Grimsley football game brings Smouse family together again

Jeff Smouse coached the Whirlies from 1984 via 1999. His son, Scott, performed for Grimsley from 1991-1994 and was a middle. Scott’s youthful brother, Bryan, was a quarterback for the Whirlies from 1995-1999 earlier than occurring to play as a walk-on at North Carolina.

After a interval of a bit of over 20 years with no Smouse at Grimsley, Scott moved again to Greensboro in July 2021 after teaching in Mississippi and introduced his sons, Tyler and Harrison, with him.

Tyler will probably be beginning at proper deal with on Friday evening when the Whirlies tackle New Bern within the NCHSAA Class 4-A championship recreation. The Smouse household will probably be at Kenan Stadium in drive to look at him play his closing highschool soccer recreation, however it should imply much more to Jeff.

The previous Grimsley coach has been on dialysis each day for the reason that fall of 2021 and desires a kidney transplant. He’s a part of the Living Donor Kidney Transplant program at Duke College Hospital.

Jeff, 72, is doing nicely with dialysis, Scott says, present process therapies at dwelling in Ocean Isle Seaside every evening as he sleeps. He’ll “do some issues Thursday evening that sort of makes up for lacking” Friday, Jeff says, however with no dwelling kidney donor his probabilities to journey are restricted. He was solely capable of make it to a few Grimsley video games alongside together with his spouse, Cathy, in the course of the common season.

“I used to donate blood, however I can’t donate something now due to my physique,” says Jeff, whose kidney failure is the results of Kind 2 diabetes. “It’s going to sound self-serving from me, as a result of I’m the one who wants the donation, nevertheless it’s nice to have the ability to do one thing like that for somebody.”

Quite a lot of individuals have supplied to donate a kidney, however all have been rejected due to medical problems with their very own. A transplant “would change my life,” Jeff says. “I’ve talked to individuals who have donated kidneys, and it modified their lives, too. They actually respect a whole lot of issues extra.”

Friday evening’s state championship recreation clearly means so much to Jeff. Seeing his father watch Tyler win a state title “could be unbelievable!” Scott says. “… It could imply an terrible lot.”

Grimsley soccer has meant an terrible lot to the Smouse household. Scott grew up across the program, a lot as present head coach Darryl Brown’s son Cam has, after the Smouses moved to Greensboro from Michigan when he was eight years outdated. Ethan Albright, Grimsley’s athletics director, performed for Jeff.

Now, Tyler’s brother Harrison is a seventh-grader taking part in soccer for Kernodle Center Faculty and can play subsequent season with Bryan’s son, who’s a sixth grader. Then they plan to observe of their fathers’ and Tyler’s footsteps as gamers at Grimsley.

Darryl Brown sends Jeff Smouse movies of the Whirlies’ video games, in order that he can watch the crew and significantly Tyler in depth.

“I prefer to see how he performs towards these guys,” Jeff says of his grandson, a 5-foot-10, 220-pound senior. “I’m actually impressed with how he assaults issues and talks about how he’s going to dam individuals.”

And he’ll be watching him in individual Friday evening in Chapel Hill.

“I’m trying ahead to seeing how that occurs,” Jeff says, “and I’m trying ahead to being a fan and rooting for Grimsley.”