It’s midday in Nashville and Gary Smith is sitting upstairs in his home study. It’s not where he usually would be and it’s not where he wants to be. An unprecedented world event means soccer coaches are, like everyone, adjusting to a new normal.

“When you’re in the everyday, working, coaching, media, planning, matches, debriefing, your brain is working a million miles an hour, “ says the 51 year old. “It is abnormal, that you just come down two or three gears…personally I do feel a little bit lost if I’m honest.”

Some solace is offered by a glance to the book shelf where a framed football sits, signed and encased. It represents the greatest achievement of Smith’s soccer career, something he yearns to repeat one day in Nashville. It’s the match ball from the 2010 MLS Cup Final. Smith’s Colorado Rapids upset the odds, winning through the playoffs and lifting the Cup with a 2-1 win over FC Dallas in Toronto, Canada. It was Coach Smith’s daughter Millie, then just a six year old, who grabbed the ball and it’s been a part of the Smith household since wherever they’ve travelled on both sides of the Atlantic.

Smith’s journey to the top of MLS a decade ago was an unusual one. How did he even end up in charge of the Rapids? How has the league changed during his nine year absence? And just how much would he like to beat Real Salt Lake?

Early impressions of MLS were mixed for Smith who arrived in Colorado in 2008 on a mission from sister club Arsenal to set up a scouting network. “ I walked into a preseason camp for the Rapids, they were in the early stages and down in Fort Lauderdale, facilities were fantastic, that was my first impression, wow we’re in Florida the sun’s out… this is a bit special.”

The impression didn’t last long. He saw a level of professionalism below what he was used to. At the time, it all felt a bit “non-league-esque” for a man who had played and worked at Arsenal, Fulham and across the English Football League.

Nevertheless, the Rapids thrashed LA Galaxy 4-0 in their opening game of the 2008 season. “I remember scratching my head thinking everything I’ve ever thought about this game I’ve got completely wrong! We absolutely demolished LA Galaxy.”

It wasn’t to last and Smith’s football brain wasn’t deceiving him. The lessons of pre-season caught up on the team, he felt. Head Coach Fernando Clavijo resigned after a difficult run of results and with a third of the season to go. Smith did not consider himself an obvious candidate, initially as an interim boss. “I didn’t know the league well enough. It was going to be my first head coach’s job. The Chief Executive said “well if you don’t take it, everyone you know and who you like here is going to get the sack at the end of the season anyway.” So, was he an accidental manager? “I was almost last man standing!”

It was a life changing moment for Smith, setting him on a course to join a select group of English managers who had won domestic titles overseas. The 2010 MLS Cup success would define his tenure in the Rockies, but it was a game in 2009 which was the catalyst for what would follow.

“With seven games to go we looked absolute bankers for the playoffs but we had three wide players go down with injury. We lost all our width…we absolutely stumbled towards the end of the season and we went to Salt Lake, the last game of the season, and we could afford to be beaten by two clear goals and still go into the playoffs and we got beaten 3-0. Our local rivals not only pipped us to the playoffs, they went on and won it (MLS Cup) as well.”

It lit a fire inside Smith and his staff. He admits he fell out with “almost everybody” as he got straight to work for the 2010 season, tweaking his roster and never forgetting the frustration of Real Salt Lake.

“We started off reasonably well, we then had a couple of problems up front and then we went through the middle third of the season really flat. We weren’t scoring a lot of goals. I was trying to find a way to be a better group, to control games better with the ball in possession, so we changed our shape. We played Conor (Casey) up top, Omar Cummings wide right and we played pretty much a 4-3-3 and we were a better team with the ball but we couldn’t score.”

So Smith changed it back to a 4-4-2 and the result was more goals and a run to the playoffs which had the Englishman seeing new belief in his group. But one last regular season game with some extra bite in it remained. The old nemesis – Real Salt Lake. “The League loves those rivalry fixtures at the end of the season and the players still had that taste in their mouth from the year before and we played them at our place and I whipped everyone up into a frenzy. We were 2-0 up and we absolutely took them to the cleaners. 2-0 up going into injury time……and we drew 2-2.”

