Baseball/Softball - SMITH Mark

General
RETIREMENT PLANS
He plans to retire from coaching after the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, and said the COVID-10 pandemic gave him a taste of what life will be like after coaching. "When the last 45 years of your life has been filled with summers on the ball field and travelling around the world, you wonder what would you do to fill the time. It [the COVID-19 break] was a concern for me given how much I like to be busy, but what it has done for me is to confirm, I'm going to be just fine." (saltwire.com, 24 Jul 2020)

ALL-TIME GREAT PLAYER
He has been described by Softball Canada as "one of the best softball pitchers ever" and by the International Softball Congress [ISC] as "one of the most talented softball stars of any era". He grew up with three brothers and a sister in North End Halifax in a sports family. "Dad was involved in softball, as a player and as an official. As the eldest, I had a natural affinity for following dad and doing what he did." He said that over the years he did encounter discrimination because of his background. "I have certainly been subjected to the ridicule, the sarcasm, the racial comments. But what makes me proud is that I've been able to achieve in the sport in spite of the adversity." (atlantic.ctvnews.ca, 23 Feb 2021; softball.ca, 2020; iscfastpitch.com, 2010)

OLYMPIAN WIFE
His wife, Ann Dodge, represented Canada in canoe sprint at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. (saltwire.com, 24 Jul 2020; SportsDeskOnline, 2020)