* Klein Forest's Remon Smith is MileSplit's National Coach of the Year
Photo Credit: Submitted
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Remon Smith once told a reporter in Houston that he was building the Klein Forest boys track and field team "brick by brick."
That was four years ago, and he was fresh off his team's first Texas UIL Class 6A state team title.
By now, however, that house is built and Smith, the leader of the Golden Eagles, is coming off his second victory in as many years.
His success with the boys team may be a sign of something larger happening, whether the larger track and field community in Texas can see it or not. Klein Forest is transforming into one of state's top programs.
That may be an underrated take, considering teams like The Woodlands, DeSoto, Duncanville and Houston Strake Jesuit tend to get the brand recognition at the highest levels.
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But led by Smith -- who was a state track and field champion at Houston St. Thomas Catholic High School roughly 40 years ago -- Klein Forest may be the team everyone needs to keep their eyes on.
This year, MileSplit is naming Smith as its National Coach of the Year.
"I can't put it into words," the 57-year-old married father of three girls said. "To be recognized for something you're passionate about, words can't explain it."
Klein Forest won its second Texas state championship in May -- in the state's highest classification -- in dramatic fashion, only doing so after it claimed a 4x400 title. The Golden Eagles scored 58 points. Duncanville had 44.
That moment also told a larger story.
Because just getting to the state meet was its own storyline. The Golden Eagles may compete in one of the hardest regions in the U.S.
The region also includes The Woodlands, Duncanville, Langham Creek, Mansfield Lake Ridge, Klein Cain and The Woodlands College Park. Any given year could see any of those high school teams vying for a state title.
Despite that, Klein Forest has been on a tear: The program has now managed to two titles over four years in 2023 and 2019 and it was third in 2022. With four of the team's top athletes back next year, including star Jelani Watkins, the Golden Eagles may have a chance to repeat.
Smith's formula is pretty simple. He keeps his varsity roster small, he recruits hard and he is a champion for excellence.
"I'm a stickler for details," he said. "Details, discipline and I'm passionate about making sure my kids are taken care of, on and off the track."
Smith is in his 28th year of coaching and seventh with Klein Forest. He's a native of Houston and says Houstonians are "friendly, down to earth people." But when it comes to coaching, Smith doesn't play around.
While he has 60 athletes on the team, only 16 are on varsity. Nine of those athletes competed at the state championships in May.
Four of those nine were football players, including the 4-star Watkins, who won his second straight 200m title and anchored the team's winning 4x100 and 4x400 relays.
"That was a pretty good mixture," Smith said.
In Texas, with a robust qualifying period, you don't have to win every meet to prove your worth. Klein Forest won its district meet, but finished third at regions.
But performing at state is where it mattered. After Smith's 4x200 team didn't qualify for the state championships, he moved two of those athletes -- Watkins and Jaden Galloway -- to the 4x400.
"That was the first time we loaded it up."
That formula proved perfect, as Watkins took the lead over the anchor leg and made sure Klein Forest walked away with its second title in four years.
But Smith was also impressed with junior Lawson Jacobs, who finished second in the 400m.
"I knew he was in a good position," Smith said. "Him being out there on that stage, he showed up."
Smith believes it's taken a community to get him and his program to where it is today. Without it, he says, this success wouldn't happen.
"It says that the coaching staff and the kids have bought into what we're doing," he said. "The community backs us. I think they're now starting to believe what we can accomplish. We've established that everybody has bought into the winning mentality."
Previous Links
2023 Girls COY: Kirk Walsh, Dustin Allen named National co-Coaches of the Year
2023 Boys COY: Remon Smith Is MileSplit's National Boys Coach of the Year
2022: Top Coaching Performances: Our Top Coaches Of The Year
2021: Top 5 Boys Coaches: The Top 5 Men's Coaching Efforts Of The Year
2021: Top 5 Girls Coaches: The Top 5 Women's Coaching Efforts Of The Year
