Brian Smith

Barnwell High School AD/Head Football Coach Faith,Family, Football - in that order!
#PlayTheHorse

[Brian Smith @CoachBrianSmith]

TOD: Wasting your time doubting whether you’re going to be successful is pointless. - Kobe Bryant

[Brian Smith @CoachBrianSmith]

TOD: The first level of leadership is leading yourself. - Jon Sumrall

[SCFCA @SCFCA1]

We appreciate all 120 golfers for playing in our tournament today.
Congrats to our 2026 Champions:
Brian Smith, Grayson Howell, Chris Liner & Robert Mustar.
2nd place- Matthew Love, Bobby Page, Jacob Page & Ozzie All
3rd place- Ethan Ray, Gordon Ray, Mark Wofford and Jonathan Dailey
Thanks to @coachfarmer71 for all his work on putting on a 1st class tournament. Looking forward to next year being bigger and better than ever.

[SCFCA @SCFCA1]

A huge THANK YOU to all of our sponsors for your generous support of the SCFCA Mike Ware Golf Tournament!

Because of your commitment to South Carolina football coaches and student-athletes, this event was a tremendous success. Your partnership helps strengthen our profession, supports coaching development, and allows us to continue making a positive impact on young people across our state.

We are grateful for your investment in the SCFCA and for helping make this year’s tournament a memorable day of fellowship, competition, and camaraderie.

[Brian Smith @CoachBrianSmith]

TOD: Failure inspires winners and defeats losers.

[Brian Smith @CoachBrianSmith]

TOD: The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The next best time is right now.

[Brian Smith @CoachBrianSmith]

TOD: If you don’t fail, you’re not even trying.
— Denzel Washington

[Mike Rittelmann @MRittCGS]

🚨 Parents of High School Football Recruits

One of the biggest mistakes I see in recruiting is when parents try to take over the process instead of supporting it

College coaches are evaluating much more than film, statistics, and athletic ability. They are evaluating how a prospect communicates, handles adversity, interacts with others, and whether the family will be a positive fit within the program

Over the years, I have seen talented players miss opportunities because of poor communication, unrealistic expectations, social media issues, constant parental involvement, or simply a lack of understanding of how recruiting actually works

Some of the biggest mistakes parents make:

🔹 Speaking for their son during the recruiting process

🔹 Contacting coaches excessively

🔹 Treating camp invites as scholarship offers

🔹 Inflating height, weight, or testing numbers

🔹 Comparing their son to other recruits

🔹 Focusing too much on rankings and social media attention

🔹 Ignoring academic requirements

🔹 Chasing every camp without a recruiting plan

🔹 Becoming overly focused on NIL or one specific level of football

🔹 Creating unnecessary drama with coaches, programs, or teammates

A camp invite is not an offer. Rankings do not determine a player’s future. More camps do not automatically lead to more opportunities. And playing at the highest level possible is not always the same as finding the right fit

The best recruiting families:

✅ Allow their son to take ownership of the process

✅ Communicate professionally and respectfully

✅ Focus on academics as much as football

✅ Stay realistic about recruiting opportunities

✅ Trust the evaluation process

✅ Keep the focus on long term development and fit

Parents should focus on helping their son become the best student, athlete, and young man possible. Be supportive, be realistic, trust the process, and allow your son to take ownership of his recruitment

The families that navigate recruiting the best are usually the ones who stay humble, stay professional, and understand that recruiting is about finding the right fit, not winning a popularity contest

🏈 At the end of the day, the goal is not to win recruiting.

It is to help your son find the right school, earn a degree, continue playing football, and create opportunities that will benefit him long after his playing days are over

[Brian Smith @CoachBrianSmith]

TOD: The greatest test is what you do with success once you find it.

[SCFCA @SCFCA1]

SCFCA Board of Directors

Classification Director seats up for election, for the '26-'27 and '27-'28 terms:

5A Upperstate
4A Lowerstate
3A Upperstate
2A Lowerstate
1A Upperstate

These elections will occur 6/15 through 6/30, only on our SportsYou site! You do NOT have to be a Head Football Coach to run for the board. You MUST be a member of the SCFCA!

If interested, please shoot an email to [email protected] expressing your interest and intentions for running. Provide your contact information, school, classification, and coaching responsibilities.

The leadership positions of the SCFCA and our Board of Directors are voluntary. Devotion of your time, talent, and effort for the SCFCA, the coaches of this state, and for our sport are expectations. Please do not run if you cannot make regular scheduled meetings or attend SCFCA events.

[Brian Smith @CoachBrianSmith]

TOD: Gratitude is positivity about the past… enthusiasm is positivity about the present… and optimism: positivity about the future.

[Brian Smith @CoachBrianSmith]

Reminder: Summer Workouts start tomorrow at 8:00 am. All players must have a new physical uploaded in Final Forms dated after April 1,2026 to participate starting Monday. We have 2 competitions next week - at South Aiken on Tuesday and at Swansea on Thursday. Go Warhorses!