However, on this occasion, RSL had done the Rapids a favour. The draw sent them into the Eastern Conference playoffs. It was a different path to the Cup Final and a path that would lead to glory. “In terms of maybe fate, it took us a different route. I’ll never know, nor will anyone else, what it might have meant if we’d played in the West. It was really strange, and I never felt like we really got one over Salt Lake even though we won it!”

There was symbolism in the MLS Cup trophy as Smith and the Rapids lifted it on a special night in Toronto. “All the hard work the sacrifices and the trials and tribulations that you go through are almost sitting there in front of you in this chunk of metal and that’s really what it feels like.”

Smith isn’t short of colleagues to reflect on those heady days. He’s been joined in Music City by the likes of Brett Jacobs, Steve Guppy, Matt Pickens, Jamie Smith and Kosuke Kimura.

“When I look back we had the right balance” says Kimura, defender on that championship side. “We were so organised defensively, hard to get broken down. We had a pride in every position; we had that character and motivation to win the games. Some players, they struggle with Gary in playing or understanding what he’s asked for. He will definitely tell those players straight up. He’s just an honest guy; he doesn’t know how to lie.”

Soccer fairy tales often have a sting. A year after the MLS Cup win, and amid behind the scenes turbulence, Smith was out in Colorado. But he’d left his mark with many of the group.

Kimura didn’t hesitate when given the chance to link up with him again. The first Japanese-born player in MLS went to the Atlanta Silverbacks FC in the National Premier Soccer League to play under him before coming to Nashville.

Smith’s exit in Colorado may have been acrimonious but it’s now a powerful driving force behind the coaching staff’s bid to bring success to Nashville nine years on from the end of his tenure in Denver. “We’re more than hungry,” says Kimura. “We’re starved, we have to do it…who knows the next chance we’re going to get… all of us and all of the staff, this could be our last chance.”

Back in his home office, Smith has an unexpected window to assess the season so far and the MLS world he’s walked back into. Football in general has changed since his last job in the league. “There is a much bigger emphasis I think at a lot of clubs to be more positive, whether that is pressing higher up the field and winning the ball in more aggressive areas, playing at a pace that is far more difficult to manage for opposing teams.” Smith cites the Red Bull clubs across Europe as prime examples of the energetic football now in fashion. In MLS in particular, that energy also needs to breed entertainment in a crowded US sports market.

“If this country is constantly to keep evolving and keep growing then it’s got to be entertaining. If people are going to come they’re going to watch, if they’re going to want to come back and we’re going to compete with other sporting entities, then we have to be make sure the product is one people want to come and see.”

Two narrow defeats have not dimmed Smith’s view of his current squad. “I certainly am delighted in the way that my team have come together in such a short space of time, but the one thing that was always going to be a concern was goals and I don’t think we’ve been anywhere near as clinical as we could have been and that’s been detrimental for our results. On the flip side to that, if I look at some of the stats from the two games we’ve played, we’ve limited two very good sides in different situations to next to no efforts at goal. In terms of the culture we have created and the way that we have set about our business, I’d like to think that anyone watching the two games thus far would say that the team has all of the modern MLS abilities and qualities that would be expected.”

Nearly 60,000 fans attended Nashville’s MLS debut which was also aired nationally on Fox last month. “Sensational,” says Smith “It was a great feeling. There were many emotions for me personally nine years away from MLS and 10 years from actually lifting the trophy. The ownership group here, John [Ingram]’s an incredible person, Ian [Ayre]’s been nothing short of wonderful to work for and that also adds to the occasion because you feel as though you’re part of something bigger and there is a future.”

When Smith looks to that future, it’s a memory from the past which proves the inspiration. He can glance back at the match ball on his book shelf and remember Colorado’s MLS Cup win. “I would so love to be able to repeat that or to win silverware again,” he says. He wants to do it in Nashville.

The athletic fields at high schools around the country are usually full of prep athletes in the middle of April.  In 2020, however, those same fields look a lot different.  The Coronavirus pandemic has shut down all school activities at Tennessee high schools and it is unclear for how long that will continue.  During a time when these fields would normally be full of excited prep athletes, uncertainty has put in jeopardy the senior season of Red Raider and Lady Raider athletes alike. 

