Damon J. Smith
Encyclopedia
Damon J. Smith is an American
athlete, author
, entrepreneur
, and radio personality. He is the first professional football player to race professional motocross
.
, California
, Smith was a three-sport star, playing basketball, football and track. He competed in California's state track meet in the triple jump and high-jump and earned all-Monticello Empire League honors.
, Smith started 44 straight games at defensive back. He set the record for interceptions that year, finishing his career second all time on Utah State's Interceptions list with 17 interceptions.
Former Utah State University Coach, DeWayne Walker
, stated, “Damon was fast, a great jumper, [and] he had all the intangibles. He did everything right, that's what I loved about him. He's that rare type of individual that can decide [he wants to do something] and he has the intellect and drive to accomplish whatever he wants.”
, stating he "worked hard" and was "a bulldog." He trained and played alongside other notable athletes such as Doug Flutie
, Jay McNeil
, Travis Moore
, Marvin Coleman
, Mike Neu
, and was coached by Wally Buono
. During the ninth game of his rookie season, while replacing injured defensive back Kenton Leonard, he tore a medial collateral ligament in his right knee. His injury prompted concern for what the Stampeders would do for defensive backs, as the injury appeared severe enough to end his season. The injury did end his first year with the Stampeders, and Smith returned to California to rehabilitate and prepare for other opportunities. Although he rehabilitated quickly, Smith found himself without a contract. Over the next year, he trained alongside elite athletes before moving on to endeavors outside of athletics.
After publishing the book, he frequently delivered messages as a motivational speaker to collegiate and youth organizations, traveling as far as Belo Horizonte, Brazil, to speak to young men at a community center in one of the city's many large and dangerous slums. During that trip, Smith met a young man who had been rescued from the streets of Belo Horizonte by the international Christian organization, Youth With A Mission
(YWAM).The young man, Sidney, connected with Smith after reading his book, and inspired Smith to shoot a documentary about him and other kids who had been helped by YWAM. He stayed in touch with Sidney as the young man graduated from high school and joined an international mission team, and eventually published his life story under Inspiring Minds Publications. Proceeds from the book, “Rescued to Tell: Diary of a Street Kid,” helped the young man travel on missions throughout South America and Africa.
Smith was recognized in 2006 by Essence Magazine as one of 50 “Do-Right-Men.”
Throughout his travels and speaking engagements, Smith started a talk radio show on Sacramento/Bay Area radio station, KFIA
710AM. “The Athlete's Show” discussed socially oriented issues from an athlete's perspective. The show aired weekly in 2007, and he interviewed professional athletes such as former Oakland Raider Jerone Davison, former Redskin
/49er
Rod Moore, former Toronto Blue Jay Kevin Bracey, as well as his former coach and then UCLA Bruins
Defensive Coordinator DeWayne Walker
. In 2008, he returned to the airwaves, expanding the format and changing the name to “The Damon J. Smith Show.” The show explored controversial issues pertaining to religion and politics and covered the 2008 Presidential Elections.
. Although he had experience with BMX in his youth, he had never before raced a motorcycle. After training for a year, he began racing in 2006, and by his second year of racing, Smith advanced from to the competitive intermediate level. He began pursuing national level races, qualifying and competing in the 2008 Loretta Lynn's National Motocross Championships. The following year he qualified and competed in the World Amateur Arena Cross Finals held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV, in which the top five riders from each class from the four Arena Cross Series regions (East, West, Midwest and Central) raced for the championship title. By the end of his third year of racing, he attempted to pass the rigorous qualification process required to advance to the pro level, competing against hundreds of other would-be pro racers for the 75 pro qualification points required to officially earn the "Pro" title. Over the course of three months he traveled to Albuquerque, New Mexico; Salt Lake City, Utah; Reno, Nevada; Boise, Idaho and Spokane, Washington in an effort to earn his American Motorcycle Association (AMA) points and Professional License.
By the end of May, Smith had amassed the required points and earned his professional license. Officially an AMA Pro in 2009, he competed in 1 event in Washougal, Washington, and in 2010, he competed in 4 AMA Supercross Championship events in the Lites class.
