would place pictures of bricks in the gym the day following the game," Johnson said.
"Coach Arnold went out of his way to build that relationship and trust with his players. He gave us lessons that extended way beyond the court that made us better people."
Mark Haase, a Niles alumnus and the current Vikings head varsity boys basketball coach, also had the privilege of playing for Arnold.
"I played freshman basketball for Coach Arnold. It was one of the most disciplined and well-conditioned teams I ever played on. He ran a tight ship, but it was done out of love and concern for his players. He has a great family and is a Niles legend," Haase said.
Niles athletic director Matt Brawley referred to Arnold as an amazing teacher, coach and individual in the school and community.
"Coach Arnold would never ask you to do anything he wouldn't do. He was very structured and expected a lot out of his players, and he got results without excuses,” Brawley said. “He was a true leader of Niles athletics. He was an unbelievably kind and humble individual.”
Scott Hassinger is a contributing sportswriter for Leader Publications and previously served as the sports editor for the Three Rivers Commercial-News from 1994-2022. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Jim Arnold poses for a photo with his granddaughters following a Niles girls basketball game. (Middle) Arnold signals for a timeout. (Below) Linda and Jim Arnold, seated (middle) take a photo with their daughters and their families. (Photos courtesy of the Niles athletic department and Arnold family.)