SMITHSBURG – The least of things on David Lawrence’s mind these days is his wardrobe.
But there is some concern there.
“I just need to get more Smithsburg clothes,” he said. “I don’t have many, right now.”
Check. Pretty sure that will be remedied.
After an almost two-year hiatus, Lawrence is about to return to the sidelines as Smithsburg’s new football coach. Out with the green and white he wore while leading South Hagerstown. Bring on the purple and gold.
It might be only about 20 miles down the road, but it’s a huge change for Lawrence. He makes the trek after spending about half his life in and around the South Hagerstown campus, as a student and athlete followed by teaching and coaching there.
It’s fun, but it’s a big change because I was at South for 20 years,” said Lawrence, 50. “Everything was new to me in the beginning. And now, I’m preparing to teach out here as well, which is very good for the program with me being in the building, around the kids during the day and not just football stuff.”
Lawrence was hired at Smithsburg after former coach David Miller stepped down after last season. The Leopards became Lawrence’s new outpost after resigning two games into his fifth season in 2023 because of philosophical differences.
“I’m just getting used (to being at Smithsburg), but once you get back into it, you realize how much you really miss it,” said Lawrence, who was 26-21 at South.
“It’s weird. It was something I never wanted to do. I wanted to stay where I was at, but things happened. Things happen for a reason. I just realized you don’t always get points for being loyal. That’s the valuable lesson that I learned.”
Lawrence comes to Smithsburg with the hopes of bringing back some glory to a community with a strong football tradition. The Leopards won five Maryland state titles from 1976-1994, the last four under legendary coach Carroll Reid. Smithsburg has also been runners-up four times reached the quarterfinals five times between 1974-91.
“You got take pride in the fact that there are still a lot of people that are very enthralled with the tradition.” Lawrence said “I know as a player, I remember when we were playing against some of those really good teams. It’s an honor to have opportunity to take over at a school that has such a rich tradition.”
Some of the latter seasons have been lean, though.
Smithsburg hasn’t had a winning season in 10 years. Last year, the Leopards won once, and it came via forfeit.
But on the flip side, Smithsburg has built one of the top facilities in Washington County, in hopes of helping the Leopards regain their roar.
“We have a core group of kids who are really committed,” Lawrence said. “They’re coachable. They are fun to coach, and they work hard and have great attitudes. That’s always a plus.”
Still, Lawrence finds himself getting used to the change of scenery.
“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” he said. “The hardest is getting the time to build an individual relationship with each kid, to get to know each of them. It kind of takes a while.
“You want to get to know them and see what makes them tick. That’s kind of been part of a challenge, but it’s getting better. That, to me, was the hardest part… getting to know everyone because of being brand new and not being from Smithsburg.”
But now it’s “go” time. Practices with pads have just begun with everything building to the season opener on Sept. 5 with the home opener against Francis Scott Key.
Leading up to this point, Lawrence said the new coaching staff has been meeting since February to get the team philosophy in place.
“It’s a matter of getting everyone on the same page,” he said. “There are some experienced coaches here and some who are new to the way we do things. They’ve all caught on quickly.”
Next up: The team. The players are learning new terminology and formations.
“You got to teach, explain, show film, draw on the board,” Lawrence said. “It’s a little different, especially on the defensive side, but they have caught on. They’ve done well and are really attentive. You don’t have to tell them something a lot of times.”
Now it’s down to playing football and dealing with all the hurdles of preparing a team to start a season. That is one thing that is the same no matter where coaches are coaching.
“Unfortunately, we have been hit with some injuries,” Lawrence said. “It’s tougher when you are at a small school. We have core group that I’m really excited about. If we can stay healthy, we’ll be OK.”
