This interview is truly near and dear to my heart. John Smith is one of the few coaches I looked up to from afar and idolized from the time I got into the profession of coaching.John Walton Smith Jr. is considered the best track & field sprints and hurdles coach in the world. For decades he has produced multiple male and female Olympic and World Championships medalists. He’s earned multiple Coach of the Year titles, and was also the US National Team coach in 2005 for the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Some of the greats he’s coached include: indoor and outdoor world record holder Maurice Greene, Olympic medalist – Ato Boldon, Olympic medalist – Quincy Watts, Olympic Medalist – Carmelita Jeter, World Champion – Torri Edwards and many others.

On this episode -Coach Smith's upbringing in California in the 50s and 60s.-The influence of the church on him.-Black panthers, Muhammad Ali and Angela Davis-His transformation while at UCLA.-1972 Munich Olympics-Acting career-Transition into coaching-Maurice Greene vs Bruny Surin at the 99 World ChampionshipsAnd much more....

---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/brandon-morton8/support