With that in mind, Coffee County CHS coaches have joined the #BeTheLight movement.  The movement, which began in Texas, has schools all across the U.S. turn on their stadium lights at 8:20 PM(or 2020 military time) for twenty minutes and twenty seconds, honoring these spring athletes.  Coach David Martin of the CHS baseball team lit up Powers Field on Friday night to “a great reception” and Coach Brandon McWhorter will turn on the lights on Monday night at Terry Floyd Field.  The community is encouraged to come out and drive through the campus to help honor the Class of 2020 and all the spring sport athletes.  Plans for other sports venues and teams are incomplete at this time.

Titans outside linebacker Kamalei Correa ended the 2019 season with momentum – and it’s carried into the offseason.

Correa and the Titans have officially agreed to terms on a one-year deal, a development Titans General Manager Jon Robinson alluded to on a conference call last week.

Correa tied for second on the team with five sacks in 2019, and he added two more in the playoffs last season. In the team’s final game of the season, Correa tallied a team-high 10 tackles in the AFC Championship Game against the Chiefs.

Correa, acquired in a trade with the Ravens prior to the 2018 season, has played in 32 games, with 12 starts, for the Titans over the past two seasons, including playoff contests. Correa started all three playoff games for the Titans in 2019.

Since joining the Titans, Correa has posted 80 tackles, 10.5 sacks and 14 quarterback pressures, including playoffs. He led or tied for the team lead in sacks six times during the regular season in 2019.

A 6-foot-3-inch, 241-pounder, Correa played in 25 games with four starts during his first two seasons (2016-17) with the Baltimore Ravens. He was a second-round pick of the Ravens in the 2016 NFL Draft.

Correa’s return gives the Titans more pass-rushing options off the edge.

Harold Landry, who led the team in sacks in 2019, will return in 2020, and in free agency the Titans added former Falcons outside linebacker Vic Beasley. D’Andre Walker, a fifth-round pick who spent last season on Injured Reserve, will also be in the mix, along with former Packers linebacker Reggie Gilbert and Derick Roberson, an undrafted free agent who flashed in his rookie season in 2019.

Barely two questions into Matt Duchene’s video conference media availability on Thursday afternoon, his 15-month-old son, Beau, awoke from his nap.

A few questions later, the youngest member of the Duchene family joined his father on screen, as the Predators centerman continued to field questions on what life has been like in recent weeks.

The blue-eyed young man wasn’t the first family member to steal the show from a hockey-playing father from those on the NHL circuit, and he likely won’t be the last to do so in the days, weeks and months to come. Appearances like Beau’s have become commonplace in chats like these, discussions that used to take place in locker rooms around the League.

But the cameo was just another sign of the times, a hockey player like Duchene, at home in Nashville, on a video call in his pantry instead of potentially preparing for a postseason contest.

“It’s been interesting,” Duchene said of life in quarantine. “I haven’t gone as crazy as I thought I was going to at the start. It’s been really nice to spend time with my little guy… I’ve been chasing him around and watching him grow… [and then I’ve been] trying to stay in shape as best I can, and the mental break is nice, too.”

Duchene says this is the most time he’s had on his hands in a long while – perhaps since he was Beau’s age – as he looks to pass the time with the NHL season on pause amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Well-known to be a country music fan, Duchene has continued playing the guitar, including a shiny, new, acoustic model he purchased recently.

There are at-home workouts curated by Predators Strength and Conditioning Coach David Good, a mix of exercises for Duchene to keep in shape as much as possible during a time when team facilities – including sheets of ice – are unavailable.

Like everyone else, Duchene is hopeful for a return to NHL hockey as soon as possible, but he also realizes the only thing he can do is stay home as we all do our part to flatten the curve.

“This is so complicated, and if we do see sports resume, whether it’s this season or next season, for all the sports, who knows what it’s going to look like,” Duchene said. “It’s just the impact of this on the world and us as the human race. There’s a lot of bigger things going on than sports. So it kind of puts it on the backburner in your mind, because you just realize how sports is just a pastime and something that brings people enjoyment. It’s not maybe an essential part of, ‘OK, let’s just get the world back online here,’ so who knows what it’s going to look like.”

