Smith Gilbert Leading By Example
February 28, 2022 | Track & Field, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Caryl Smith Gilbert is a worker, driven and determined to get the most out of every single day. She knows this, and she knows that others know it too.
"I get a lot of gifts from people that have something to do with relaxation," she said with a laugh. "I get a lot of lavender oil, bubble bath and relaxing balms. I get a lot of those. I think that kind of tells me I'm probably not too relaxed of a person."
Does she ever use them?
"No, not really," she joked.
On June 13, 2021, Smith Gilbert was named Georgia's director of men's and women's track and field. She is the first woman to be in charge of a men's program at Georgia. Smith Gilbert came to Athens from USC, where she spent eight seasons (2014-21) leading the men's and women's programs to tremendous success.
In 2018, USC's women's team edged Georgia for the NCAA Outdoor national championship, capturing the title by a point over the Bulldogs in a meet that came down to the final race. Last June, Smith Gilbert again led the USC women to the NCAA Outdoor title, while the men placed in the top five for the fourth time in the past seven championships.
When Smith Gilbert was announced as Georgia's director of track and field, J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Josh Brooks said she was "a phenomenal coach, skilled motivator and strong leader who will make our entire program better." The mission of making the program better, to make herself and everyone within it better, drives Smith Gilbert every day.
"I don't sleep much. My mind is always working, I'm always thinking ahead — I've got to figure out how I can get better, what I can do to improve. Even if we win something, it's not good enough because there's something I could have done better. I just believe in taking accountability for myself because I wouldn't push that on my student-athletes or my own kids in my house if I didn't believe in doing it myself."
As an African-American woman leading a major program, Smith Gilbert said there's "a weight to it in terms of, I have a responsibility to help as many people as I can, But also, to be successful so more people like me, that look like me, have the opportunity to do what I do."
One such person is Deanna Hill, one of Smith Gilbert's assistant coaches. In 2018, Hill was part of the 4x400 relay team that clinched the 2018 national title for USC. Now, she's a young African-American woman just beginning her coaching career.
"For me, having seen someone that looks like me that's in charge of a program and coaching the women and men, and doing it with such power and such grace, it allows me as a new coach coming into the game to know how to walk in excellence," Hill said.
There's an Athens connection to another track and field coaching pioneer. Born in Athens in 1929, Dr. Nell Jackson grew up in Alabama, attended the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), ran in the 1948 London Olympics, and then got into coaching. In 1956, she became the first Black coach to serve as the head coach of a U.S. Olympic team, coaching the American women in the Melbourne Games and again at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Smith Gilbert said she thinks often about those that have come before her. It's part of the reason she works so hard, to honor their struggle and determination in all facets of life.
"I pressure myself for excellence because I never want to let anybody down. Meaning my family, God, people that helped me get where I am, my ancestors, the people that had to fight so hard for much less," she said. "I think it's important that I do have some pressure on myself to do what's right and what's good and the best that I can."
Said Hill: "You don't see a lot of African-American women get the opportunities that she's been able to get. She's blessed for it, she's humble, and that's always the biggest thing for me, that she does it with such humility."
Championships are great, the result of all of that hard work, but they're not Smith Gilbert's top priority. Most of all, she wants every Georgia Bulldog to leave here a better person than they were when they arrived. If they do that, the rest takes care of itself.
"In the meetings with her, seeing what she wants and the goals and expectations that she has for her athletes, it's always about creating a better person," Hill said. "I think a lot of the time, so many coaches can be focused on being the best athlete, but I think she focuses on being the best person you can be."
"That was instilled in me by my club coach, Tony Wells, who was a coach of the Colorado Flyers," said Smith Gilbert, a Denver native who went on to be an All-American sprinter at UCLA. "That's what I was taught and that's what my dad also taught. Integrity, character — you can't be a champion if you don't have integrity and character.
"Those are the things that build champions. Because if you're not honest with yourself, you can't fix your flaws. And if you can't look in the mirror then you'll never admit to the things that you need to do to improve.
"I just think being a good person is the beginning of it all, and everything else goes from there."
