Seven-year coach from Fayette County has come to Arlington High School as the new girls basketball varsity head coach. Sherri Smith led her team to a state championship in 2022 at Fayette-Ware High School, and she’s here to do the same. AHS welcomes both her and her husband, Anthony Smith, him as the new varsity boys basketball head coach. Together, they are the perfect coaching duo for the AHS basketball program.
Besides coaching, Mrs. Smith is a 9th grade lifetime wellness teacher at AHS. She has been a teacher for 17 years. “My favorite part about teaching is the connections… I love the connections I make with students,” she shared. Smith started her career at a different level, at Jefferson Elementary in Fayette County. “When I was young, my aunt always said she could see me being a teacher, and I never could see it. So my husband actually pushed me towards teaching, He was my person that said ‘you know it is something you will enjoy doing,’ so I took a step out and went for it.”
Coach Smith and her husband met at Popeyes. He recalls the moment, “…the funny thing about it, um my friend wanted to talk to her, but he was scared to say something to her. So, I said I’ll go do it, and then she was like, ‘why can’t he do it himself?’ And I was like nah I speak for myself. And we just connected. The funny thing about it, I lost her number when I threw away my food. It just happened we driving down the road and I seen her and was like woah! It was just meant to be.” Coach Sherri thinks they are a great team and enjoys working alongside her husband.
When asked how she plans to lead the girls’ basketball team to a state championship, Smith said, “I’m happy to have the opportunity to build from ground one… I get to mold them how I would like them to be, and that makes a difference. So as long as I’m fighting for them, hopefully they will fight for me.”