Sonny Smart, father of UGA football coach Kirby Smart, Passes
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ATHENS - Sonny Smart, a former high school coach, husband, father and grandfather passed away at 12:15 AM Saturday morning, surrounded by his wife, Sharon, and their three children: Karl, Kirby and Kendall.
Smart was a high school coach in Georgia for decades. His younger son, Kirby, is UGA football's head coach. Sonny Smart was visiting New Orleans for the Bulldogs' College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl. He fell while walking during the day on New Year’s Eve in New Orleans and fractured his hip. The elder Smart had complications during surgery for his hip. In a statement, UGA said the elder Smart "fought valiantly but was unable to overcome his injuries."
Smart is most well known for his time as a high school coach in the state. In 2017, he told UGA historian Loran Smith that the sport had progressed, and he was happy to see that, but he was "old school."
"I do enjoy the exciting offense we see out there today," Smart said. "People who know me are always talking about how I liked to throw the football. We threw it Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but never on Friday night."
According to GHSFHA, Smart coached at Bainbridge from 1988 to 1994, where he won a region title while coaching Kirby Smart, who was a defensive back on the 1993 Bearcats.
"I had the most enjoyable experience of all by being able to coach my son, Kirby," the elder Smart told Smith in 2017.
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That Bainbridge squad lost in the state semifinals to eventual champions Dunwoody. After the 1994 season, Smart went from the largest classification in the state to the smallest - taking over tiny Rabun County in the northeast corner of the state.
It took Smart four years, but the Wildcats went from 3-7 his first year at Rabun to 11-2 and region champs by 1998. Smart's final season at Rabun County was in 2003. He ended his coaching career in GHSA with a 90-78-1 and two region crowns.
"It is hard for me to get to many high school games now, but when I do, I really enjoy it still. It offers something for everybody. Friday nights are usually more than the game itself," he told Smith in 2017. "High school football is important to the band and to the cheerleaders and it brings the parents and community together. You see kids playing their own games off to the side; there are parents running the concessions, pitching in for the booster clubs."
"High school football is very special. It is the best chance a young man has to be on an organized team … and they don’t have to be invited to play," Smart added. "You really cannot accurately measure how valuable a coach is to his community. A coach has great influence on kids."
The elder Smart has been able to be with his family to celebrating championships, including the SEC championship this December.
"I have always tried to remind my Georgia friends that nobody wants the Georgia program to excel more than our son," he said of Kirby.
In a statement from UGA, the Smart family “expresses their heartfelt gratitude to the Ochsner hospital and medical staff for the exceptional care provided to Sonny. Additionally, they ask for your continued prayers for those affected by the tragic events that occurred in the early hours of New Year’s Day. The Smart family treasures everyone’s thoughts and prayers and now prays for God’s comfort, strength, and guidance.”