Staff Writer
Caryl Smith Gilbert is a worker, driven and determined to get the most out of every single day. She knows this, and she knows that others know it too.
"I get a lot of gifts from people that have something to do with relaxation," she said with a laugh. "I get a lot of lavender oil, bubble bath and relaxing balms. I get a lot of those. I think that kind of tells me I'm probably not too relaxed of a person."
Does she ever use them?
"No, not really," she joked.
On June 13, 2021, Smith Gilbert was named Georgia's director of men's and women's track and field. She is the first woman to be in charge of a men's program at Georgia. Smith Gilbert came to Athens from USC, where she spent eight seasons (2014-21) leading the men's and women's programs to tremendous success.
In 2018, USC's women's team edged Georgia for the NCAA Outdoor national championship, capturing the title by a point over the Bulldogs in a meet that came down to the final race. Last June, Smith Gilbert again led the USC women to the NCAA Outdoor title, while the men placed in the top five for the fourth time in the past seven championships.
When Smith Gilbert was announced as Georgia's director of track and field, J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Josh Brooks said she was "a phenomenal coach, skilled motivator and strong leader who will make our entire program better." The mission of making the program better, to make herself and everyone within it better, drives Smith Gilbert every day.
"I don't sleep much. My mind is always working, I'm always thinking ahead — I've got to figure out how I can get better, what I can do to improve. Even if we win something, it's not good enough because there's something I could have done better. I just believe in taking accountability for myself because I wouldn't push that on my student-athletes or my own kids in my house if I didn't believe in doing it myself."
As an African-American woman leading a major program, Smith Gilbert said there's "a weight to it in terms of, I have a responsibility to help as many people as I can, But also, to be successful so more people like me, that look like me, have the opportunity to do what I do."
One such person is Deanna Hill, one of Smith Gilbert's assistant coaches. In 2018, Hill was part of the 4x400 relay team that clinched the 2018 national title for USC. Now, she's a young African-American woman just beginning her coaching career.
"For me, having seen someone that looks like me that's in charge of a program and coaching the women and men, and doing it with such power and such grace, it allows me as a new coach coming into the game to know how to walk in excellence," Hill said.
There's an Athens connection to another track and field coaching pioneer. Born in Athens in 1929, Dr. Nell Jackson grew up in Alabama, attended the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), ran in the 1948 London Olympics, and then got into coaching. In 1956, she became the first Black coach to serve as the head coach of a U.S. Olympic team, coaching the American women in the Melbourne Games and again at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Smith Gilbert said she thinks often about those that have come before her. It's part of the reason she works so hard, to honor their struggle and determination in all facets of life.
"I pressure myself for excellence because I never want to let anybody down. Meaning my family, God, people that helped me get where I am, my ancestors, the people that had to fight so hard for much less," she said. "I think it's important that I do have some pressure on myself to do what's right and what's good and the best that I can."
Said Hill: "You don't see a lot of African-American women get the opportunities that she's been able to get. She's blessed for it, she's humble, and that's always the biggest thing for me, that she does it with such humility."
Championships are great, the result of all of that hard work, but they're not Smith Gilbert's top priority. Most of all, she wants every Georgia Bulldog to leave here a better person than they were when they arrived. If they do that, the rest takes care of itself.
"In the meetings with her, seeing what she wants and the goals and expectations that she has for her athletes, it's always about creating a better person," Hill said. "I think a lot of the time, so many coaches can be focused on being the best athlete, but I think she focuses on being the best person you can be."
"That was instilled in me by my club coach, Tony Wells, who was a coach of the Colorado Flyers," said Smith Gilbert, a Denver native who went on to be an All-American sprinter at UCLA. "That's what I was taught and that's what my dad also taught. Integrity, character — you can't be a champion if you don't have integrity and character.
"Those are the things that build champions. Because if you're not honest with yourself, you can't fix your flaws. And if you can't look in the mirror then you'll never admit to the things that you need to do to improve.
"I just think being a good person is the beginning of it all, and everything else goes from there."
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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