Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CHILLICOTHE — Spenser Smith is headed back to the dugout.
He’ll just be wearing different colors.
Smith, who spent six seasons at Huntington before resigning in 2021, has been tabbed to take over Unioto’s softball program. The Shermans are back-to-back district champions after a 23-win season in 2024.
“Unioto is a special place to teach and coach. It is also a great community to live in and build relationships,” Smith said. “The academic success and athletics speak for themselves. I wanted to be a part of the winning culture that the school district has to offer and contribute to that. We have a lot of hard-working student athletes and faculty that creates a winning mentality.”
During his time with the Huntsmen, Smith was 84-63 and won four sectional titles. Under his leadership, Huntington had 12 players named first or second-team all-SVC. Smith’s best finish with the program came in 2018 when the Huntsmen ended the year at 19-5.
He’ll now take over a program from Rob Hull, who resigned earlier this year after going 104-24 during his five-year tenure.
Since his departure from the Township, Smith has helped coach Unioto’s football program. In the past three seasons with Smith on their coaching staff, the Shermans are 21-5 with two consecutive playoff appearances to boast.
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“This is my first year teaching Unioto High School PE and this is my third year coaching as an assistant coach on the varsity football team,” Smith said. “Coach [Matt] Hoops runs an amazing football program and I’m fortunate enough to be a part of that.”
As for the diamond, Smith plans to bring a similar coaching style to Unioto’s program that he’s displayed in years past.
“I want to have a tough, hard-nosed mindset with our team. We want to be tough outs, 1-9 in the lineup, and have solid defensive play at every position,” Smith said. “We know each team will be coming after us this year and we have to embrace the challenge. I don’t want our girls to fear or back down from anyone, ever.”
The Shermans will indeed have a target on their backs after finishing 14-0 in the SVC last spring – the program’s first Gold Ball since 1998.
But that’s something Smith and company are prepared for.
“We’re going to compete every day at practice and build off of past successes,” Smith said. “We’ll have a championship mentality going into every game,” Smith said. “Coach Hull did an amazing job in past years and it’s our job to continue the tradition of winning.”
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