Tributes paid to prominent athletics coach Frank Smith

Mar 10 2011 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

TRIBUTES were paid this week to influential former Hamilton Harriers coach Frank Smith who has died aged 73.

Frank, who had for some time battled illness, was found dead in his Hamilton home on February 17.

The father-of-four was a well-known figure in athletics circles and was associated with Harriers before moving to the Whitemoss club in East Kilbride, where he was chairman and coach.

He was for many years the coach of former Scottish 400m champion Carey Easton (31), from Hamilton, who went on to become a GB internationalist and Commonwealth Games athlete.

Carey was one of the mourners at the funeral at South Lanarkshire Crematorium.

Police found Frank in his home after they were alerted by pal and fellow coach Shona Girdwood. She had arranged to drive him to an athletics meeting and became worried when he failed to turn up.

South Lanarkshire Leisure athletics development officer Shona, who is from Bellshill and is a champion triathlete, said: “I worked with Frank for 12 years and over the last four or five I think he’s treated me more like a daughter than anything else.

“I would pick him up and bring him home from festivals. I regularly spoke to him on the phone and knew his movements. I knew there was something wrong when he failed to keep our appointment.

In an emotional tribute Shona added: “Frank was absolutely fantastic. He was great with the kids, knew his stuff and for the last four or five years that I worked directly with Frank, he lived for all of the events and just adored festivals and track and field championships.

“He was a lovely man and will never be replaced as far as I’m concerned. It’s a very sad time but Frank has left us all with some very good memories.

“He used to be called the ‘sweetie man’ because he had a big rucksack full of chocolate, sweets and juice for the kids, and they all loved that.

“I’ll really miss him as a coach but more as a friend – he was always there.”

Jim Goldie worked as SLL development officer before moving to scottishathletics as their development manager and for years worked closely with Shona and Frank.

He said: “Frank was a great guy to work with.

“When I started in the job in 2005, Frank was one of the first coaches to give me a hand and was happy to answer any questions I had, so I was really grateful for that.

“Frank was reliable, conscientious, and a fantastic teacher for pupils and staff alike.

“If there were more people like Frank then Scottish athletics would be so much better, and certainly healthier.

“He was very highly regarded and had a wealth of knowledge. Even though he must have known how good he was he was never egotistical or shouted it from the rooftops.

“A lot of people don’t know, for example, that he coached Carey Easton for a long time, and helped a young East Kilbride lad called Billy McGill get below 50 seconds for the 400m.

“Frank was an official starter and helped out at all of our primary school events – he was there rain, hail or snow.

“I feel fortunate in that I met up with Frank just before he died at a South Lanarkshire Sports Hall event. I hadn’t seen him in about a year but we were able to have a nice catch-up.

“South Lanarkshire Leisure and athletics in general will miss Frank big-style – I don’t think anyone fully realises just how big a gap he is going to leave.”

Andy McLinden, secretary of Hamilton Harriers, said: “I knew Frank for about 25 years. He was an excellent coach, well thought of with generations of kids at our club.

“He could never be replaced, and his passing is a sad loss for us and the whole of Scottish athletics.”