From April 7-13, the NCAA celebrates Division III Week --
seven days devoted to the accomplishments of the student-athletes
in D3. The goal of the celebration is to raise awareness of
Heidelberg and other D3 schools across the nation.
This story is fifth in a six-part series highlighting the
student-athletes at Heidelberg University. It was written by
Matthew Somers, a senior sport management major from
Tiffin.
For more information on Heidelberg's D3 Week activities,
visit the D3 Week homepage.
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Growing up, Tiffin native Stephen Smith dreamt of one day lacing
up his cleats for an NFL team, running out on to the field to kick
the winning field goal.
After two years of kicking and punting for the Heidelberg
University football team, Smith's goal of playing on Sunday remains
the same. Only now, as one of two organ performance majors at
Heidelberg, Smith's goal has shifted from playing at a 1 p.m.
kickoff. to playing an 8 a.m. Mass.
Smith's interest started kicking when he was a child.
"Growing up, we had a couple trees that were about the same size
as football goal posts," said Smith. "I would set the ball up on
the tee and spend all day kicking."
He also received help from his older brother, Paul, the kicker
for Tiffin Calvert High School. Smith used these tips and followed
in his brother's footsteps, kicking for the Senecas all four years
of his high school career.
During his college search, Smith decided to parlay an interest
in music into his academic major. When Smith visited Heidelberg, he
met another organ performance major who spoke very highly of the
program.
After submitting his enrollment fee to Heidelberg, Smith was
contacted by Coach Scott Donaldson about playing football.
"I spent a lot of time trying to decide whether or not to play
football," said Smith. "It wasn't until June that I decided to give
it a shot, and everything has worked out well ever since."
Smith played sparingly as a freshman, but was the first-string
punter as a sophomore. As the only starting football player among
the nation's 200 organ performance majors, Smith was tasked with
balancing his responsibilities to the School of Music and Theatre
and the football program.
"It's tricky," Smith said. "My football schedule and music
rehearsals are always in conflict. But I got really lucky here
because my coaches are very accommodating with my schedule."
Instead of forcing Smith to choose between two activities about
which he is passionate, the football staff worked with him to
adjust the practice schedule.
"At the beginning of the year, I will sit down with Coach
[Bryan] Moore and Coach [Mike] Hallett and go through my schedule.
They tailor the practice schedule to include me. If I only have a
half hour before a music rehearsal, the coaches cram all of the
kick coverage into that 30 minutes."
The football staff is willing to work with Smith because of the
effort he exhibits, in the weight room, in the film room and on the
field.
"He has to put in a great deal of time with his music -- the
organ, the piano, the aural training," said Hallett. "But he fits
all of that in with what he is doing in football. It's really cool
to see him achieve at such a high level academically and
athletically."
For the next two years, Smith will continue to work on mastering
the footwork necessary to play a Bach concerto and to hit a
coffin-corner punt. When he graduates, he plans to become active
with the music program at a Catholic parish and pursue a master's
degree.
