NEVER TOO LATE TO LEARN

Lyle athletic director Bill Smith announces starting lineups for a girls basketball game in Lyle in December.

Photos by Rocky Hulne/ sports@austindailyherald.com

Never too late to

learn After years of volunteering, Lyle man starts new career as athletic director

By Rocky Hulne

Bill Smith has always been attached to Lyle-Pacelli sports in one way or another.

He was the go-to guy for whenever a coach needed someone to take stats, work the scoreboard or even ref a youth game.

“I’ve done just about everything,” Smith said.

Smith went from a volunteer to a full fledged district employee in 2017 when he started working as Lyle’s assistant athletic director. By July of 2020, Smith was the school’s full time athletic director in the middle of a pandemic.

It was quite the change of pace for the 1987 Lyle grad, who had worked for Mayo Clinic’s patient services for 15 years after he had worked at Shopko and Rainbow Foods in Austin. Smith said one day it just hit him that he wanted to work for his alma mater in an official capacity.

“I was sitting in the office in a back room (at Mayo) and it just wasn’t for me,” Smith said. “I had to get out because it was a little bit too much for me. I knew this job was opening.”

When Smith was the assistant AD, he drove students from Lyle to Austin, the Southern Minnesota Education Consortium on Interstate 90 and Glenville. He now has a shortened route but still drives students occasionally, along with his regular duties which include everything from announcing football games from the booth and grabbing the team a pizza if they need one.

“I’ve got a lot of good supporters on the staff and they help me out a lot,” Smith said. “You just have to work with the other ADs and work with your coaches to see what kind of opponents they want.”

Smith entered the AD field at a very challenging time as games and seasons were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He also had to make sure Lyle-Pacelli’s crowds were never over capacity.

“It was challenging. We had limitations on fans and in football it was confusing, where they only allowed 250 people at an outdoor event,” Smith said. “We had to spread out tickets to both schools. It was difficult.”

This year has been refreshing for Smith as the crowds have been full and the concessions are back. When he smells the popcorn coming and sees youngsters running down the hallway in anticipation of a high school game, Smith can’t help but smile.

“I’ve been sticking around here for so long and I’ve enjoyed it. I really enjoy watching the kids and it’s nice to help out,” Smith said. “It’s a small town environment. That’s what I really enjoy. Everybody knows everybody and I get to watch these kids grow up and I get to see their kids grow up and play. I’ve probably seen three generations here.”

If Smith ever gets stressed out in his office or starts to feel down, he always gets a lift when the elementary kids walk by.

“A lot of times the kids will come by the office saying ‘Hi Bill,” Smith said. “That’s always nice.” P

“I’ve been sticking around here for so long and I’ve enjoyed it. I really enjoy watching the kids and it’s nice to help out.” Bill Smith