Have you ever heard it said, “If they ever gave an award for heart, he (or she) would win it hands down.”?


Well, Lovell High School coaches gave an award for heart at Monday night’s L Club Banquet, and it went to a senior with lots of heart, Sam Smith.


Lovell track coaches Joe Koritnik and Josh Sanders presented the Lovell Coaches Award to Smith, who has run track for the Bulldogs for the past three seasons.


“This is for a special athlete who gives 110 percent every time he steps on the track,” Koritnik said. “He continually tries to better himself and is driven to reach his full potential.”


He explained in an interview Tuesday that he and the coaching staff felt that they needed an award to single out an athlete who has tried to give the most of himself and is dedicated to the sport.


“Sam is deserving of it,” Koritnik said. “In three years of track he has been motivated to improve himself every time he races. You’ve got to admire that in him.”


The idea is to recognize an athlete who does not necessarily have the ability to be an elite performer but rather an athlete who is working up to his full potential and displays a great attitude and work ethic, Coach K said.


Smith, the son of Virginia and the late James Henry Smith, isn’t blessed with great speed, and he’s not big and strong, but he loves to compete, coaches say.


“He really likes to do competitive sports,” Sanders said Tuesday. “He has fun, and fun is the key word with competition, and because of that, he’s willing to try anything. He just enjoys the environment of it.


“It’s how you want sports to be. It’s not only fun but it creates a motivation in him.”


And heart?


“Definitely a big heart, absolutely,” Sanders said. “You don’t get too many kids who say, ‘Hey, I’ll try the 400 this week.’ He’s gotten better. He won his heat of the 200 in Thermopolis. He’s improved. His form is better.”


Smith has never advanced to the State Track Meet, and with the Bulldogs now in Class 3A, the odds will be against him this weekend. Friday and Saturday’s 3A West Regional in Worland could be his last competition.


“He wants to be in sports in whatever way he can,” Sanders said. “He always wants to accomplish a goal. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be a motivation for him. It’s ironic. The fact that it’s a struggle is what motivates him. You should always be motivated to improve and beat a time, yours or someone else’s. That’s been a positive for him.
“When he won that heat in Thermopolis, he was in Heaven.”


Smith said the award presented Monday made his senior year.


“It was pretty awesome,” he said. “It felt great. I was grateful to be honored. It was a great experience.
“I like to give it my best on the track. I’ve never made it to State before in outdoor track.”


Smith has run both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes this season and also long-jumped early in the year. He set personal records in both sprints, 12.97 in the 100 at Buffalo and 27.10 in the 200 at Thermop. His favorite is the 200.


“I like the 200 the most,” he said. “You have to go all out. It’s kind of like my specialty. It was my favorite event in indoor track, too.


“I do love to compete. I don’t mean to be aggressive and trash talk. That’s not right. It’s fun to compete and get out and try something new. I like to challenge myself athletically and academically.”


Asked what he would advise younger athletes, he said, “Work hard and do the best you can. I got that from my cross country coach (John Bernhisel) and Coach Sanders. Try the best you can to qualify for State.”


“Try” is the watchword for Sam Smith. It comes from having heart. And now, at Lovell High School, they do, indeed, have an award for it.