Ideas have run rampant as to what the NHL in particular could look like if hockey were to return at some point over the summer in an attempt to award the Stanley Cup in 2020. Duchene says forgoing the remainder of the regular season schedule and jumping right into the playoffs would be fine with him, although he also cautions a miniature training camp of sorts would be a necessity.

“You need at least three weeks from the time facilities open to the time you’re playing a game,” Duchene said. “There’s so much that goes into it, because you can’t mimic [playing hockey at home]. I don’t even have a hockey stick here, like I can’t even just go out and stickhandle in my driveway… It’s so complicated that way, but I think just to put a good product on the ice and the guys aren’t getting hurt, I think you need that amount of time.”

Duchene also recognizes the potential scenarios for playing games are virtually endless as well, depending on how the League decides to format the rest of the season – if there’s even a season to format. However, there’s just no way to be able to say with any degree of certainty who the Preds could play next, and when that would be.

What Duchene does know is how serious the situation is, and how quickly someone can be taken from the world in an instant. Duchene grew up in Ontario listening to the music of country star Joe Diffie. Just a couple of weeks back, Diffie lost his life to the virus, a moment that hit home for Duchene.

“That was kind of the day for me that it…[essentially] affected my world directly in some way, like my personal life, if that makes sense,” Duchene said. “I grew up listening to Joe Diffie, and my dad and I, we’ll always be big fans. To lose somebody like that just so suddenly and without warning and no prior health issues, that’s kind of that was kind of the moment I was like, ‘Geez this is really scary.’

“It’s so much bigger than sports, and yes, it sucks for fans not to be able to watch us play and watch all the other sports, and it sucks for us to not be able to play but you’ve got to… have the right perspective and realize how lucky we all are to be healthy.”

That mindset has allowed Duchene the opportunity to appreciate the quality moments he’s gotten at home with his son – moments he simply wouldn’t be receiving otherwise. So just before Duchene finished up his chat to go about the rest of his day – another day without hockey – he offered this thought as we all look for instances of hope among these uncertain times.

“The perspective I’ve had through the whole thing is I’m never going to get to spend this time I have with Beau right now, ever,” Duchene said. “It’s never going to happen again, because as he gets older, he’s going to have his own stuff, I’m going to be busier than I am right now… and I think that’s a cool thing. Maybe the silver lining in it is we get an opportunity to kind of take a deep breath and stop our busy lives and be close to the people that we love and care about.”

Coffee County Central High School senior basketball player Jaylon Wooten has signed a national letter of intent to continue his basketball career at Cleveland State Community College.  Wooten announced the signing on Thursday with the Cleveland, Tennessee junior college. 

Wooten led the Red Raiders to a regular season District 8AAA title and a region tournament berth.  Wooten was named the regular season District 8AAA Most Valuable Player.   For the season, Jaylon averaged 15 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists per game on the year. 

When contacted by Thunder Radio on Thursday, Red Raider head coach Micah Williams was effusive for his praise of Wooten.  “Jaylon is an outstanding young man who I’ve known for many years.  He’s always been someone who’s worked extremely hard at whatever it is he wanted to do and with that hard work he’s been outstanding in the classroom and on the basketball court” said Williams.  He went to say “I’m extremely proud of him and his commitment to Cleveland State, but I’m even more proud of the young man he has become over the years.  Cleveland State is getting an outstanding young man.”

We all know America Runs On Dunkin’, but as most of us remain socially distanced at home, it’s those on the frontlines who need their pick-me-up more than ever.

That’s why Predators players Matt Duchene, Ryan Johansen, Roman Josi and Pekka Rinne have joined forces with Preds partner Dunkin’ to give back to local medical professionals and provide free coffee for those working to flatten the curve.

“A few of us that have our suite programs… we were asked if we want to contribute to this, and we jumped all over it,” Duchene said. “The true heroes in the world right now are the people on the front lines helping through this pandemic. To just brighten up their day a little bit by being able to buzz over to Dunkin’ and grab a coffee; if we can make their lives easier in any way, it’s such a small thing, but it can hopefully brighten up their day and help them keep pushing.”