In 2011, Smith returned to AMA Supercross, sponsored by Godsome Apparel, Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff
Motorcycle Lawyers, MB1 and Works Connection where his performance in the last qualifying practice at Phoenix made the Motocross Action Magazine Mid-Week Report. His participation in three 2011 Supercross events generated some criticism, prompting motocross journalist Jared Bolton to publish an in-depth interview with Smith on his blog.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
athlete, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, and radio personality. He is the first professional football player to race professional motocross
Motocross
Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. It evolved from trials, and was called scrambles, and later motocross, combining the French moto with cross-country...
.
Early years
At Fairfield High School in FairfieldFairfield
-Australia:*Fairfield, New South Wales, the most populous place in Australia with that place name**Electoral district of Fairfield, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly*Fairfield, Queensland*Fairfield, Victoria...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Smith was a three-sport star, playing basketball, football and track. He competed in California's state track meet in the triple jump and high-jump and earned all-Monticello Empire League honors.
College years
At Utah State UniversityUtah State University
Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....
, Smith started 44 straight games at defensive back. He set the record for interceptions that year, finishing his career second all time on Utah State's Interceptions list with 17 interceptions.
Former Utah State University Coach, DeWayne Walker
DeWayne Walker
-External links:* *...
, stated, “Damon was fast, a great jumper, [and] he had all the intangibles. He did everything right, that's what I loved about him. He's that rare type of individual that can decide [he wants to do something] and he has the intellect and drive to accomplish whatever he wants.”
Football
After graduating from Utah State with a degree in MIS with a Computer Science emphasis, Smith was recruited to play for the Calgary Stampeders as a defensive back. While in Calgary, Smith was praised by secondary coach Frank SpazianiFrank Spaziani
-External links:*...
, stating he "worked hard" and was "a bulldog." He trained and played alongside other notable athletes such as Doug Flutie
Doug Flutie
Douglas Richard "Doug" Flutie is a former American and Canadian football quarterback. Flutie played college football at Boston College, and played professionally in the National Football League, Canadian Football League, and United States Football League...
, Jay McNeil
Jay McNeil
Jay McNeil is a former offensive lineman for the Calgary Stampeders, of the Canadian Football League. He played from 1994 until he retired after the 2007 CFL season. He played in four Grey Cups for the Stampeders, winning two.He was a CFL Western Division All-Star guard in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005,...
, Travis Moore
Travis Moore
Travis Moore is a former professional Canadian football slotback and current receivers coach for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. As a player, Moore played 10 seasons for the Calgary Stampeders and the Saskatchewan Roughriders, winning two Grey Cup championships with the Stampeders in...
, Marvin Coleman
Marvin Coleman
Marvin Coleman was a football player in the Canadian Football League for ten years years. Coleman played cornerback for the Calgary Stampeders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1994-2003. He was a CFL All-Star three times.-References:...
, Mike Neu
Mike Neu
Mike Neu is a former head coach in the Arena Football League for the New Orleans VooDoo. He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and attend high school at Perry Meridian High School...
, and was coached by Wally Buono
Wally Buono
Pasquale "Wally" Buono is the head coach, general manager and alternate governor of the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League, and one of the most successful coaches in league history. He is in his 19th year of coaching, previously as head coach of the Calgary Stampeders and currently with the...
. During the ninth game of his rookie season, while replacing injured defensive back Kenton Leonard, he tore a medial collateral ligament in his right knee. His injury prompted concern for what the Stampeders would do for defensive backs, as the injury appeared severe enough to end his season. The injury did end his first year with the Stampeders, and Smith returned to California to rehabilitate and prepare for other opportunities. Although he rehabilitated quickly, Smith found himself without a contract. Over the next year, he trained alongside elite athletes before moving on to endeavors outside of athletics.
Business and media
Smith put his college degree to work by joining the engineering team at Intel Corporation. He established a publishing company, Inspiring Minds Publications, authored and published a sports motivation book titled, “Don't Stop the Swagger: Preparing the Mind, Body & Soul for Peak Performance.”After publishing the book, he frequently delivered messages as a motivational speaker to collegiate and youth organizations, traveling as far as Belo Horizonte, Brazil, to speak to young men at a community center in one of the city's many large and dangerous slums. During that trip, Smith met a young man who had been rescued from the streets of Belo Horizonte by the international Christian organization, Youth With A Mission
Youth With A Mission
Youth With A Mission is an international, inter-denominational, non-profit Christian missionary organization...
