(Press Release)

Frankie Smith’s celebrity status often goes unnoticed at MCC as he crosses campus to get to his Saturday morning class. And the 5-foot-9-inch former NFL player is just fine with that.

“I just consider myself as another person who was fortunate to play the game and to play it successfully and who had the opportunity to do so,” Smith said.

A 1992 graduate of Baylor University, Smith spent nine seasons in the NFL as a cornerback and safety, first with the Miami Dolphins and then with the San Francisco 49ers. He ended his career as a Chicago Bear in 2001.

When his playing days were over, Smith, 40, decided to return to his Central Texas roots to coach young athletes. He moved to Groesbeck, his small hometown about 45 minutes east of Waco, and enrolled in MCC’s Alternative Teacher Certification Program.

The program, which is accredited by the State Board for Educator Certification/Texas Education Agency, provides teaching certifications for individuals with bachelor’s degrees, said Fay Gutierrez, the program’s director. As part of their training, students like Smith are dispatched to teach at schools in the area. Currently the program has 119 students teaching in 42 school districts.

“The program is a good one for those who want to be teachers, who went to college and did not go the traditional way to obtain their teaching certification,” Gutierrez said. “This is an opportunity for them to take that bachelor’s degree and use it to get certified and become a teacher. In many cases it’s something they’ve always wanted to do, but for whatever reason they didn’t do it the first time around.”

Smith was assigned to Groesbeck Middle School, where he teaches health to sixth-graders. He also coaches the seventh- and eighth-grade football and basketball teams. This fall, he will spend time at Groesbeck High School as the football team’s running back coach.

“I’m just trying to give back and pass on some of the knowledge that I’ve gained over the years,” Smith said of his decision to coach.

The MCC classes Smith takes as part of the Alternative Teacher Certification Program prepare him to create lesson plans and run a classroom.

“It teaches me how to have classroom management,” he said. “It helps me cope more with the kids at this level. They’re at that age – 12, 13, 14 – when they just think they know everything. It gets comical sometimes. You’ve already been there. You already know what they’re feeling. I just tell them to be patient because eventually you’re going to grow up. They just need to take it slow and not try to grow up so fast.”

Although Smith never made it to the Super Bowl, he did compete in the NFC Championships with the San Francisco 49ers in 1996. But regardless of whether they were playing for a championship or a regular season game, professional football was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, Smith said. “It’s not even about the game,” he said. “It’s the guys that I hung out with in the NFL over the years that made it so great. Sitting around and eating dinner and conversing – that’s what you remember the most. Keeping those friendships and keeping in touch with those guys is special.”

Smith considers it a privilege to coach in his hometown and looks forward to graduating from the Alternative Teacher Certification Program next summer. He hopes to one day become a head coach at the college level, but wherever he’s coaching, his goal remains the same: “I try to pass on some of the stuff I’ve learned over the years,” he said.