SAINTS ONCE AGAIN

March 21, 2011

Emmanuel College men's basketball assistant coaches Albert Hayle and Levi Smith sit beside one another on the team bench during games. They scheme game plans, dissect the opposition's strategy and constantly keep the team motivated and encouraged throughout each game.

Although they are both listed as first year coaches on the team roster, it is hardly their first time working together. Hayle and Smith have spent a season together on the Emmanuel bench before, as teammates for the 2004-05 campaign. At the time, one was completing his final year with the Saints while the other's collegiate career was just beginning.

Despite the fact that they only spent one season as teammates, the two have formed a strong friendship which translates into their time as co-workers come game time. "Albert has been an amazing influence in my life and I can honestly attribute a lot of my success at Emmanuel to him," said Smith, when looking back on his undergraduate year with Hayle. "He truly taught me what it means to be a student-athlete and how to act accordingly; how to balance my social life with academics and basketball. The fact that I not only got to be a teammate of his, but also get to coach with him is a blessing."

Hayle echoed Smith's words, citing that it has been the same positive attitude he brought to the court as a player that has helped him become the successful coach he is today.

"Coaching the team with Levi has been a great experience since he has such a passion for winning," Hayle said. "That passion has carried over into coaching and he brings the same attitude to the team every day, as he is always looking to help the players."

"It's been a joy to coach with him and see him grow up." The two started out as teammates at Emmanuel in the Fall of 2004; only the fourth season for the young program since its inception in 2001. Although Smith was an upstart rookie on the Saints' squad, he wasted no time in making an impression on his senior counterpart.

"One memory that stands out to me was when we played Emerson College in a game right before the championship," Hayle recalled. "Emerson had a lot of height and inside presence but I distinctly remember Levi's effort in that game. Despite being a freshman, he put the best effort out there to step up to the challenge." By the time they would graduate, each one would total over 1,000 points in his Emmanuel career.

Current Saints' head coach, Jamahl Jackson, has had the opportunity to coach both Hayle and Smith as Emmanuel student-athletes and coach alongside the two of them in the 2010-11 campaign for the squad. Having seen their presence both on the court and coaching from the bench, he has had nothing but the best to say about two of his current assistants.

"Levi and Albert have brought the same qualities that made them great leaders, people and players at Emmanuel as student-athletes to the coaching side," Jackson said. "They are genuine, hard-working, dedicated, good communicators and hungry to improve. They have easily developed great rapport with the team. They both truly bleed royal blue and gold!"

Upon their graduation, Hayle in 2005 and Smith in 2008, each went their separate ways while still hanging on to their love for the game.

"From the time I graduated I have pursued a couple of different things," Smith described. " I spent my first year playing basketball professionally with the Washington Generals. We travelled quite a bit in probably close to 30 different countries. I ended up getting injured and then spent the next 4-5 months back home in Tulsa, Oklahoma as a personal trainer/basketball coach, training high school players specifically in basketball agility and explosive training."

Similar to his former teammate, Hayle spent time travelling and playing basketball in New England, also having the chance to suit up and play in games overseas.

"After Emmanuel, I participated in a training camp with a team in Brooklyn and an ABA team in Cape Cod before getting on with a Boston ABA team called the Boston Frenzy," Hayle said. "After all that, I came back to get my Master's and decided to focus on what I really wanted to do and that was work with children to better their lives. I completed my Masters in Social Work in May of 2009 and I currently work at Mission Grammar School and coach basketball there as well."

"(Even before coaching the Saints) I feel like I've never really left Emmanuel because after graduating I would come back and speak to kids and stay in contact with the school," Hayle continued. "My goal has always been to win a championship with Emmanuel and hopefully I can do my part and see what happens.

After a few years away from the Emmanuel, both coaches were hired to Coach Jackson's staff for the 2010-11 season. With the squad training to improve on last year's 4-21 record, Hayle and Smith once again began working together to bring success back to the Saints.

"I believe our relationship whether as teammates or as assistant coaches has not changed," Smith said. "The only thing that has really changed is the concepts (in each game). For example: instead of us discussing how to get each other open off a cross screen, we are discussing how to get one of the players open instead."

With three games left in the regular season, Hayle and Smith will continue to rely on one another to give the Saints the push needed to make a run through the rest of the season and in the upcoming GNAC Tournament. Just as it was when they were first teammates six years ago, the two will work together to bring a championship to Emmanuel.