(YWAM).The young man, Sidney, connected with Smith after reading his book, and inspired Smith to shoot a documentary about him and other kids who had been helped by YWAM. He stayed in touch with Sidney as the young man graduated from high school and joined an international mission team, and eventually published his life story under Inspiring Minds Publications. Proceeds from the book, “Rescued to Tell: Diary of a Street Kid,” helped the young man travel on missions throughout South America and Africa.
Smith was recognized in 2006 by Essence Magazine as one of 50 “Do-Right-Men.”
Throughout his travels and speaking engagements, Smith started a talk radio show on Sacramento/Bay Area radio station, KFIA
KFIA
KFIA is a radio station broadcasting a Christian radio format. Licensed to Carmichael, California, USA, the station serves the Sacramento area. The station is currently owned by New Inspiration Broadcasting Company, Inc. which is a part of Salem Communications . The station features programing...
710AM. “The Athlete's Show” discussed socially oriented issues from an athlete's perspective. The show aired weekly in 2007, and he interviewed professional athletes such as former Oakland Raider Jerone Davison, former Redskin
Redskin
"Redskin" is a racial descriptor for Native Americans and one of the color metaphors for race used in North America and Europe since European colonization of America...
/49er
49er
49er: A prospector or other settler that came in the California Gold Rush who arrived before or during 1849, the early part of the rush, before the state was established.49er also may refer to:- Sports :...
Rod Moore, former Toronto Blue Jay Kevin Bracey, as well as his former coach and then UCLA Bruins
UCLA Bruins
The UCLA Bruins are the sports teams for University of California, Los Angeles . The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pacific-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation . For football, they are in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I...
Defensive Coordinator DeWayne Walker
DeWayne Walker
-External links:* *...
. In 2008, he returned to the airwaves, expanding the format and changing the name to “The Damon J. Smith Show.” The show explored controversial issues pertaining to religion and politics and covered the 2008 Presidential Elections.
Motocross
In 2005, Smith returned to the world of sport, only this time pursuing his lifelong passion for racing motocrossMotocross
Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. It evolved from trials, and was called scrambles, and later motocross, combining the French moto with cross-country...
. Although he had experience with BMX in his youth, he had never before raced a motorcycle. After training for a year, he began racing in 2006, and by his second year of racing, Smith advanced from to the competitive intermediate level. He began pursuing national level races, qualifying and competing in the 2008 Loretta Lynn's National Motocross Championships. The following year he qualified and competed in the World Amateur Arena Cross Finals held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV, in which the top five riders from each class from the four Arena Cross Series regions (East, West, Midwest and Central) raced for the championship title. By the end of his third year of racing, he attempted to pass the rigorous qualification process required to advance to the pro level, competing against hundreds of other would-be pro racers for the 75 pro qualification points required to officially earn the "Pro" title. Over the course of three months he traveled to Albuquerque, New Mexico; Salt Lake City, Utah; Reno, Nevada; Boise, Idaho and Spokane, Washington in an effort to earn his American Motorcycle Association (AMA) points and Professional License.
By the end of May, Smith had amassed the required points and earned his professional license. Officially an AMA Pro in 2009, he competed in 1 event in Washougal, Washington, and in 2010, he competed in 4 AMA Supercross Championship events in the Lites class.
In 2011, Smith returned to AMA Supercross, sponsored by Godsome Apparel, Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff
Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff
Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff is a personal injury and class action law firm located in Sacramento, California. The firm has seven attorneys, including its three founding partners, William A. Kershaw, C. Brooks Cutter and Eric J. Ratinoff...
Motorcycle Lawyers, MB1 and Works Connection where his performance in the last qualifying practice at Phoenix made the Motocross Action Magazine Mid-Week Report. His participation in three 2011 Supercross events generated some criticism, prompting motocross journalist Jared Bolton to publish an in-depth interview with Smith on his blog.