Autumn Smith doesn’t like to lose.

It isn’t something she’s used to.

In her first year at Leeds High School, she guided a struggling varsity volleyball team to the Class 3A region tournament and assisted head coach Ashley Allen in taking a varsity girls’ basketball team – which wasn’t expected to make it past one playoff game – to area and sub-region championships.

And that’s after racking up a 106-16 volleyball record before coming to Leeds.

“This year was a situation I’d never been in before, but I’m really proud of the girls,” she said of the Lady Green Wave volleyball players.  “They never gave up on me or each other.  They kept working and working and working, which is why we made it out of area.  Just like in basketball, we got put out by Greensboro, so I guess we’ll have to have it in for them next year.”

Smith recently recounted her career as a student athlete and shared her thoughts about coaching and how athletics can teach valuable lessons.

Growing up with sports:  “I come from a competitive family.  My father and brother were basketball players, and sports were always a part of what we did as a family and community.  Basketball was my first love.  I wanted to be like Charles Barkley, Larry Byrd, and Michael Jordan.”

High school success:  Smith attended Hatton High School, a small Class 2A school in Town Creek, for grades 7-9, where she was part of state championship volleyball and softball teams.  She finished high school at Lawrence County, helping the varsity volleyball and basketball teams win state titles.

After high school:  She had scholarship offers from Division II and III schools but decided to attend the University of Alabama.  “I was very pleased with how my senior year ended, and I kind of wanted to take a break from sports and enjoy watching other people play.”

The greatest lesson she’s learned from sports:  “How to work well with others.”

Why is that important?  “If you don’t know how to work with other individuals for a common purpose, you’re always going to have problems. You have to learn how to carry your load and take care of your responsibilities. If you don’t do your job, it can affect everybody else, and you have to realize that there are consequences that go along with that. Learning how to work through trials, tribulations, and struggles and learning how to celebrate when you do is a huge lesson.”

Her philosophy of coaching:  “Things don’t always go your way, and that’s what competitive sports are all about.  It’s not just a game.  I know it sounds cliché, and it’s hard for some people to understand, but I firmly believe it.  If you’re not teaching life lessons, you’re not doing your job as a coach.  Progress comes from what you do with what you learn, and my players won’t make progress if I let them say ‘I’m a girl,’ ‘I can’t do that,’ or make other excuses for themselves.”

About the Lady Green Wave’s 2010-11 season:  “I was really happy and pleased for our girls.  There were a lot of firsts with this group.  We went places they hadn’t been before.  Obviously, we’d liked to have kept moving on, but we were pleased with how the season ended.  Getting to region was a huge stepping stone for us.”

Leeds’ come-from-behind sub-region win:  The Lady Green Wave advanced to the region tournament after a last-minute 43-42 win against Coosa-Central.  “That was a fun game.  We had several come-from-behind wins this season, but never one as huge as at sub-region.  We’ll be working on controlling the entire game better next year, but the fact that we can come from behind is encouraging.”