By Nelson Coffin
nelson@iaamsports.com
Being honored with the IAAM Spring Sportsmanship Award doesn’t mean that Katie Smolka’s only contributions to her softball team are of the intangible variety.
Yes, the St. Timothy’s School senior did a great job of encouraging and supporting her teammates throughout the program’s inaugural B Conference season.
The multi-year team captain also is front and center on the diamond as the squad’s switch-hitting shortstop/leadoff hitter, and one who is “well-loved by her teammates, and a friend to all,” according to coach Cori Spartana.
“She doesn’t have to talk the talk, because she walks the walk,” Spartana said, noting that Smolka was the first to arrive and the last to leave warmups, stretching or other practice activities.
As a three-sport athlete, captain and a libero on the volleyball team, Smolka had similar responsibilities in the fall.
Basketball, though, was a completely different experience, given her role as the team’s sideline spirit leader.
A teammate even made a ‘bench captain’ tee-shirt that she proudly wore throughout the hardwood season as she urged her teammates to excel on the court.
“I mostly love and appreciate the people around me,” Smolka said. “And I have the ability to stay positive. I always try to uplift people.”
Some of those people around her at a school that features boarding students from more than 20 countries have given her a different view of the world, she said.
“It opened my eyes to a global perspective,” said Smolka, who attended Cathedral School before St. Tim’s. ‘It’s just such a special community where people really care for each other.”
That “global perspective” has prompted Smolka to major in global affairs when she arrives at the University of Notre Dame in the fall.
St. Timothy’s head of school Randy Stevens said that Smolka “is an extraordinary human being — trusting and kind, someone with grit and perseverance.”
The school’s motto, Verite Sans Peur, translates to “Truth Without Fear,” applies to Smolka, Stevens said.
“Truth, trust and kindness — she embodies that,” he said. “She’s always the kid who settles things down. Katie is mature, level-headed and a positive force.”
Former St. Tim’s athletic director Shanna Brady also had kind words for the St. Timothy’s Trust Award recipient.
“Katie is the epitome of what it means to be a great teammate,“ she said. “She has been a selfless leader on every team she has been a part of.”
Brady added that Smolka set the best examples for her teammates — and others — to emulate.
“Her interactions with not only her teammates, but opposing teams, truly separates her from the rest,” Brady said. “Katie continued to use her sportsmanship and leadership skills to make others around her better before ever focusing on herself.”