“For us players, it was a no-brainer,” Josi said. “What the medical staff is doing all over the world and right now in Nashville is pretty unbelievable… We’re really grateful for everything they do, and it’s a really small gesture, but anything we can do to help is a good thing.”

On 10 different occasions over the next month, the first 100 local healthcare professionals to show their medical ID badges at Dunkin’ locations on 21st Avenue or Elliston Place in Nashville will receive a free cup of coffee courtesy of the Preds and these players.

In addition to Wednesday’s kick off, healthcare workers can show their medical IDs on April 10, 15, 17, 22, 24 and 29, as well as May 1, 6 and 8 at either of those aforementioned Dunkin’ locations to take advantage of this token of gratitude for their work in the field.

“I can’t imagine how stressful their jobs and lives are right now, but we’re so grateful to them,” Duchene said. “Any way we can give back and help out, even if it’s just a little bit, it was important for us to jump all over.”

Nashville SC CEO Ian Ayre issued a letter to Nashville SC fans on Tuesday updating the progress on construction of the new Nashville SC stadium. Below is the letter:

Fans,

First, I want to thank each of you for your resilience, strength and continued support as our community manages through the widespread and unprecedented impact of COVID-19, and heals from the devastating tornadoes that hit our city and region just a few weeks ago.

When our club entered its inaugural season in Major League Soccer in January 2020, we could not have anticipated the hardships we were all about to face. Since then, our Never Give Up On You anthem has become our own promise, and a collective call and commitment from our community to support one another.

As we have previously mentioned, our staff continues to work remotely and build upon the success of our opening game on February 29, to ensure that we can provide you with an even better experience and atmosphere upon our return.

Even as we are all fighting through these trying times, serving our fans with the greatest product is a priority for us, and this took another step forward recently, bringing a talented and dedicated group of broadcasters and a production company who will bring all of the action live from stadium, whether our Boys in Gold are at home or on the road. Yesterday we formally welcomed Tony Husband, Jamie Watson and Lori Lindsey to the Nashville SC family as our local broadcast team.

Simultaneously, and as you may have seen in many of our channels, we have been working tirelessly on the stadium front following the agreement reached with Mayor Cooper, to move forward with the construction of our future home at the Fairgrounds Nashville. Following the news in mid-February, demolition began on March 16 and is progressing steadily and in a timely fashion. As the work continues onsite, I’m excited to share that we have also completed our construction documents, which is a key milestone in the design phase and overall process.

Given the size, scope and challenges in building what will be the largest soccer specific stadium in the U.S., and without certainty of how COVID-19 will continue to impact our lives, our stadium project team has tentatively identified a substantial completion date of mid-May 2022. The group is currently reaching out to suppliers and contractors, and construction will commence after demolition wraps up.

It is impossible to predict the actual date with any level of certainty in the current environment, but we will continue to monitor gains or losses on timing and keep everyone informed as we progress. We remain excited about the 2022 season in our new home and fully committed to bringing the 2020 MLS season back to Nashville and all our fans as soon as possible.

In the meantime, I want to thank you personally for continuing to support our team. We will never give up on you and we appreciate you not giving up on Nashville Soccer Club.

Stay safe and my kind regards to all of you and your families.

EveryoneN

Ian Ayre
Chief Executive Officer
Nashville Soccer Club

Coffee County senior baseball player Zack Milan recently signed with Cumberland University in Lebanon to further his education and play baseball at the next level. Milan was set to sign with Coach Woody Hunt of Cumberland on April 9th, but with the “safe at home” order his signing had to be done at home.  Milan is an infielder and pitcher for the Red Raiders and a 4 year varsity player. 

When contacted by Thunder Radio on Wednesday, Coffee County Red Raider head coach David Martin had this to say.  “I’m very excited for Zack to have the opportunity to go on and play at the next level. Great kid and top notch family who have done anything and everything to help our program.  So proud for him and I know his future is bright.”  Martin will be a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show.  The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast live each Saturday from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln at 10 AM.  The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast exclusively on Thunder Radio.