Smith helping Vikings where he can

Vincent Massey Vikings running back Ethan Smith can’t suit up alongside the rest of his teammates at the moment, but that won’t stop him from helping the team in any way he can.

“It definitely sucks,” said Smith. “I wish I could be out there. That’s all I want right now is to be out there … but knowing I can help is good.”

He is still recovering from a lower-body injury he suffered three months ago at spring training camp. The non-contact injury came out of nowhere, surprising Smith who has never had any major injury during his football career.

He’s targeting a return to the field in the next few weeks.

Most players in Smith’s shoes wouldn’t be coming out to practice. Even professional athletes often skip practices and team meetings when working through an injury. For Smith, it’s all about being part of the team and helping his teammates in any way he can.

“He gets it from the family, they’re hard workers,” said head coach Mike Steeves. “He’ll be a coach one day. This is his ideal life, being here and still being part of the team even when you can’t be.”

Under Steeves, Vincent Massey football has been about developing kids on and off the field. Steeves puts a lot of emphasis on leadership qualities and ensuring his players grow as people.

Smith is taking those lessons to heart and putting them to use by showing his teammates that he is there for them every day at practice despite his injury.

“(I’m) trying to be a good role model for them and just show them what it means to be at a higher level on varsity,” said Smith about how he’s trying to help the younger players. “Just help the guys around me, push them and get them used to varsity because it’s a way different game than nine-man JV.”

Massey football runs in the family for Smith who is the younger brother of Vikings alumni and current running back coach Brayden Smith. The two work well together on the field.

“(Brayden’s) helped me a lot. Without him, I wouldn’t be nearly the player I am today,” said the younger Smith. “When I first started at running back, I used to run all over the field, but he’s helped me stay more patient, read gaps and make better cuts.”

While he knows his brother’s legacy as a member of Vincent Massey’s team, he isn’t trying to outdo him.

The elder Smith is confident in his brother’s abilities. He’s in his second year coaching the running backs at Vincent Massey.

“He’s definitely more of the shifty, smart, find the hole and hit it and work around everybody: He’s not the run straight through your face kind of guy,” said the elder Smith. “He works best shifting and moving because he’s smart … he’s a very high IQ guy.”

As a guy who played on the team, the elder Smith knows how important it is to have guys showing up despite injuries.

“It’s great because it builds the team culture,” said the elder Smith. “It just helps instil that mentality around the whole team.”

The younger Smith played for Vincent Massey’s varsity team last year as a sophomore. While he got touches, Massey had a deep group of running backs that meant he didn’t necessarily play as much as he would have liked.

“I could have gotten more playing time on JV, but it helped me develop way more and I’m thankful for that,” said Smith. “If I could go back in time, I would still play varsity because I think I developed way better and that’s going to show this year when I’m back and healthy.”

It’s likely the younger Smith will have the opportunity to show what he can do. He and new acquisition Daxton Brock — who played for Minnedosa last year — are likely to gobble up the majority of this year’s touches.

“He’s going to be an amazing running back in our offence,” said the younger Smith about fellow running back Brock. “It’s going to be fun to see what we can do this year together.”

Vincent Massey will play a pre-season game at home on Thursday against Oak Park, which is consistently one of the top teams in the league. It will be beneficial for the Vikings to see that level of opponent early in the season.

The team will start the regular season on the road next week with a matchup against the Vincent Massey Trojans in Winnipeg.

While Smith will not participate in the preseason game, he will be there supporting his teammates throughout the contest. Once he gets back on the field, he is excited to help the Vikings win as many games as possible this season.

»rmccarthy@brandonsun.com