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Northview center remains Smith Strong through it all
Growing up in Brazil, Northview senior center Kenny Smith dreamed of wearing the maroon and black football uniform and being on the field during Friday night home games.
That was his father, Kim’s, dream for the offensive lineman as well.
But in January 2023, a few months after Smith had wrapped up his sophomore season playing on the junior varsity level, Kim Smith passed away after battling stomach cancer for multiple years.
Wanting to do whatever it took to make his father proud, Smith worked harder than he ever had before during the offseason and into the summer, which resulted in him earning a starting spot with the varsity team.
Smith said being told the news of becoming a starter by Northview head coach Mark Raetz was bittersweet due to the fact that his dad wouldn’t physically be in the stands – Smith’s mom, Jennifer, brought Kim’s bench chair to each game and draped a SmithStrong shirt over the top of it to let Smith know he was still there in spirit – watch him play, he quickly came to the realization that Kim had the best seat in the house, watching him from above.
“It was difficult at times, but knowing he was up there and was looking down on me, it helped calm my nerves,” said Smith. “Before games, I always go and kneel at the bench and say a little prayer and still thank God for everything because at the end of the day, God has done a whole lot more good for me compared to everything else that has happened.”
Being in the middle of Northview’s strong offensive line last year, while also showing his leadership skills away from the field, earned the respect of Smith’s teammates, who named him one of the team’s captains this fall. It’s an honor Raetz said was well-deserved for all that Smith has done – and continues to do – for the program.
“First and foremost, he’s been a great leader for our team the last several years,” said Raetz. “Northview football is important to him, so he always does everything we ask him to do. He always works our youth camp, our middle school camp. He’s always at weights and practice every day. He’s one of those program guys that has bought into everything that we do. So, the fact that he has physically got himself into a position where he can play varsity football on Friday nights the last couple of years and then his teammates voted him as a captain, I think it says a lot about him and his commitment to our program.”
Where did Smith get the character traits to become a team leader? In Raetz’s opinion, it came from the way his parents raised him, which is something Smith said he tries to carry on to this day as a way to make his father proud of the person he has become.
“He’s always been a kid that’s been all-in, and a part of that comes from parenting. His mom and his dad did a great job raising him and nothing has changed from that,” said Raetz. “He still approaches things the same way, and I think that’s a reflection of how he was raised. He’s had the maturity to stay focused and keep his priorities right in spite of some bad things happening to him. We’re all proud of him.”
“Going in every week, I want to make sure I’m practicing hard every day and that I’m doing everything right to make him proud because I know that’s what he would have wanted,” said Smith.
When Kim passed away a couple of winters ago, Smith said it put into perspective just how fragile life is. From that point on, he didn’t want to take a day he has for granted, and that’s carried over onto the football field this fall.
As a senior, Smith knows he only has eight games guaranteed before his time as a Knight comes to an end. Because of that, he’s treasuring every moment on the practice field with his teammates as well as every snap he gets to flip into the hands of quarterback Colton Bath before blocking the opposing defensive lineman across from him.
“My dad was perfectly fine and then one morning, he didn’t wake up. That made me really think about how you really never know how much time you have left,” Smith said. “It’s kind of like football in a way because you never know how many games you’re going to have left to play or how many practices you have left to go to, so I want to make sure I make every single one of those count.”
And in being around the team for the last few months – and soaking in every second of that time – Smith believes Northview has what it takes to leave their mark on the program, just like his dad left on him.
“I think we can make a deep run into the sectional if we continue to put the work in and live to our potential,” he said. “I really think we could do something special this year.”